Oak Leaf Loop Trail

Dogs Off-leash

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The trail is very suitable for trail running.

The 4-mile Oak Leaf loop trail takes the trail user through a mix of hilly oak savanna and flat, open tallgrass prairie in the Sheyenne National Grassland. Look for wooden posts marking the way along the 3' wide gravel trail tread. The landscape that the trail traverses is known locally as the "sand hills." These dunes were created from blowing sand deposited at the delta of a glacial river where it flowed into glacial Lake Agassiz.

The northern portion of the loop is a part of the North Country National Scenic Trail, which continues on both east and west. There will also be cattle grazing along the trail but they pose little to no risk to most visitors.

Learn more here.

You will find a mix of prairie wildflowers growing in the open prairie including the rare western prairie fringed orchid. There is also poison ivy so be careful if venturing off the gravel trail tread. Wildlife include a mix of grassland birds and a great diversity of insects.