Recreation and Places of Interest

North Dakotans participate in a variety of winter sports. These include skating, sleighing, and tobogganing. Ski trails and tows are being opened at various locations in the state, and the larger cities hold winter sports carnivals. People are also attracted to annual summer pageants depicting historical events associated with North Dakota and to the numerous agricultural fairs in the state.

The state’s many wildlife refuges (more than any other state) offer bountiful opportunities to observe animals. Bison, antelope, and bighorn sheep can frequently be seen, as can the hundreds of different species of birds that make the state home.

National Parks

The two units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park encompass 28,509 hectares (70,447 acres) of rugged Badlands. Inside the park, near Amidon, is an area where burning underground coal beds emit an intense heat through a fissure in the earth’s surface. Prehistoric plant and animal fossils, as well as several petrified forests, are found at this location. Buttes, domes, and cones that resisted erosion rise up on both sides of the Little Missouri River. Mineral deposits cause these rock towers to cast hues of lavender, green, yellow, and red.

The Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, near Stanton, contains the location of large Native American villages encountered during the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. The Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is a reconstruction of the fort that was the major trading center of the northern plains in the early 1800s.

International Peace Garden, which lies partly in North Dakota and partly in Manitoba, Canada, features a formal garden, lakes, and picnic areas and honors the long friendship between the two nations. It is operated by a nonprofit corporation.

Two national grasslands, Sheyenne and Little Missouri, are strongholds for dozens of wildlife species. Sheyenne, located in the southeastern portion of the state, is well known as a stopping ground for migratory songbirds. Little Missouri grassland is located on North Dakota’s western border. There are 17 national wildlife refuges and preserves dotted across the state. One of the country’s biggest game preserves is Sully’s Hill, where bison, elk, and deer can be seen in their natural environment.

State Parks

Most of North Dakota’s 16 state parks have picnicking and camping facilities. Several others offer fishing opportunities. The wooded Turtle River State Park attracts visitors with its many lakes ideal for swimming and boating.

State Forests

While usually thought of as a prairie state, a variety of trees grow in North Dakota’s four state forests. The aspen, bur oak, green ash, and balsam poplar that grow in Homen and Turtle Mountain state forests are ideal habitat for moose and deer, as well as a variety of smaller creatures. Tetrault Woods State Forest is a mixture of woods and wetlands, while Sheyenne State Forest is dominated by hardwoods such as elm, green ash, and oak.

Museums

Two well-known museums are the museum of the State Historical Society at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, and the University of North Dakota Zoology Museum, in Grand Forks. The society’s museum houses exhibits relating to North Dakota’s Native Americans and pioneers, and the university’s museum has natural history exhibits. The Geographical Center Historical Museum, at Rugby, is located on the site of the geographical center of the North American continent. The State Historical Society and a number of county historical societies maintain small museums in several cities.

Other Places to Visit

Garrison Dam and Lake Sakakawea are of great interest to visitors, as are the rich oil fields at Fryburg. A noteworthy historic site is the Château de Mores, the lodge of the Marquis de Mores, in the village of Medora, which was founded by the marquis in 1883. The state historic site at Fort Abercrombie contains restored infantry blockhouses dating from pioneer days, and Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site enshrines the site where a particularly fierce battle occurred between the Native Americans and United States Cavalry forces. The restored boyhood home of band leader Lawrence Welk can be visited in Strasburg. North America’s tallest structure, at 629 m (2,063 ft), is the television tower near Blanchard, north of Fargo. Native American tribes have opened gambling casinos in several areas.

Source: MSN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia