Magpie Campground
Turn west on Road #712 at the Magpie Camp sign, located 1.5 miles north of Fairfield on Highway 85; travel 15.5 miles on gravel road #712. The campground is located 1/4 mile northeast off road # 712. A day use parking lot right adjacent to the MDH trail is located 1/2 mile south of the campground.
This fenced camp features 11 camp spurs. A handicap accessible vault toilet and a potable water well are available during the summer months.
A convenient meeting area for those traveling to Devil’s Pass or the Ice Caves. A great shaded area in the summer!
The North Ride:
This is about a thirty miles total out and back, this will take you north to County Rd. 50. Which will be where you left off the Bennet Creek South Ride. Ok, once again we are going to have to buck up and say that it has been about three years since we went this way, this should tell that we don’t think much of going this way or at least didn’t at the time. But to each his own, and it has been three years so our memories are foggy and hell you might enjoy it who are we to say. From what we can see through fog and pick up from the map, we remeber and have pictures of some cool sandstone formations a short hike off of the trail where at, drawing another blank and that is about it from the cob webs between our ears. The thing we noticed from the map is that there is something call the Ice caves a short distance off of the trail. There is a trailhead about 3 miles up the Maah Daah Hey from the campground to get there, the trail to it branches off the Maah Daah Hey and goes to the east for a little under a mile. How easy it is to notice or find is unknown, just like we don’t half clue what the hell the Ice caves are. We will ride this section this spring so check back to see what we have discovered.
The South Ride:
From the Campground south along the Maah Daah Hey this will be roughly 23 miles total out and back. In our opinions this is one of the best if not the best one day rides on the Maah Daah Hey, if you want to ride a different section, besides south of Medora come here you will not regret it. This section starts out with a small climb and small downhill that leads into a steady and grueling climb for about 2 miles until you cross 711 road. From here it is a nice downhill and doable uphill until you eventually come to Devils Pass. Devils Pass is an old jeep trail with some awesome views, this is a good area to take break and look around a little. A short but steep climb brings you back out of Devils Pass and into a nice downhill where you will cross 712 road. It is a good idea to remeber roads where you can since, if you get caught in a rainstorm you can ride back to you vehicle on them alot easier than the trail. From here you have a rolling up and down with some nice switchbacks basically following 712 road until the trail crosses it again. From here it is pretty much downhill (give or take a short jaunt up) to the Little Missouri River. Also along this downhill you will pass the midway point, mile marker 49 which is a by now familiar turtle post, but this one is made of Stainless steel and adorns a plague. This ride is a great mix of things, nice scenery, good swithbacks, an awesome downhill (or shitty uphill depending on your mood and bike) which all gives it a nice flow that makes it seem shorter than it actually is. This is why it gets our vote for best one day ride on the Maah Daah Hey (so far, we may change this when we ride everything).
