Welcome to North Dakota

There’s a magnetic kind of beauty to North Dakota’s wide-open plains and flowing, windswept grasslands. This may be one of the least populated states in the country, but that only means you have fewer crowds to deal with when you saunter into museums, restaurants or visitor centers.

Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown and Dickinson are what pass for big city life up here, and they’re all conveniently strung together along Interstates 94 and 29 like bulbs on a string of Christmas lights. Hopping from one to the other is quick, easy and direct.

Bismarck and Fargo in particular are popular landing spots for tourists looking to explore the best the Roughrider State has to offer. In Bismarck, you’ll find highlights like the Dakota Zoo, the State Capitol Building and the Superslide Amusement Park. In Fargo, popular spots include the Red River Zoo, Roger Maris Museum and Bonanzaville USA.

Further afield, you can zip northward to the town of Rugby and stand at the exact geographical center of North America. The spot is marked by a 21-foot-tall stone monument. Even farther northward, on either side of the border with neighboring Manitoba, is the International Peace Garden. When you enter, you’re neither in the United States nor Canada. The garden sprawls across more than 2,300 acres and is home to restaurants, water gardens walking trails.

Adventure

From badlands to flatlands, North Dakota’s landscapes can be both surreal and mesmerizingly wide open. The legendary Great Plains dominate most of the state, along with the Drift Prairie and the flatter-than-it-sounds Red River Valley.

The Roughrider State is home to some of the finest parks and recreation areas in the country. Topping the list has to be Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. It was here, in 1883, that a young Roosevelt arrived and fell forever in love with the region’s rugged landscapes. To the north, the Fort Union Trading Post preserves one of the state’s early commerce centers.

The nearby Little Missouri Grasslands is another popular spot. Here, more than half a million acres of protected wilderness are home to an abundance of wildlife. The grasslands sit on the border between the Badlands and the prairie, creating a landscape that’s easy to explore.