East River Road

A highlight of this first trip was East River Road  (US Forest Service 3).  Starting at the bend in US 85, roughly 2 miles west of Amidon and travelling north to Medora, I  was treated to some extremely beautiful parts of the state of North Dakota.  This dirt road runs roughly parallel to the Little Missouri River through the badlands.  Many spots rival scenery within Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but without the traffic and it is easy to stop almost any where to take a picture.

The area between Burning Coal Vein Campground (forest road 772) and Logging Camp Ranch (forest road 773) is wonderfully different from many other areas in North Dakota.  Rich stands of Ponderosa Pines make this feel like the Black Hills or points much further west.  This will be a great location to revisit when there is a little snow on the ground and in the trees.