Petrel

Petrel is a ghost town in Adams County, North Dakota, sitting just inside the state line with South Dakota, roughly between the town of Lemmon in Perkins County and the community of Haynes. Its origins are tied to the Milwaukee Road railroad, which established Petrel as a townsite and siding along its route. The town's name reflects a piece of local natural history — it was inspired by the long-winged pigeons that early observers noted in the surrounding area.

Visitors today will find little more than an open rural landscape, as Petrel exists only as a former railroad townsite. It is worth a stop for those drawn to the quiet atmosphere of vanished communities and the history of rail-era settlement in the Northern Plains.