Lake Metigoshe State Park
Nature in the park
A bird checklist (pdf 125K) and plant checklist (pdf 89K) for Lake Metigoshe State Park are available on-line in pdf format.
Lake Metigoshe State Park contains a variety of natural habitats typical of the Turtle Mountains. These include aspen woodlands, aspen-oak woodlands, a variety of wetlands and lakes, streams and open fields.
The entire park is a wildlife sancuary and harbors an abundance of woodland creatures. Visitors may occasionally see moose and white-tailed deer along with a wide variety of small mammals-squirrels, woodchucks, beaver, mink, chipmunks and muskrats.
Thirty-seven of the over 174 birds that may be observed at the park are on the Natural Heritage Program's state rare bird species list. These include the Cooper's hawk, LeConte's and Baird's sparrow, bufflehead duck, cinnamon teal, turkey vulture, common loon, bald eagle, hooded merganser, swamp sparrow, red-necked grebe, northern water-thrush, gold-winged warbler and loggerhead shrike.
The park is home to the Old Oak Trail, North Dakota's first National Recreation Trail. Built by the Youth Conservation Corps in 1974, the three-mile trail takes about two hours to hike. Interpretive brochures about the trail are available at the trailhead or park office.
Outdoor nature classes are offered at the Turtle Mountain Outdoor Learning Center (see Outdoor Learning Centers).
