A campground named for a stinky old natural wonder will be reconstructed to get ready for a new crowd of mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders coming its way.

The Burning Coal Vein Campground, located about 15 miles northwest of Amidon, will be enlarged and made more user-friendly by the time a major recreation trail reaches it two summers from now.

The burning sulfurous coal vein, that puffed and smelled of smoldering coal for decades and for which the campground was named, long since has been extinguished.

However, the 40-year-old campground still enjoys modest use because of its location in the ponderosa pine country in the far southwestern North Dakota Badlands.

The Forest Service plans to extend the popular Medora-based Maah Daah Hey Trail south to the Burning Coal Vein Campground, possibly starting as soon as this fall.

The upgrade to the campground will make it a more suitable destination or departure point for trail users.

The campground's five primitive sites will be improved, and seven more will be added. The project also includes construction of accessible walkways, a water well with a hand pump, horseback specific sites, and a self-registering kiosk.

Patti Perry, who directs development for Slope County, said she thinks the planned improvements will be "just great" for the county and for the campground.

In the meantime, a Slope County strategic planning committee continues to work on a deal that would further extend the trail from the campground into Amidon, which is located on the busy transcontinental Highway 85.

Some of the Amidon stretch would have to cross private land, and Perry said early indications are that landowners appear to be reasonably receptive to the idea.

The Forest Service is taking comments on the campground project until Aug. 6. Anyone who has questions, or who wants to comment, can call Steve Volesky, project team leader, at 227-7855.