This North Dakota county gives you nearly unlimited access to outdoor recreation — free! You don’t need a boat to enjoy Lake Sakakawea. The magnificent lake is 180 miles long with 1,530 miles of PUBLIC shoreline. As we found out, that means you can explore, hike, and bike for days on end. Find a bay or inlet and you can camp next to the water, or if it’s a hot day, dive in and cool off. It’s what we did, and here’s all you need to know to enjoy the Lake. First, a little background: The Army Corps of Engineers created and maintains the lake; it owns the immediate shoreline. It says the lake covers 382,000 surface acres making it the largest manmade lake in North America where the entire shoreline is open to the public. It is world-famous for its recreation, walleye fishing, and paddlefish snagging. History Lake Sakakawea was formed in the 1950s by damming the Missouri River. Even before it was a lake, the River was a transportation barrier. The river challenged McKenzie County farmers to get their crops to market, going north across the river to Williston. Ferries such as those […]