North Dakota
Located about as far North as you can get in the continuous 48 US States you will find North Dakota. North Dakota is a state you do not hear a lot about and for many it is the last state people go to visit and many people do not know of what to do in North Dakota. North Dakota is full of great things to do. Its a land of history and wild places. There are few places left where you can see wild buffalo and wild horses still roam. North Dakota is one of them. From historic forts, Lewis and Clark, General Custer, museums and beautiful landscapes for hiking you can find it North Dakota. The total population of the state is just above 700,000 people so it is one of the lesser populated states in the nation so you ca get away from big city life. We visited North Dakota on the long July 4th weekend in 2020. It was different visiting during the pandemic but we felt safe in the state and took all proper precautions such as wearing masking and very frequently washing our hands. The people of the state are very friendly and it was a wonderful visit!
Getting to and Transportation in North Dakota
North Dakota is quite far from most of the major cities in the US but there are some affordable ways of getting there. Outside of driving to the state there are a few airports you can fly into. The larger cities such as Fargo and Bismark have small airports with service by multiple airlines. You will not find service by airlines such Southwest but you can find service by United, Delta and American. Frontier flies to Bismark and Fargo seasonally. We flew into Bismark on Frontier and left on United Express. We changed planes in Denver each way during the trip. While in North Dakota the only real option is to rent a car if you flew in unless you plan on staying in the city you flew into. At the Bismark airport they had Hertz, Avis and Enterprise Rental cars available but did not have companies such as Thrifty, Budget or Alamo. North Dakota is a large state so it does take some time to drive depending on where you want to go.
Bismark, North Dakota
Our first stop in the State of North Dakota was the capital city of Bismark. The city has around 75,000 people and is home to a variety of museums, a symphony and of course the capital building. Across the Missouri River there is a small city called Mandan that is named after a Native American tribe that lived in that area. In Mandan they have a Rodeo on July 4th weekend that was going on while we were there and they have a nice downtown area. The city has all the restaurants and modern conveniences of any other American City and its very nice to drive with light traffic in a city. There is quite a bit to do in the city and we spent some time going to a few of the attractions around town.
North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum
Located on the ground of the State Capital you will find the very well done North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. It was the first place we went to visit when we arrived in North Dakota. The museum has multiple different sections talking about the history and where North Dakota is today. There is a section of prehistoric dinosaurs as North Dakota is a place they find many dinosaur bones. They have a large section with many different Native American artifacts since tribes like the Mandans, Dakotas, Sioux, Cheyenne and many others where native to the plains of the state. There is a section talking about the pioneers and explorers like Lewis and Clark that visited the state and a section talking about today’s North Dakota that includes the energy industry, agriculture and much more. They speak about the Nordic culture that steams from the settlers from Nordic countries. While we were there they had a great temporary exhibit on Horses as they still have wild horses in the state roaming today. Its a great museum and a good way to learn about this wild Mid-Western state. This museum is completely free to visit and will take a couple hours to visit.
The North Dakota State Capital
A short walk or drive from the state museum you will find the Art Deco architecture state capital building of North Dakota. Its a very different capital building from many across the nation. Instead of the domed buildings we see in many states this building is a 19 story tall office style building. The grounds around the capital have a nice green space and a few statues such as one of a horse and one dedicated to the pioneers of the state. While we were there they had the area decorated for the 4th of July. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic we were not able to enter the capital but we looked at it from the outside. During normal times you are able to tour the building like most state capitals.
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
Located South of Mandan on the Western side of the Missouri river you will find the large Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. You can tour a cavalry and infantry fort and a recreation of a Mandan Native American called On-A-Slant. At the cavalry fort you can visit replicas of the cavalry barracks and other troop buildings. They have a replica of George A. Custer’s home while he was at the fort with his famous 7th Cavalry regiment. You can take a guided tour of the home and see artifacts that were owned by the Custer family. This was Custer’s last home as he left from Fort Abraham Lincoln with the 7th Cavalry to ride to his last stand at The Little Bighorn. After touring the cavalry fort we visited the main museum that went over the history of the area and took a guided tour of the On-a-slant Mandan village. The Mandan’s were a agrarian society that stayed at their village versus being nomadic. They lived in earthen lodges and the park has several replicas you can go in and tour on the site of the former village. Inside they have exhibits detailing life of the Mandan culture. The last tour site is up on a plateau that gives great views of the Missouri River and the city of Bismark. You can also see the cavalry fort from the plateau. This is home to the historic infantry (foot soldiers) fort. They have wooden block house (defensive fortification buildings) replicas you can go inside and climb the stair up to the top for even better views. You can walk the grounds and read about the fort and see what is left of the buildings. We really enjoyed the small hike and the views of the area. There is a cost to enter the state park and there is an extra cost to tour Custer’s home but the price is well worth it. It took us about half a day to tour the entire site.
Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark went straight through North Dakota as they went on their great adventure exploring the Louisiana purchase. They went up the Missouri on their way to the Pacific coast. They spent some time in North Dakota on the departing and return leg of their journey. They spent a winter at a Fort they constructed near a settlement of a friendly Mandan tribe. Sacagawea gave birth to a child at that Fort. In North Dakota there are a few sites and the Lewis and Clark trail you can drive a long to see some of the areas Lewis and Clark explored. We visited two sites around 45 minutes North of Bismark that were very well done.
Lewis and Clark Interperative Center
Located in Washburn, ND you will find the very well done Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center run by the North Dakota State Parks. The center tells the story of the entire expedition with all the challenges they faced. The center includes many great interactive exhibits, rare artifacts from the expeditions and a large section of Western Art. The center also tells the story of many of those who were a part of the expedition such as Sacagawea. One artifact I found very interesting was the air pump rifle that was used in the expedition (they do not have the original but have a similar rifle). They would pump the rifle for quite some time and then it could fire a round. It was never used to hunt or for defense but was used to impress Native Americans along the way. There are exhibits on other Western explorers as well. This is a great site and is worth the drive outside of Bismark to see. There is a nominal admission fee but it also gets you into the next Lewis and Clark site we visited near by. It took us an hour or so to tour the site.
Fort Mandan State Recreation Area
Located a few miles from the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center is Fort Mandan. It is a recreation of the winter fort Lewis and Clark and their team spent before they continued their journey. It was built near a friendly Mandan village. Both groups worked to help each other with at one point Lewis and Clark’s men helping defend the Mandans against a hostile tribe. Sacagawea gave birth to a child while at the fort. There is a small museum and visitors center there as well. We toured the small fort that has multiple rooms furnished like it would have been during the winter stay. There is a large statue of Lewis’s dog Seaman who took the journey with him. There are also some nice walking trails that allow for good views of the Missouri River. Admission to this stop is included with the admission to the Lewis and Clark Interpretative center and we spent about an hour touring the site.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Located a couple hours West towards the Montana border is the beautiful and desolate Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Its wild land full of badlands, prairies, buttes, canyons and rivers. This is one of the few places you can see wild roaming buffalo and wild horses. We also saw many Prairie Dog colonies. The park is splint into a North and South unit but we only had time to do the South unit. There is a near 30 mile scenic tour with many stops that allow you to hike, walk up hills and get breathtaking views. You can really get away from everything here. The park is named after the president who found himself while ranching in this land. After his mother and wife passed away he visited the area where the park now is and healed and prepared for his future. Theodore Roosevelt said himself that if he had not come to the badlands of North Dakota he would have never been president. We spent pretty much an entire day hiking and visiting the varied landscape. We did see a herd of Buffalo and multiple wild horses. We also spent some time watching the prairie dogs as the ate and mingled with each other. Its a wonderful park and a must see if you are in North Dakota. It gave us a chance to mentally renew ourselves after the long period of shutdowns. There is an admission fee per car and there is a small visitors center with a museum. The museum was closed when we were there due to coronavirus. You can also see Teddy Roosevelt’s cabin he used while living in the area. For us it took nearly a full day to visit the South unit and the North unit is over an hour drive from the South unit so if you want to see it all you will really need a couple days.
The Enchanted Highway
Located a few miles East of Dickinson, North Dakota is a small road that has been named the Enchanted Highway by the locals. We saw it advertised as we drove on I-94 and decided to take a little time to drive the 32 mile road that leads to the small farming town of Regent, North Dakota. The Enchanted Highway is a collection of the World’s largest scrap metal sculptures. They are huge metal sculptures along a scenic road through farm country. The creator of the sculptures wants people to visit his small town and built the sculptures to get people to come. You will see flying geese, deer jumping a fence, grasshoppers. giant fish, Teddy Roosevelt, giant pheasants, and a giant tin family. The tour is very well designed and at each stop there is information about the sculptures, a place for children to play like the metal maze at the Deer Crossing sculpture and a sign letting you know how far the next sculpture is. You can see the large sculptures for miles as you approach them. It was exciting seeing what was to come next. The tour ends in the little town of Regent where there is a gift shop for the highway where you can buy models and other souvenirs. It was an exciting and nice drive 32 mile drive to Regent and something that is worth taking the detour.
Tips and other sites to visit
While North Dakota might not be on many people’s radar it really should be. There is a lot of history and it is a place you can really get away from the stressful big city life in the wide open lands of the state. We especially enjoyed it as we had been stuck at home for many days due to Covid-19 as we stayed at home for the most part. While we saw a lot in North Dakota there are many other sites to see. Not far from Fort Mandan you can visit an important trading site at Fort Clark State Historic Site. Near Fort Clark you could visit the Knife River Indian Village National Historic Site. A 2.5 hour drive from Bismark you could visit the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Site where you can tour an actual former US Nuclear missile site. There are quite a few other sites to see as well. When going to North Dakota if you fly you will really need to rent a car to get to all the sites. Bismark is a good place to fly into as its central in the state. Bismark is very easy to get around in since its very compact. The people of North Dakota are very friendly and we really enjoyed our time there. We would like to go back someday and encourage you to visit North Dakota!