Turtle Mountain Back Country Road

The Turtle Mountains rise like an island of forest in the endless prairie, where old logging roads wind through dense stands of aspen, oak, and birch. This remote back country route follows the spine of these glacial hills, starting from the International Peace Garden and threading through unmarked Forest Service roads to emerge near Rolette. You’ll navigate by dead reckoning through a maze of overgrown two-tracks, with the highlight being the climb to the fire tower on Boundary Butte overlooking both sides of the US-Canada border.

Moderate difficulty demands good navigation skills and recovery gear—these roads turn to pure gumbo when wet, and fallen trees are common after storms. A stock 4WD with decent ground clearance handles the rocky climbs and muddy wallows, but bring a chainsaw for deadfall. Best tackled May through October when the roads dry out. No permits needed on this forgotten corner of North Dakota, where you’ll find scattered primitive campsites and maybe encounter the odd moose wandering down from Manitoba.