Prairie Breaks is a weeklong bikepacking route that takes in the rugged badlands of Montana's Upper Missouri River Breaks and the grasslands of the American Prairie Reserve, an ambitious effort to rewild the northern prairie. This 360-mile route allows riders to experience the rich wildlife, spectacular scenery, and absolute solitude of the American Great Plains...

When you think of Montana, you might picture snow-capped peaks separated by broad valleys, towering pine forests, and pristine, rocky rivers bristling with trout. However there’s far more to this monumental state. One of its best secrets lies in its north-central plains, a verdant carpet of fauna-rich shortgrass prairie and mesmerizing badlands shaped by wind, weather, and the mighty Missouri River.

Early European explorers first described these lands with sheer astonishment. Meriwether Lewis noted in his journal on June 3, 1805, “Capt. C [Clark] and myself stroled out to the top of the hights in the fork of these rivers from whence we had an extensive and most enchanting view; the country in every derection around us was one vast plain in which unnumerable herds of Buffalow were seen attended by their shepperds the wolves; the solatary antelope which now had their young were distribued over it’s face; some herds of elk were also seen; the verdure perfectly cloathed the ground, to the South we saw a range of lofty mountains.”

Within a century, these thriving prairies were stripped of their Serenghetti-grade population of wildlife as a tide of homesteaders populated the land around the turn of the century. They plowed, tilled, hunted, drilled, and fenced much of the landscape. The indigenous people who lived among it lost their lifeblood and were cordoned off into reservations. Dan Flores, author of The American Serenghetti—who we happened to meet along our ride—describes what happened to the Great Plains a century ago as, “The destruction of one of the ecological wonders of the world.” However, all was not lost. Tough winters and difficult farming conditions discouraged many settlers and left much of the native prairie grasses intact. In addition, conservation-minded ranchers and hunters have helped preserve wildlife species allowing the potential for a large-scale conservation project to protect, properly manage, and return large tracts to its natural state.

This eco-region, the Montanan swath of prairie that this route is based on, exists around two key pieces of public land: the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Surrounding these cornerstone parcels is an infinite patchwork of a private ranch land and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rangelands; all of which are players within a vastly ambitious yet controversial endeavor to rewild these northern plains and create the largest tract of public land in the United States. This effort is called the American Prairie Reserve (APR), a non-profit organization that is buying and leasing private land to make it public. They now have deeded and leased property totaling nearly 1/2 million acres with a goal of over 3.2 million. However, they are better known for their reintroduction of bison on some of the land that they own and manage. We won’t dig too much into the APR at this juncture; there’s more to come on the Patagonia blog soon. However, know that this route passes through seven APR parcels (units) and was developed with that in mind. You can dig a bit deeper into this topic under the “Resources” tab below; be sure to watch the National Geographic video which is embedded there.

The route itself is as epic as some of the historical accounts of this land. Today, there’s still a lot of wildlife and splendor to be seen in this region, and to know that it’s returning makes it even more special. The loop is made up of a wealth of incredible two-track dirt roads, gravel, rugged jeep tracks, and faint “roads” that cut straight through the rolling prairie. Over 70% of the route is on public land, including seven APR units. Our hope in developing this route is that it will bring awareness to the area and the APR, and visitors such as bikepackers who ride this loop will realize this vision and help it continue to thrive.

Difficulty When we set out to create this route, we wanted to design an approachable way for novice-intermediate riders to explore the landscape. However, there are a lot of innate challenges within this wild and rugged country. For one, if it rains, you must be prepared to stop. One member of our party of four sheared off his rear derailleur within the first mile of the route after a rain. The mud is like concrete and will stick to (and possibly destroy) anything and everything on your bike. Second, water is pretty scarce. Streams abound, but they are magnesium-rich and unfilterable with a standard ultralight water filter. Third, there are a few animals that can be annoying or threatening. The mosquitos can be downright insane—they literally coated my calves on one section of dirt road. Bring a bug net and repellant. There are also rattlesnakes. We encountered two on route, one of us almost ran over one of them and could have easily been bitten. Chances are probably low, but be aware, and bring a SPOT tracker in case of emergency. And finally, there isn’t much in the way of resupply. See “Food/H2O” below for details. For all these reasons, even though the riding is glorious and not terribly difficult (barring a few mandatory hike-a-bikes), we give the route a 7.5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale.

Route Development: In partnership with Joel Caldwell, I’m more than excited to finally release this route. It was a big undertaking and we couldn’t have done it without help and support from Patagonia and the American Prairie Reserve, who provided detailed beta about the network of dirt roads and tracks that intersect each of its parcels. Thanks also to Montana local Peter Hall for helping plan this route. Additional thanks goes to Salsa Cycles for loaning us three Journeyman for the trip, Rockgeist for the frame bags, Patagonia (stay tuned for Joel’s story about the APR and this trip on the their blog), Patagonia Provisions (for keeping us full and healthy), Widefoot Designs, and Klean Kanteen.