The North Country Trail's Western Terminus at Lake Sakakawea

North Dakota

August 2026

Hiking the Edge of the North Country Trail

After an easy hour-long drive north to Lake Sakakawea State Park in Pick City, ND, we parked near the entrance and visitor center. The center was closed, but we used a QR code posted on the door to pay the daily fee online. In the distance, we saw the Western Terminus sign for the North Country National Scenic Trail. Our main reason for visiting the park was to hike part of America’s longest National Scenic Trail, a 4,800-mile route through eight (ND, MN, WI, MI, OH, PA, NY, VT) states that starts or ends here.

We also learned that the park has ties to the Lewis and Clark Expedition because the group stayed in the region during the winter of 1804–1805. This connection explains the park’s and the lake’s names, as Sakakawea was the Lemhi Shoshone woman who lived among the Hidatsa and served as an interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

"A Seed is Planted - A Prairie is Born"

The trail was well-maintained with gentle ups and downs. We were spoiled by amazing views of Lake Sakakawea, walking through mixed-grass prairie surrounded by the silence of the Missouri River valley. As we walked, we enjoyed the natural-looking landscape around us because we had just read that it was, in fact, the result of prairie restoration efforts.

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In 2002, park staff sowed 60 pounds of a native seed mix with four grass species and five flower species, along with over 25 hand-collected native wildflower species, to recreate this natural habitat. And almost 25 years later, the staff succeeded in returning a disappearing native landscape.

The Views of Garrison Dam

We followed the trail until we saw the water intake structure of the Garrison Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the dam between 1947 and 1953 to control flooding along the Missouri River. Near the dam intake overlook, we returned and completed the loop by taking the Shoreline Trail and the Overlook Trail back to the parking lot. Before heading to our next destination, we drove to the Garrison Dam to get some better close-up pictures of the dam and the Missouri River downstream.