Cottonwood Trail

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Features Birding · Fall Colors · Spring · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The trail can be accessed from the Bennett Campground. Take U.S. Highway 85 7.5 miles north of Grassy Butte, North Dakota, then drive west 4 miles. Turn south on Forest Service Road #824, proceed approximately 0.5 mile, turn west, and continue approximately 0.5 mile into the campground. Take the Bennett Trail west about 0.4 mile, where you turn south onto the Cottonwood Trail.

From here, the trail proceeds 7 miles south, crossing two large badlands drainages that provide some extended climbing and descending. The trail makes for a nice loop of about 15 miles, using the Maah Daah Hey and Bennett Trail to get back to the Bennett Campground. From the junction of the Cottonwood and Maah Daah Hey Trail, one could also run 2.5 miles south on Kate's Walk on the Maah Daah Hey Trail and access Beiciegel Creek Road.

The trail is part of the U.S. Forest Service Dakota Prairie National Grasslands. Visitors to this area often see deer (mule and whitetail), elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep. Coyotes and prairie dogs round out the mammals. Plenty of fowl call the area home, and falcons, red tail hawks, golden eagles, prairie chickens, wild turkeys, sharptail grouse and pheasants can all be seen. Do keep an eye out for rattle snakes!