Montana Gravel\Dirt Rides on your way to Great Falls
If you are riding a GS when you enter Montana on US Highway 2 and you decide you want to leave the pavement behind, you have numerous options. And a great place to start your off-pavement adventure is to ride towards Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge. At the refuge you will find thousands of acres of wetlands and rolling hills covered with native prairie grasses. The area also has an abundance of migratory birds including a large population of white pelicans (plus a large population of mosquitoes).
A good way to access the refuge is to stay on Hy 2 until Culbertson, MT and turn north on Hy 16. Ride north approximately 20 miles to Big Lake Rd. Turn east and ride 6 miles and turn north on Lakeside Rd. Lakeside Rd travels for several miles around the east and to the north. Once you get to the northside of the lake take North Shore Rd to the east back to the town of Medicine Lake.
If your interested in a long mostly off-pavement ride on your way to Great Falls continue north to Raymond – 8 miles north of Plentywood. Both Raymond and Plentywood have free camping. At Plentywood you can camp at the county fairgrounds (with showers) and there is a small lake south of Raymond that has a few camping spots.
From Raymond go west on Soo Line Rd to Outlook. At Outlook stay on Soo Line Rd to Whitetail Rd which will take you to the small town of Whitetail (the western terminus of the Soo Line Railroad). The Soo originally planned to build the rail line to the west coast, however, the company ran out of money and ended the construction at Whitetail.
From Whitetail take the pavement (Hy 248) to Opheim. At Opheim, take Thoeny Rd to the former town of Thoeny (all that is left are a few abandoned buildings including the school). When leaving Thoeny a rider can take the Hinsdale North Rd or the Blacktail Creek Rd south to Hinsdale. Both roads travel through some of the most pristine native prairie found in Montana. Several years ago on a ride, on a small rise in the landscape I stopped and got off my bike and everybody wondered why I had stopped. I told them to look around – even though we could see for many miles we could not see a pole, a fence, or a building in any direction we looked. All we could see for miles was prairie grass and flowers waiving in the wind.
Once you reach Hinsdale on US 2, ride to the west to Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs for a nice soak and some time off the bike. The hot spring is not a spring but a deep well that was drilled and hit a very deep pocket of extremely hot water. At one time, the Sleeping Buffalo was a well-known resort in the northeastern part of Montana but fell on hard times and disrepair. Nonetheless, new owners have brought the resort back to life so enjoy a day of relaxation or a day exploration. For example, Nelson Reservoir is just outside the resort grounds and the Bowdoin Wildlife National Refuge is just a few miles to the south. And if you are a railroad buff there are the remains of the old divisional headquarters of the Great Northern Railway just south of the Refuge (here are the coordinates of the large roundhouse – plug them into to Google Map: 48.396730, -107.597903. Plus, the American Prairie Reserve is just down the road: https://www.americanprairie.org/. The reserve has a large buffalo herd, camping, hiking and some great roads to ride.
I will fill in some other routes to the west and east in the near future (including a few with ferry rides). Most of the roads have dirt\gravel as a surface and the surface conditions are fair to good (nothing to difficult). And remember gas is hard to come by in many of these locations so fill-up when you can and watch the weather.
Keith Blount MOA# 41721
If you are riding a GS when you enter Montana on US Highway 2 and you decide you want to leave the pavement behind, you have numerous options. And a great place to start your off-pavement adventure is to ride towards Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge. At the refuge you will find thousands of acres of wetlands and rolling hills covered with native prairie grasses. The area also has an abundance of migratory birds including a large population of white pelicans (plus a large population of mosquitoes).
A good way to access the refuge is to stay on Hy 2 until Culbertson, MT and turn north on Hy 16. Ride north approximately 20 miles to Big Lake Rd. Turn east and ride 6 miles and turn north on Lakeside Rd. Lakeside Rd travels for several miles around the east and to the north. Once you get to the northside of the lake take North Shore Rd to the east back to the town of Medicine Lake.
If your interested in a long mostly off-pavement ride on your way to Great Falls continue north to Raymond – 8 miles north of Plentywood. Both Raymond and Plentywood have free camping. At Plentywood you can camp at the county fairgrounds (with showers) and there is a small lake south of Raymond that has a few camping spots.
From Raymond go west on Soo Line Rd to Outlook. At Outlook stay on Soo Line Rd to Whitetail Rd which will take you to the small town of Whitetail (the western terminus of the Soo Line Railroad). The Soo originally planned to build the rail line to the west coast, however, the company ran out of money and ended the construction at Whitetail.
From Whitetail take the pavement (Hy 248) to Opheim. At Opheim, take Thoeny Rd to the former town of Thoeny (all that is left are a few abandoned buildings including the school). When leaving Thoeny a rider can take the Hinsdale North Rd or the Blacktail Creek Rd south to Hinsdale. Both roads travel through some of the most pristine native prairie found in Montana. Several years ago on a ride, on a small rise in the landscape I stopped and got off my bike and everybody wondered why I had stopped. I told them to look around – even though we could see for many miles we could not see a pole, a fence, or a building in any direction we looked. All we could see for miles was prairie grass and flowers waiving in the wind.
Once you reach Hinsdale on US 2, ride to the west to Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs for a nice soak and some time off the bike. The hot spring is not a spring but a deep well that was drilled and hit a very deep pocket of extremely hot water. At one time, the Sleeping Buffalo was a well-known resort in the northeastern part of Montana but fell on hard times and disrepair. Nonetheless, new owners have brought the resort back to life so enjoy a day of relaxation or a day exploration. For example, Nelson Reservoir is just outside the resort grounds and the Bowdoin Wildlife National Refuge is just a few miles to the south. And if you are a railroad buff there are the remains of the old divisional headquarters of the Great Northern Railway just south of the Refuge (here are the coordinates of the large roundhouse – plug them into to Google Map: 48.396730, -107.597903. Plus, the American Prairie Reserve is just down the road: https://www.americanprairie.org/. The reserve has a large buffalo herd, camping, hiking and some great roads to ride.
I will fill in some other routes to the west and east in the near future (including a few with ferry rides). Most of the roads have dirt\gravel as a surface and the surface conditions are fair to good (nothing to difficult). And remember gas is hard to come by in many of these locations so fill-up when you can and watch the weather.
Keith Blount MOA# 41721
