North Dakota

Find Native American heritage, year-round outdoor activities and a friendly atmosphere in this northern U.S. state. 

North Dakota is a sparsely populated northern U.S. state, meaning you’ll generally have uncrowded access to its tourism opportunities. The largest city, Fargo, offers much more than the snow and cold featured in the film satire, Fargo.

Test your driving skills in Fargo’s Scheels NASCAR Simulator. Go to Bonanzaville to view 400,000 artifacts in 43 historic buildings. Explore special museums for tractors, airplanes and automobiles. Like Hollywood, Fargo has a Celebrity Walk of Fame with handprints of stars including Debbie Reynolds and Jesse Ventura. Visit the Red River Zoo to see rare cold climate species. Be sure to watch Fargo before you visit the city to get familiar with the weather, accent and wood-chipper jokes that you’re likely to encounter.

See the unique Northern Lights Atrium of the North Dakota Heritage Centre and State Museum in Bismarck. The museum’s galleries track the state’s history from ancient dinosaur times through Early Peoples from 1550. Let kids play in the new Treehouse exhibit.

Fish in small lakes across the state for pike, walleye and perch. Go bird-watching during the spring migration in several of North Dakota’s 63 national wildlife refuges. Find loons, grebes, pelicans, herons and 100 other species nesting in the Turtle Mountains near Bottineau.

Try a different vacation trip with agritourism. Work on a farm, orchard, pumpkin patch or corn maze to learn about agriculture while enjoying hiking, biking and other outdoor activities.

Visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park to see sections of badlands with buttes and spires. The park recognizes the tremendous support that Teddy Roosevelt provided to the U.S. National Park Service. See his historic log cabin in the park’s visitor center.

Hockey is big in this northern state. See the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux play other great college teams in Grand Forks or look for a local rink for outdoor family skating.

If you’re in North Dakota in early October, attend the Norsk Høstfest in Minot to sample a smorgasbord of Scandinavian foods. Lutefisk might be too smelly, but the desserts are delightful.