Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway

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Take exit 292 off Interstate 94 in Valley City. The scenic byway goes both north and south from that point. On my map, the route was not marked as a scenic byway, but lots of signs in the area show that it really is. I suggest you try going both North and South from Valley City. If you go North, the route goes for about 12 miles along the river (you'll be on River Road) and it takes you up to Lake Ashtabula. If you go south from Valley city (starting on Kathryn Road) you'll follow the river to the town of Kathryn and later on this route the road changes names a lot and if you follow the scenic byway signs you'll be fine but if you want a list of the various road names, here they are starting from Valley City and heading South to Fort Ransom: Kathryn Road, 117th Ave SE or Route 21, Sheyenne Road which at some point starts being called 118th Ave SE (and still Route 21), and then this road T's into Hwy 46, take a left (East) for just under 2 miles and you'll turn right (South) on to Valley Road which will take you into Fort Ransom State Park.

This is a stretch of river valley scenery and rolling hills designated as a National Scenic Byway. The road wanders through Valley City, Kathryn and Fort Ransom following the Sheyenne River. Along the way, it passes farms, ranches, and open fields. Particularly for this area of North Dakota, which is characterized by very flat, treeless prairie and farmland, this road offers the best scenery for literally hundreds of miles in any direction.

Most of the road is rolling hills, gentle turns and good road conditions ... VERY good by North Dakota standards. However, after Fort Ransom, the scenic byway turns to 17 miles of gravel. Even though the official scenic byway continues on the gravel road, here is where I stop as I don't like to ride motorcycles on gravel. If you don't either, I suggest you turn around and cover the same route heading back north to Valley City.

The scenic byway is well marked with signs so you'd have to work at getting lost. It has many information stations that I didn't take the time to explore, but I'd guess point out history or other points of interest along the way. Fort Ransom State Park looked like it offered very good camping facilities (again, I didn't take the time to check them out). All of the towns along the way were beautiful and had lots of amenities including family-run restaurants, antique shops and other stuff. If you have the time, you really should explore Valley City, Kathryn and Fort Ransom.

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather . - More info on Fort Ransom State Park

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