A few factors made today’s post different than the other states I’ve created travel lists for. First, North Dakota is one of the 5 least populated states in the US and second, unlike some other less populated states, North Dakota is neither small (looking at you, Vermont) nor densely covered with National Park sites. In fact, it only has one National Park – Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
I’m still excited to visit it just made things a little different as far as planning go. I had to focus more on little pockets as opposed to one statewide blanket. I have a friend to visit here, so as long as I make that happen, I’m doing great! Regardless, enjoy the list and next week I’ll go over it’s southern neighbor, South Dakota.
So Kitschy
I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I had no idea how filled with roadside attractions this state is! I always associate roadside attractions with Route 66 but wow, there are a lot in North Dakota. The Enchanted Highway is a great place to mention first. Its a short stretch of county highway – only 32 miles – but it packs in a lot to see.
There are 7 large sculptures along the roadside of Highway 21, starting with “Geese in Flight” and ending with the Enchanted Castle Gift Shop. There is currently also a sculpture under construction called “Knight and Dragon”. Each sculpture has a pull-off so you don’t have to try to catch a picture driving by. You can easily pull off, grab a pic, read about the sculpture, and be on your way without worrying about an accident.
That’s a quick way to check some roadside attractions off your list, but there’s also several other large roadside attractions. There’s Salem Sue, the world’s largest Holstein cow (there may be other large cows out there, but none of them are Holsteins). Next there is Dakota Thunder, which is the worlds largest buffalo, although I’ll argue that it’s actually a bison. Of course, we can’t forget Sandy, the world’s largest sandhill crane and Wahpeton Wahpper, the worlds largest catfish. That’s a lot of enormous animals!
Flowers and Gardens
I was pleasantly surprised that some of the places I kept seeing recommended to visit were simply gardens. I love being in nature, even if its cultivated nature, so I was excited to see these pop up. First up, did you know there is a garden along the US-Canadian Border dedicated to international peace? I didn’t! But there is and its (not so shockingly) called the International Peace Garden.
There is also a place called the Japanese Gardens, that offers a beautiful look into the style of Japanese gardening. Rainbow Garden hosts a plethora of brightly colored flowers. North Dakota is also home to many sprawling fields of sunflowers in so many varieties. Amongst all of these, I will definitely get my fill of flowers (and photo ops)!
National Parks
There are only 5 National Park sites in North Dakota. Three of them also span other states – Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, and the North Country National Scenic Trail. That leaves us with just two – Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site – that are exclusive to ND.
I have a friend who worked in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It’s been a few years since, but I’ve wanted to head up there to see her and I just didn’t get the chance. While she doesn’t work there any longer, I’m still excited to check it out. It seems like this park is an excellent place to get out and just go hiking. Sometimes you need an interactive park, other times its nice to simply to take in the beauty of nature. There is both a North and a South unit to explore within Theodore Roosevelt. Each consisting of several shorter hikes and of course, back country hiking for some longer time on the trail.
This National Park also boasts a population of “wild” horses that people get really excited about. They aren’t actually wild (just feral) as they weren’t native to the area, but it would be cool to spot some all the same. I was able to spot some at Mesa Verde National Park, too, but those are much fewer in number! If you’re there in September, it looks like they have a really cool program called Dakota Night Astronomy Festival. I won’t be able to make that this year, but it sounds like a really great time!
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site sounds like a really interesting place to visit, too. There are 3 village sites that you can walk to, as well as a reconstructed earth living space, and a traditional garden the Hidatsa people would have tended. The trail offers what sounds like lovely views of the Knife River and its convergence point with the Missouri River.
You can also catch the Lewis & Clark Riverboat to take a trip down the river. It’s actually a steamboat, which is so cool! I didn’t realize those existed outside of a very specific part of the country. According to their website, it looks like they host several different kinds of cruises – a sunset cruise sounds perfect, and you can also book dinner cruises for a bite to eat. You get not only food and sites, but you get to travel in historical footsteps on this riverboat!
North Dakota Food
Food in North Dakota seems like something I would only be able to get home made at someone’s house. My friend Heather was appalled not only that I hadn’t ever had Tater Tot Hotdish but that I hadn’t even heard of it. If I recall, she said hers is really good so I think it should be pretty easy to check that off the list of things to try. In addition to the hotdish (aka casserole), there are some common themes among the states food – rhubarb, choke cherry, and juneberry.
The chokecherry is the state fruit of North Dakota so, naturally, they like to make several delicacies out of the fruit. Wine is first on the list, and while I’m not much of a win gal, I’m down to try it, even moreso if its regional!
You can even find choke cherry ice cream at Pride Dairy. This creamery has been serving up ice cream since 1940. You can also get juneberry and strawberry rhubarb ice cream here. My experience with rhubarb in the past has not been a good once, so I’d like to get the flavor without the texture. I’m very excited to try all of these! Another ice cream based location would be Whirl-a-Whip. I’ve never heard of the place (or dish) before, but apparently, its like a Blizzard or McFlurry? What makes it even more special, however, is that not only can you choose your ice cream flavor, but you can choose from a bunch of different toppings including fresh fruits and various cake batters. Now that’s a treat!
If you didn’t get your fill of juneberry at Pride Dairy, you can also seek out Juneberry Jam. It’s a local delicacy and its even hand stirred. Last but not least, is Kuchen. This is also a new one for me. Apparently, in Minot, ND there is a café that serves an apricot-blueberry version of this custardy pie. I didn’t realize that most of the foods I was wanting to eat were desserts but when North Dakota calls, dessert it is!
Lots of things to do, even if the state is sparsely populated. Sometimes that even makes it easier to do the best things! Let me know what North Dakota food I should try down below!
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