9 Legendary North Dakota Places to Bring the Family

Looking for a legendary way to spend your summer? North Dakota is the place to go! Here are nine of our favorite hot spots to spend a sunny day in the Roughrider State.

Dakota Dinosaur Museum - Dickinson

Roaming the halls of dinosaur bones never goes astray with our children. The fact that many of the dinosaurs in the Dakota Dinosaur Museum were found locally adds an awesome twist to this great adventure in learning and makes it a stop we love to make when we are in the Dickinson area.

There is a children's corner, which is a fun place to sit and take a break from the excitement, and a park outside for running around on the grass after.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for kids 3-12. Watch your dates, though - the museum closes for the season on Labor Day.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of our favorite places for wildlife viewing in North Dakota. Bison roam freely, which is usually the only kind of traffic you will encounter. We were excited to learn that 186 species of birds call the park home, too! How many can you spot? And don't forget the Prairie Dog Town! Watching the black-tailed prairie dogs is well worth the hike.

There is lots more to see, too. Drive the scenic loop, check out the visitors centers, and lots more.

There are two units of the park - the North Unit is located 14 miles south of Watford City on Highway 85, and the South Unit is accessible from exits 24 and 27 off Interstate 94, near the Montana border.

Entrance is $20 per vehicle, or use your National Park Pass.

Tip: If you don't already have a National Park Pass, we highly recommend it - it is a bargain at $80 and gets you into national parks for a year. We make a point of visiting national parks whenever we can, and the experiences are well worth it!

North Dakota Heritage Center

For learning about the history of this beautiful state, no location has more to offer than the North Dakota Heritage Center, on the capitol grounds in Bismarck. There are thousands of exhibits chronicling the state, including art, interactive exhibits, and lots of technology. In addition, learn about the energy development that is currently evolving the state into a destination for workers from across the globe.

Plan to stay a while, and pop into the James River Cafe for a bite to eat midway through. As you are leaving, be sure to look up - you are standing next to the tallest building in North Dakota! You are more than welcome to walk the grounds, which are a part of the capitol's Arboretum Trail.

Knife River Indian Village

Spanning nearly 1,800 acres near Hazen, the Knife River Indian Village is the place to go to see archaeological remains from the Northern Plains Indians. We love to explore the exhibits, including going inside the earthlodges we had previously only seen in books. There are lots of tools and other items to see, and the ranger talks are very informative.

In addition to the Native American history, Lewis and Clark came through here in October of 1804, camping nearby at Fort Mandan, so this free site is a fun place to add to your Lewis and Clark knowledge.

International Peace Gardens

The International Peace Gardens have a little something for a range of tastes. With historical sites, beautiful flowers, an interpretive center and so much more, there is sure to be something to please everyone in the family. Plus there is lots of room to run off some energy! Take the time to explore one of the park's many hiking trails, wander through the Formal Garden, or wander through the peace poles to read "May Peace Prevail" in 28 different languages.

Located near Dunseith on the border between North Dakota and Manitoba, the Peace Gardens are a symbol of the relationship between two countries. The park is sprawling - check out this map to plan your visit.

A daily pass is $15, and a season pass is $30.

Note that you are crossing through Canadian customs on the way back from the park, so bring along the family's passports to make for smooth sailing. If you don't have passports, photo ID is required, and you may spend a little extra time at the crossing.

National Buffalo Museum

Jamestown, North Dakota is home to the National Buffalo Museum, a can't-miss stop along I-95. The bison (or American buffalo) played a significant part in the area's history, and this site offers the opportunity to learn more through a series of exhibits and artifacts.

Plus there is a live herd, featuring the only true albino bison in the world, named White Cloud. And of course the world's largest buffalo! The 26-foot tall concrete bison, weighing more than 60 tons, has been standing over Jamestown since 1959.

There is also a frontier village and gift shop. The museum is $5 for adults.

Geographical Center of North America

Have you ever wondered where the geographical center of North America is located? If you're driving along Highway 2, you'll soon learn it is in Rugby, North Dakota. Everyone needs to pile out of the car and take the obligatory family photo next to the 15 foot obelisk that marks the site!

Fort Union and Fort Buford

This is really three sites in one. Start by checking out the Confluence Center, located at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers 20 miles west of Williston. The center features traveling exhibits (at a charge of $5 per adult and $2.50 per child, which also includes Fort Buford), and a beautiful view of the rivers.

Next door, explore Fort Buford State Historic Site, the remnants of a military fort built in 1866. There is a stone powder magazine, cemetery site, and an officers quarters building, where visitors can now explore a museum. A few times a year, there are also reenactments at the fort, which are a special treat.

Fort Union Trading Post is a few miles to the west, on the border with Montana. The fort was an important fur trade post between 1828 and 1867, and is filled with interesting nooks and crannies to scope out. Watch a blacksmith hammer out a horse shoe, climb to the top of the fort and look out over the river, and visit the exhibits inside the Bourgeois house on the site where seven Native American tribes traded buffalo furs and smaller furs for goods from around the world. During the summer months there are often tepees set up out front, for added interest. 

Medora

A list of North Dakota attractions wouldn't be complete without mentioning historic Medora, located near the western edge of the state. Options for a real cowboy-inspired experience abound. Check out the website to learn more.

If you have an evening to spare, don't miss the pitchfork fondue or the Medora Musical!

Where have your North Dakota adventures taken you? Share your favorite spots in the comments, we'd love to read them!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by North Dakota Tourism. All of the opinions expressed are our own!

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Utah: Junior Ranger at Great Salt Lake Marina

At five, the best thing in the world may very well be to become a Junior Ranger. Every state and national park we visit, Bria checks with the staff to see if they have a program.

During our stop at Great Salt Lake State Marina outside of Salt Lake City, she was so excited to find they did!

Junior Ranger programs teach children to "Explore, Learn and Protect" our National Parks. The programs are activity-based, usually including a park-specific workbook filled with ways to learn about the park.

The workbook at the Great Salt Lake Marina included some sensory activities that were a big hit (sit quietly and look, listen, smell, etc. then write down what you sensed), along with a word search, drawing, and bird identifying. These booklets are a fantastic way to move from the backseat to fully engaged in the environment.

Children complete a set number of activities based on their age (younger children do a few pages of the booklet, older children complete the entire thing), along with additional interactive activities. Sometimes they are asked to pick up litter, or attend a ranger talk.

While she was exploring, she even made friends with a small snake!

After doing all of the outside activities, she moved inside to view a movie about the Great Salt Lake (she was very intrigued by the concept of being able to float in the water without swimming), then shared her answers with the Park Ranger.

Following the execution of the Junior Ranger oath, she was awarded a badge and congratulated on her new role. She is always proud to add a new badge to her collection!

Junior Ranger programs are almost always free (we have once or twice run into ones that required a small donation - Yellowstone, for example), and are an excellent way to build curiosity in young travelers.

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Wyoming: Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

There’s nothing quite like a remarkable feat of nature to bring out the “oohs” and “aahs” from the family, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, straddling the border of Wyoming and Montana, is fantastically remarkable.

Considering the other well-known parks in the area (yes, Yellowstone, I’m looking at you), Bighorn is often spoken of as a treasure waiting to be discovered. Covering more than 120,000 acres, the park features a 55 mile long canyon. It is a breathtaking marvel, more than 1,000 feet deep at Devil’s Overlook, where we stopped to stretch our legs and explore a bit of history in the strata.

Researchers have found Upper Jurassic Period fossils, fossil tracks, and bones in the park, which piqued the imagination of our dinosaur lovers. Among the discoveries was the remains of Pleistocene animals in debris piles at cave entrances.

There are living animals in the park, too, of course. Wildlife in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area includes bighorn sheep, wild horses, coyotes, mule deer, snakes, small mammals, mountain lions, bears, and more than 200 bird species. According to the park’s website, the 39,000-acre Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, about one-fifth of which lies within Bighorn Canyon National Park, provides habitat for sheep and for approximately 160 wild horses managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

In addition to wildlife, the park features a wide variety of recreational opportunities. There are picturesque hikes, and water activities abound. Camping is available within the park, along with fishing, boating, and more to explore. It’s also a great place to stretch your legs and take in some beauty on your way between the Black Hills and Yellowstone.

By the way, if you’re thinking the children seem to have shrunk a little, you’re right – the photos shared here are a throwback from our 2010 summer vacation.

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Montana: Have a Dinosaur Adventure in Makoshika State Park in Glendive

The largest state park in Montana, Makoshika sits on 11,538 acres located just east of Glendive, Montana, in the eastern part of the state on Interstate 94. Follow the signs through Glendive to get there – it is well marked, but does involve a couple of turns in residential areas.

Pronounced Mah-koh’-shi-kah, the park draws its name from a Lakota phrase meaning “land of bad spirits” or “badlands.” The rock formations of this beautiful landscape are well worth the stop.

Visit in summer for Shakespeare in the Park, a summer youth program, or Buzzard Day. Or follow our lead, and go when the park is quiet, to enjoy the real untouched feel of the Montana wilderness. Pack a picnic, or head back into town for reasonably priced eats.

This part of the country is well-known for dinosaur discoveries, and this spot is a great one to learn more about that. Ten species have been found here, and one highlight of the displays in the visitor center is that all of the fossils on display were actually found right there in the park. What a terrific way to spur the imagination! Check out the visitor center, and then head off to make your own discoveries. Imagine yourself as an archaeologist, finding the bones of Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops.

As with all state and national parks, it is important to remind children of the adage: “Take only pictures and leave only footprints.” No souvenirs for the road, and the park does ask that you leave your metal detector at home.

There are several options for enjoying Makoshika, including a six-mile loop of scenic roads, dotted with great spots to pull off and take breathtaking photos. Hiking trails abound, so be sure to bring along sturdy shoes and a bottle of water. In addition, there is camping, and adisc golf course, which is how we chose to spend our afternoon.

Looking for wildlife? Makoshika will not disappoint. Depending on the season, you might find sage lizards, bull snakes, rattle snakes, coyotes, bobcats, muledeer, and turkey vultures.

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Fort Union National Historic Site

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, 23 miles from Williston, North Dakota on the Montana border, is a beautiful and educational place to spend a fall afternoon with the family.

We made the trek over on Sunday afternoon with our four children and had a good time exploring the buildings, checking out the displays in the Bourgeois House, and roaming through the grounds.

A trading post that operated from 1828 to 1867, Fort Union was one of the most vital on the Missouri. Seven Northern Plains Indian tribes traded furs for goods such as cloth, blankets, guns, blankets, cookware, and beads. The post traded over 25,000 buffalo robes and $100,000 of merchandise each year of its operation.

The post has been partially reconstructed, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. It is a great way to remember a period in American history where two cultures found common ground.

Park rangers are on hand to share the history of the site, and the location is often home to a variety of reenactors. (Check it out in June when history buffs converge on the area for the Rendezvous!)

After we climbed up the stairs to the lookout at the top of the fort wall, two of our daughters looked out over the Missouri River. 

Learning about the buildings that once stood in this part of Fort Union, which was made up of stores for a variety of purposes.

As we have mentioned in other posts, the Passport to National Parks has been one of our favorite investments. Here are our stamps from the visit -- one from Fort Union and one representing Lewis and Clark.

The view of Fort Union from the pathway up from the parking lot.

Walking through the front gate of Fort Union, looking at the flag pole and Bourgeois House. The area in between this door and the next one is a trading room, which allowed for trading without bringing outside people into the fort itself.

Williston Vacations

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Te Urewera National Park

Everyone was up and through the (amazing) shower a little later than expected, but soon enough we were on the road. We poked around Hastings looking for a geocache, but were unsuccessful, so decided to move on.

We drove along the Hawkes Bay Coast for a little way, then headed inland toward Te Urewera National Park. What a drive that was! We weren't far into the park when the pavement gave way to gravel roads, and other cars became fewer and farther between.

Te Urewera is the largest national park on the North Island. It also protects the largest area of native forest remaining on the island, and is home to nearly all species of the country's birds.

Filled with beautiful lakes, forest and mountains, the road was very (very) narrow, and winding. In some places we were making tight corners with a mountain beside us, blindly hoping no one was coming from the other way, and in other areas there was nothing between us and a steep drop to a valley below.

We had a picnic lunch in the van just before we reached beautiful Lake Waikarimoana, and met up with some Eastern European travelers headed out on a hike. According to what we read, the lake was formed 2200 years ago when a huge landslide blocked the Waikaretaheke River.

No one in our group had ever taken this drive, so I think it was a bit surprising, but interesting and different. We came out the other side and into Rotorua just after dark (which meant a juggle of the itinerary).

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Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

When we roadtrip, we usually try to make at least a few stops at National Parks, especially ones we have never visited before. Sometimes these little side jaunts are the most memorable parts of a trip. In fact, there are two investments our family has made that have proven to be among the most fulfilling. The first is our annual National Park pass. The second is the National Park Passport book. For less than $10, we record all of the places we have visited, including when. The kids get really into collecting the stamps in the book. We have actually had to purchase a second book, because parts of the first one filled up!

Today's agenda called for a drive to Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. It was a little bit out of the way, but the breathtaking views were definitely worth the extra time! Spectacular.

It was clear as we drove that we were leaving the hustle and bustle of a summer day behind and stumbling into something entirely different. Cars became fewer and farther between, and snow started to occasionally dot the grass beside us. 


Once inside the park we wandered along Rim Drive, the 33-mile stretch of road that climbs into the mountains and circles the strikingly blue lake. 

According the the Park Service, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, at 1,943 feet. Fed by rain and snow but no rivers or streams, it is also thought to be the cleanest large body of water in the world. No wonder it is so stunning!

We made a couple of stops, including one at the top of the road to get the best vantage point of the islands, and one at the visitor's center to get our passport book stamped and check out the displays.

After dinner at Abby's Pizza, we were moving into California as the sun set. Mt. Shasta guided our path, and soon we were in Redding, where we lay our heads for the night.

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