Our Story

It all started with a simple love for the land. In 2012, Nick and Lindsey Ybarra, a couple deeply connected to North Dakota’s wild spaces, noticed the Maah Daah Hey Trail fading away. Once a legendary path through the Badlands, it was being reclaimed by robust vegetation and erosion due to limited resources and oversight. Frustrated but determined, they rallied a small group of friends for volunteer workdays, clearing brush and rediscovering the trail’s magic.

By 2013, this grassroots effort evolved into Save The Maah Daah Hey, a nonprofit born from humility and hard work—not grand plans, but a commitment to stewardship. Today, as director, Nick leads our all-volunteer team in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, turning sweat equity into lasting preservation. We’re proof that ordinary folks can protect extraordinary places, one mile at a time.

Meet The

Board Of Directors

a timeline of involvement in the maah daah hey trail

1999

The USFS opens the original 97-mile long multiuse MDH Trail connecting the North Unit to the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park

2002

18 year old Nick falls in love with the MDH, on his $150 Walmart Schwinn mountain bike

2008

Nick and Lindsey move to Watford City, ND

2009

Nick becomes the first documented person to ride the entire 107 mile long MDH & Buffalo Gap Trail in one day and starts dreaming with Lindsey about how to share the experience with as many people as possible.

2010

The USFS loses federal funding and staffing for trail maintenance and the MDH trail begins to decline

2011

The trail is beginning to go extinct as many sections simply disappear to overgrowth and erosion. Nick and Lindsey establish L.A.N.D. LLC (Legendary Adventures New Discoveries)

2012

The inaugural MDH100 MTB race is held as a free event, 67 mountain bikers participate, they all get lost multiple times due to the overgrown condition of the trail.

2013

Nick asks the U.S. Forest Service for permission to help maintain the trail before it completely disappears. Nick and a few friends miraculously mow the entire trail and save many sections from complete extinction. No participants got lost at the 2nd annual MDH100.

2014

USFS connects the MDH to “The Duece” making the trail 144 miles end to end. Volunteer base grows with the help of Phil Helfrich. Momentum begins to grow. Nick joins the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association board of directors

2015

The MDH becomes a National Recreational Trail and Nick becomes the first documented human to ride the MDH150 in one day.

2016

Tax-exempt status granted to STMDH, and Phil Helfrich becomes the president of the new 501c3 nonprofit organization, making it easier to receive donations. Nick and Lindsey launch the inaugural Maah Daah Hey Trail Run and the MDH150 Ultra Race.
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2017

2017: First major purchase of equipment; two DR Brush Mowers named, Pepe and Dr. Evil.

2018

Nick speaks at TEDxFargo about “Choosing to do things the hard way is how we saved the Maah Daah Hey.” Nick resigns from the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association after multiple requests for collaboration to fund STMDH’s volunteer efforts to annually mow the trail are denied.

2019

SAVE THE MDH secures much needed funding from energy corporations via grants and annual funding from McKenzie County. Phil Helfrich creates the annual BIG PULL where volunteers gather to do deep preventative maintenance on all STMDH equipment so it is ready for the BIG PUSH

2020

Over 1,000 volunteer hours logged by 30 volunteers who maintained the entire MDH trail in less than two weeks, making it the new standard for the annual BIG PUSH to #SAVETHEMDH

2021

STMDH receives grant from the Rob Walton foundation to purchase our first trailwork truck. Nick speaks at a Makewell event in Bismarck and casts a vision for 1,000 miles of trail in the North Dakota Badlands.

2022

Board expands with new members and Steve Burian establishes a STMDH endowment fund. More equipment purchased.

2023

STMDH receives grant from Cedric Theel Toyota to purchase a SNOWDOG trail grooming machine and starts performing volunteer winter trail grooming maintenance on the MDH Trail.

2024

STMDH adopts additional responsibilities to maintain the Wolf Trail during the BIG PUSH per the USFS’s request bringing the total mileage of STMDH’s annual volunteer trail care to 188 miles.

2025

USFS grants STMDH permission to use eMTB’s for trail maintenance! STMDH received a grant from the NWNDCF to purchase two eMTB’s and more trail work equipment. STMDH received a large RTP Grant to collaborate with Watford City to build an adaptive, multiuse, natural surface singletrack trail in Watford City.

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Your gift directly funds mowers, fuel, and tools to keep the trail alive. 100% of donations go to MDH preservation—no overhead salaries.

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Podcasts

Hear the voices behind the trail—tune into our featured episodes below or explore the full podcast library for inspiring stories from Nick Ybarra and guests.

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