If you've already worked your way through the North Dakota day-hike checklist, this is the list for what comes next. We ranked the state's hardest trails using a composite of difficulty tag (hard or expert), distance, and elevation gain, drawing from the 419 mapped North Dakota trails in our database. These ten routes are reserved for hikers with the gear, the navigation skills, and the honesty about their own limits to tackle them safely.
North Dakota's Badlands in the west and the prairie pothole country in the east define the state — quietly more scenic than its flat-state reputation. A full Maah Daah Hey thru-hike is the state's headline endurance objective. Lightning on open prairie, rattlesnakes in the Badlands, and rapidly changing weather even in summer.
Our rankings here are data-driven — pulled from the 419 mapped entries OutsideAtlas tracks in North Dakota — but the data has limits worth being honest about. A composite score weights expert and hard difficulty tags alongside total mileage and elevation gain. The result favors long, vertically aggressive routes with documented technical sections — there are surely tougher off-trail objectives in the state, but those are outside the scope of a trail directory.
The Ranking
Ranked from #1 to #5. Click through any entry for the full trail page — map, elevation profile, weather forecast, and direct OpenStreetMap source link.
#1. Achenbach Trail
Achenbach Trail sits near Grassy Butte in McKenzie County and is rated hard — our pick for the toughest trail on the list. Expect ground surface on a genuinely demanding grade. Local trail-association reports tend to agree this is one of the better-maintained options in the area, which matters more on a hike of this length than on a quick walk. The natural-surface tread can get slick after rain and muddy in spring — pick a dry weather window if you have the flexibility. Best attempted by hikers comfortable with long days, route-finding when the path gets faint, and weather that can turn fast. Not a casual outing. See full trail details, map, and current weather on OutsideAtlas for the most current information.
Open the Achenbach Trail trail page →Map, elevation profile, current weather, and OSM source.#2. Summit Trail
Summit Trail sits near Grassy Butte in McKenzie County and is rated hard — the #2 entry in a roster of hikes you don't take lightly. Expect ground surface on a genuinely demanding grade. The route is well documented in OpenStreetMap, which is what put it on our radar — community-mapped routes tend to be the ones that get hiked enough to stay open. The natural-surface tread can get slick after rain and muddy in spring — pick a dry weather window if you have the flexibility. Best attempted by hikers comfortable with long days, route-finding when the path gets faint, and weather that can turn fast. Not a casual outing. See full trail details, map, and current weather on OutsideAtlas for the most current information.
Open the Summit Trail trail page →Map, elevation profile, current weather, and OSM source.#3. Summit Trail
Summit Trail sits near Grassy Butte in McKenzie County and is rated hard — the #3 entry in a roster of hikes you don't take lightly. Expect ground surface on a genuinely demanding grade. It earns its ranking on the data, but trail conditions can change quickly after storms or fire seasons, so verify before you commit a full day. The natural-surface tread can get slick after rain and muddy in spring — pick a dry weather window if you have the flexibility. Best attempted by hikers comfortable with long days, route-finding when the path gets faint, and weather that can turn fast. Not a casual outing. See full trail details, map, and current weather on OutsideAtlas for the most current information.
Open the Summit Trail trail page →Map, elevation profile, current weather, and OSM source.#4. Summit Trail
Summit Trail sits near Grassy Butte in McKenzie County and is rated hard — the #4 entry in a roster of hikes you don't take lightly. Expect ground surface on a genuinely demanding grade. Compared to similar trails in North Dakota, this route trades difficulty for either solitude or scenery — sometimes both. The natural-surface tread can get slick after rain and muddy in spring — pick a dry weather window if you have the flexibility. Best attempted by hikers comfortable with long days, route-finding when the path gets faint, and weather that can turn fast. Not a casual outing. See full trail details, map, and current weather on OutsideAtlas for the most current information.
Open the Summit Trail trail page →Map, elevation profile, current weather, and OSM source.#5. Summit Trail
Summit Trail sits near Grassy Butte in McKenzie County and is rated hard — the #5 entry in a roster of hikes you don't take lightly. Tagged hard in OpenStreetMap. What makes this one earn its spot on the list is the combination of mapped detail and the kind of through-and-through experience that justifies a longer drive. Best attempted by hikers comfortable with long days, route-finding when the path gets faint, and weather that can turn fast. Not a casual outing. See full trail details, map, and current weather on OutsideAtlas for the most current information.
Open the Summit Trail trail page →Map, elevation profile, current weather, and OSM source.Planning your North Dakota trip
A few pieces of context are worth keeping in mind specifically for North Dakota. May-October is the practical window; winter is brutal and summer brings thunderstorms and ticks. Lightning on open prairie, rattlesnakes in the Badlands, and rapidly changing weather even in summer.
Always cross-reference the official land-manager page before driving out — closures, fire restrictions, and seasonal road access can change quickly. Our trail pages link directly back to the OpenStreetMap source so you can see the tags we're working from.
If you're new to hiking generally, our beginner's guide covers footwear, layering, and the day-pack basics. For safety planning on bigger objectives, the ten essentials guide is worth twenty minutes of reading.
More North Dakota hiking guides
If you found this useful, the rest of our North Dakota coverage continues below.
- Top 10 longest trails in North Dakota — Multi-day routes and through-hikes ranked by distance.
- Steepest trails in North Dakota — Hikes with the most elevation gain in the state.
- Best beginner hikes in North Dakota — Easy, well-marked trails for first-time hikers.
- Best national parks in North Dakota — Federal parks and recreation areas ranked.
- Best waterfall hikes in North Dakota — Trails leading to named falls, ranked by accessibility.
- Best dog-friendly hikes in North Dakota — Where leashed dogs are explicitly welcome.
- Best family hikes in North Dakota — Short, easy trails sized for kids and grandparents.
Rankings like this are starting points, not verdicts. Trail conditions change, new routes get tagged, and what was the toughest trail in North Dakota last year might not be next year. We refresh these articles when the underlying data shifts meaningfully.
Got a correction, a route we missed, or a question? Drop us a note via the contact page. We read every email and we'd rather hear it from you than miss it.
