West end of McClusky Canal to the north end of Lake Ashtabula.
The Trail follows a long roadwalk from Lake Ashtabula to near New Rockford then follows along the New Rockford Canal, part of the larger Garrison Diversion federal water project. The landscape here is comprised of agricultural fields, native grasslands, pastures, wetlands and many shallow prairie pothole lakes. The NCT traverses Lonetree Wildlife Management Area (WMA), originally intended as a storage reservoir on the Garrison Diversion project, for over 30 miles. Today, Lonetree is the state’s largest WMA and offers a great variety of habitats such as native prairie, restored prairie, woodlands and wetlands, and outdoor recreation features including the North Country Trail, campgrounds and fishing. West of Lonetree the NCT follows the McClusky Canal to the eastern end of Lake Audubon. The canals pass by several communities that offer lodging, food and more.
Header photo by Dove Day.
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