6 unexpected experiences you can have in North Dakota

Inching up to the border with Canada – and sandwiched between Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota – North Dakota has a remote location that leaves it relatively untapped by travellers. A road trip through this typical Midwestern state will reveal rolling farmland, quaint small towns and wide open space – but there are plenty of surprises besides that. You’ll also find artsy attractions, important Native American heritage sites and one of the most underrated national parks in the country. Here are six experiences you shouldn’t miss.

North Dakota’s largest city packs an artistic punch. Begin at the Plains Art Museum, whose 4,000 object-strong collection champions the work of regional creatives and nationally renowned artists including Fritz Scholder, Frank Big Bear and James Rosenquist. Rosenquist’s proud “North Dakota Mural” – featuring starry skies, stalks of wheat and bold animal iconography – is a highlight of the permanent collection. Springtime brings the Indigenous Art Fair, which draws Native artisans from across the Midwest: shop for colourful quillwork, jewellery and fine art and feast on traditional foods such as frybread.

Fargo has a thriving DIY arts scene too. Make time to visit Parachigo, an alternative arts hub featuring local paintings and crafts, which also doubles as a performance space and tattoo shop. Downtown at Broadway Square, the regular Folkways Night Bazaar sees local vendors hawk art prints and handmade jewellery accompanied by food trucks and live music.

Evidence of human habitation in North Dakota dates back some 10,000 years and today there are five federally recognised tribes in the state.

Among them is the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, or the Three Affiliated Tribes, situated on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, just west of the state’s centre. The Reservation is rich in experiences for travellers: begin at the MHA Interpretive Center, which opened in 2021 and offers a deep-dive into tribal history and culture. It’s worth booking a guided tour with a docent, who’ll lead you through exhibitions showcasing everything from early tools to traditional regalia.

A few hours’ drive to the southeast, you’ll find the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, which preserves the location of a historic Indigenous settlement, originally occupied by the Hidatsa and Mandan peoples (depressions show where earth lodge dwellings would once have been). Today you’ll also find a visitor centre filled with history exhibits, plus a reconstructed earth lodge and village.

Towards the east of the state, Fort Totten State Historic Site is another essential stop. Constructed in 1867, the fort served a time as a Native American boarding school (an institution intended to “assimilate” Indigenous peoples into Euro-American cultures and lifeways). Today the history is retold through exhibits including narratives from members of the Spirit Lake Tribe.

You could also time your trip for the United Tribes International Powwow, held during the second weekend of September. Indigenous tribes from across the nation gather in the North Dakota capital of Bismark for several days of singing, drumming and dancing contests, art and craft markets and food such as buffalo burgers.

Roaming bison, rippling prairies and rocky badlands – remote Theodore Roosevelt National Park protects a wild stretch of western North Dakota. The park is divided into three units: South, North and Elkhorn Ranch. It’s in the latter that you’ll find the foundations of the cabin where the park’s namesake – America’s 26th president, known for his commitment to conservation – once lived.

Quieter than its southern counterpart, the North Unit has a dramatic badlands landscape that’s revealed with a wiggling 23km Scenic Drive. The crescendo is the Oxbow Overlook, offering views over a dramatic meander in the Little Missouri River.

Wild horses wander the South Unit, which is easily accessible from Medora, a classic Western town home to the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

There’s no better place for a seminar in state history than the sprawling North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck. Galleries cover everything from North Dakota’s geological history (spanning a 600-million-year period) to the state’s rich Indigenous heritage (evidence of human habitation in the state dates back some 13,000 years). Collection highlights include a life-sized T-rex cast; “Dakota”, a rare duck-billed dinosaur fossil that’s 67 million years old; and a gargantuan (3.7m) sea turtle called an Archelon. Notice the impressive architecture of the museum’s glass atrium, too: it’s designed to resemble an earthlodge, a typical style of home for many of the Great Plains tribes.

Almost 40% of North Dakota’s population has Scandinavian roots and this heritage is celebrated in Minot, in the northerly reaches of the state. Learn more at the city’s Scandinavian Heritage Park, where the striking Stave Church, a replica of a church in Gol, Norway, looms over the landscape. The giant and colourful Swedish Dala Horse is another highlight. Minot also hosts the Norsk Hostfest, a cultural event with a packed roster of concerts (everything from folk to country), markets selling Nordic crafts (from mittens to stuffed trolls), and displays of traditional costume. You’ll feast on delicacies such as meatballs and sweet Danish pastries too.

This flora-filled garden doubles as a significant cultural site. Dating back to 1932, the garden – which feeds across the Canadian border, just north of Dunseith – was established as a symbol of the important and peaceful relationship between the United States and Canada. Highlights include the striking Carillon Bell Tower, a conservatory filled with cacti and succulents, and acres of formal gardens bright with some 80,000 flowers.