Today in History revisits the Sunday, June 28, 1981 edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story from Mike Jacobs who outlined an 8-day road trip across North Dakota. Jacobs highlighted key attractions in each region—lakes, historic sites, wildlife refuges, scenic drives, and cultural landmarks. The tour emphasizes the state’s natural beauty, history, agriculture, and tourism, starting and ending in Grand Forks with approximately 1,200 miles of travel.
Around the state in 8 days
By Mike Jacobs, Herald Staff Writer (Mike Jacobs later served as the publisher and editor of the Grand Forks Herald, and was a part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of the 1997 Grand Forks flood.)
Not enough North Dakotans see enough of North Dakota.
That’s what Gov. Allen I. Olson thinks. To emphasize the point, he issued an official proclamation urging North Dakotans to explore their state this summer.
To help out, I’ve prepared a tour. It is personal, of course. These are places I’ve visited and enjoyed.
I have emphasized scenery, history, wildlife, agriculture, and industry.
This tour would take you to every part of North Dakota from the Red River Valley to the Badlands. Unfortunately, it doesn’t reach all the state’s attractions. There isn’t time for that in just eight days.
This tour starts and ends in Grand Forks. The routes suggested mean about 1,200 miles of driving.
Tour reaches many ND attractions
Lake Region
It won’t be hard to spend a day exploring the Devils Lake area.
• The lake itself is the largest natural lake in North Dakota. Recent wet years have restored and freshened the lake, making it among the hottest fishing spots within a day’s drive of Grand Forks. You can rent a boat or try your luck from public access areas along the shore.
• A plaque near Highway 19 in the city of Devils Lake marks the landing place of the steamship Minnie H., once the premier paddlewheeler on Devils Lake. Along Highway 20, which crosses the lake, a marker shows the changing levels of the lake.
• At Ziebach Pass off Highway 19 is one of the first recreation areas established as part of the Garrison Diversion project. Fishing and camping are available.
• Fort Totten on the lake’s south shore is the best-preserved cavalry post in the trans-Mississippi West. The fort was established in 1874 and the present buildings of locally-made brick were erected in 1886. The town of Fort Totten is headquarters for the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe.
• Nearby is Sully’s Hill National Game Preserve, where native big game animals like elk, buffalo and deer can be seen. The preserve is also an excellent place to see a wide variety of birds.
Routes: U.S. Highway 2 from Grand Forks to Devils Lake. North Dakota Highways 19, 20 and 57 and county roads in the Lake Region. Camping at Lakewood Park and Ziebach Pass. Motels in Devils Lake.
Peace Garden
You can make several stops enroute from the Lake Region to the Turtle Mountains:
• Minnewaukan, the county seat of Benson County, once stood on the west shore of Devils Lake and was a regular port-of-call for lake steamers. Now, a marshy area locally called “Minnewaukan Flats” separates the lake and the town.
• Near Esmond is Buffalo Lake Recreation Area, a pleasant place for picnicking or camping.
• A stone cairn at Rugby marks the approximate geographical center of North America.
In the Turtle Mountains, there is a choice of activities:
• The International Peace Garden is advertised on North Dakota license plates. The best time to see them is in August, when all the flowers are in bloom.
• Probably no area in the state has more summer activities than the Peace Garden, where an international music camp offers concerts and other activities several times a week.
• Lake Metigoshe is the largest of hundreds of lakes in the Turtle Mountains. At Lake Metigoshe State Park are hiking trails and camping areas. Turtle Mountain Provincial Park in Manitoba also has camping and hiking.
• The North Dakota Forest Service has marked trails and established camping sites in the Turtle Mountains, often less crowded than the state park and Peace Gardens.
Routes: State Highway 57 from Devils Lake to Fort Totten and junction of U.S. Highway 281. U.S. Highway 281 to Minnewaukan. State Highway 19 to junction State Highway 3. State Highway 3 through Rugby to International Peace Garden. County roads in Turtle Mountain area. Motels in Bottineau.
The Missouri
From the Turtle Mountains, your route passes through Bottineau, east of Bottineau County and home of Turtle Mountain, advertised as the world’s largest turtle made of a snowmobile.
• The Bottineau Branch of North Dakota State University, generally known as the State School of Forestry, is located at the northeast edge of town.
• J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge near Upham is a major waterfowl breeding and nesting area. Prairie birds threatened by the plow also find a stronghold. An elk trail winds through the refuge. There is also a canoe trail on the Souris River.
• Each year, the North Dakota State Fair is held in Minot. The exact fair dates are July 17 through 25. Minot is North Dakota’s fourth largest city and in many ways, is a twin to Grand Forks. North of the city is Minot Air Force Base, a town. Minot State College, the state’s third-largest institution of higher learning is downtown in Roosevelt Park near the fairgrounds.
• South of Minot is the Snake Creek Embankment, part of Garrison Reservoir. The embankment is north of Audubon. Snake Creek Pumping Plant tours and other Garrison Diversion project tours are available.
• Audubon National Wildlife Refuge – famous for its nesting waterfowl and bird painter – has along the south shore of Lake Audubon, an art gallery in the federal refuge system designed to display originals of waterfowl. An auto tour route winds along the lake shore. Among the birds nesting here was a pair of least terns, once thought to be extinct.
• Lake Sakakawea near Riverdale holds back 29 million acre feet of water. It has more than 1,300 miles of shoreline. Tours of the dam and of the power plant are available at Riverdale. The reservoir is called Lake Sakakawea in honor of the Sho- shone Indian woman who helped guide Lewis and Clark from this area to the Pacific Ocean.
• Downstream, at the Garrison Tail- race, is another hot fishing spot. Those who want to see fish without catching them can tour the National Fish Hatchery below the dam. It is operat- ed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice.
• The McClusky Canal, designed to move water from Lake Audubon to ir- rigation areas as part of the Garrison Diversion project, can be seen from State Highway 200 or State Highway 41 near Turtle Lake.
• Near Stanton is Knife River Indi- an Villages National Historic Site. Here, the National Park Service has identified several towns once occupied by the agricultural tribes of the Mis- souri Valley. These villages were flourishing at the time of Lewis and Clark’s visit and the explorers spent much time in them.
• The actual site of Fort Mandan, where Lewis and Clark spent the win- ter of 1804-05 has been eroded by the Missouri River, but a replica has been built near Washburn. Washburn is one of North Dakota’s energy boom towns and actually looks like two cities: the older, river front town and the newer energy boom town. Dominating the skyline is the McLean County court- house. At Washburn is the Sioux, the last ferry to operate on the Missouri River, and the log cabin used by Jo- seph Henry Taylor, an authentic North Dakota character. Taylor came to North Dakota to “tap beaver” and stayed to become a pioneer newspaper editor and the author of several books. He sometimes claimed to be the state’s first Democrat.
• Fort Clark was an important fur trading post on the Missouri. The State Historical Society maintains a historic site here. A resident guide will give you a tour complete with Indian lores.
Routes: State Highway 5 to Bottin- eau, State Highway 14 from Bottineau to Towner, U.S. Highway 2 to Minot, U.S. Highway 83 to Washburn and State Highway 200A to Fort Clark and Stanton. Motels in Washburn, Gari- son, Hazen and Beulah. Camping at Fort Stevenson and Lake Sakakawea State Parks.
Badlands
Your route goes west from Stanton through North Dakota’s coal country.
• Hazen and Beulah, like Washburn, are energy boom towns. The Coyote Station, operated by Montana Dakota Utilities Company, is south of Beulah. American Natural Resources Company hopes to build the nation’s first commercial coal gasification plant north of the town.
• Near Halliday, you enter the state’s oil area. Throughout the West, oil development is going on at a rapid pace. Drilling rigs and oil pumps can be seen along most highways.
• The buttes dominating the western skyline are the Killdeer Mountains. A major Indian battle took place near here in 1864. Legend tells that the Indians, refugees from white settle- ment in Minnesota, escaped Gen. Alfred Sully by climbing into the Medicine Hole, a cave on South Killdeer Mountain. By following local road signs, you can reach the foot of a mile-long hiking trail that leads to the Medicine Hole (now plugged by rocks thrown into it by earlier tourists) and the top of the butte. From here, there is a panoramic view of badlands, prairie and Lake Sakakawea in the distance.
• Little Missouri Bay State Park offers camping, hiking and horseback riding. (Horses can be hired.)
• State Highway 22 may be the prettiest drive in the state. It winds through badlands north of Killdeer to the Lost Bridge over the Little Missouri River. The bridge was built before the highway reached this point hence the name.
• Watford City, seat of McKenzie County, is a western ranching town whose population has been swelled by the oil boom. Take time to drive around the town. You’ll find its flavor quite different than towns further east. There are different styles of buildings, even different kinds of trees growing along the streets.
• The North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a good place to explore the Badlands. There is an excellent scenic highway with many interpretive stops, a good campground, hiking trails and nature walks. Wild- life is abundant. One of three federally-designated wilderness areas in North Dakota is in the park.
Routes: State Highway 200 from Stanton to Killdeer, State Highway 22 from Killdeer to junction State High- way 73, State Highway 73 to State Highway 23, State Highway 23 to Watford City, U.S. Highway 85 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Motels in Watford City, camping in the national park.
Medora
Medora is North Dakota’s best- known tourist attraction and offers many historic, scenic, educational and commercial attractions.
• The headquarters of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is here. There is a visitor’s center at the north edge of town with a museum and small shop where you can buy nature guides and history books. A reconstruction of the cabin Theodore Roosevelt used while he ranched in the Badlands is nearby.
• A 30-mile loop road in the South Unit of the park passes prairie dog towns, a burning coal vein and Buck Hill, the park’s highest point. You also may see buffalo, wild horses, deer and golden eagles. Early morning and evening are the best times to see wildlife.
• Just south of Medora is the Chateau DeMores, a palace built by a French entrepreneur who hoped to make a fortune raising cattle in the Badlands. The remains of his slaughterhouse are a historic site.
• Among nearby points of interest is Sentinel Butte, the highest point in North Dakota accessible by car. A fine view of the Badlands and prairie, stretching into Montana, is available at the top.
Routes: U.S. Highway 85 to Inter- state 94, Interstate 94 to Medora and Sentinel Butte. Camping areas provided by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the North Dakota Park Service and private businesses. Motels in Medora.
Capitol City
There are several stops possible en- route to Bismarck.
• At Belfield is the Fort Houston Museum, an incredible collection of relics from the military and settlement frontiers.
• Dickinson is North Dakota’s sixth largest city and one of the centers of the oil boom. It offers attractive city parks, shopping and dining. Nearby is Patterson Lake, a reservoir on the Heart River. It is the city’s only source of water.
• At New Salem is the world’s largest Holstein cow, another example of promotional sculpture.
• South of Mandan is Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. Here are the ruins of Fort Abraham Lincoln where George Armstrong Custer was sta- tioned when he left for the Little Big Horn. Fort McKeen, a cavalry post, is on the bluffs above Fort Lincoln. Three of its blockhouses have been re- stored. Also at the park is the restored Slant Indian Village, a Mandan Indian town. Headquarters of the North Dakota Park Service is at Fort Abraham Lincoln and there is a good interpre- tive museum and a park store. Camping and hiking are available, too.
• The confluence of the Heart and Missouri Rivers is within the park. This is a popular fishing spot. Canoes are available for rent in several Bismarck and Mandan stores, so you can explore the confluence area.
• In Bismarck, visit the state Capitol. Be sure to approach the building from the south to appreciate its majestic tower and the beautiful grounds. Tours of the building are offered seven days a week. State offices — and many state officials — welcome visiters during working hours. To the east of the Capitol are the new state office building, housing the state Supreme Court, and the Highway Building.
• Also on the capitol grounds is the new state Heritage Center. Temporary exhibits are in place, but many of the state’s historic treasures are in storage waiting for interpretive displays to be completed.
• Museum buffs may also want to visit Camp Hancock in downtown Bismarck. The camp was among the earliest military posts in the state.
• Dakota Zoo is in Sertoma Park in south Bismarck. It is the home of Clyde, advertised as the world’s largest Kodiak bear. The zoo has a good collection of native animals, too.
Routes: Interstate 94. Camping at Mandan city park, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park or private camp- grounds. Motels in Bismarck and Mandan.
Pothole Area
The route from Bismarck to Grand Forks will take you through North Dakota’s pothole country, among the nation’s best waterfowl producing areas.
• At Crystal Springs is an attractive prairie lake fed by fresh-water springs. One of them on a county high- way north of the lake has been developed and was a popular resting place for travelers before the interstate highway completed.
• Jamestown, the state’s fifth-largest city, has the world’s largest buffalo and a reconstructed pioneer town. It is also the home of Jamestown College, one of two private colleges in North Dakota. The other, Mary College, is near Bismarck.
• North of Jamestown is Arrow- wood National Wildlife Refuge. Its chain of lakes and marshes, formed by low dams on the James River, offer shelter to many water birds and the uplands along the river have fine examples of native prairie. There is a self-guiding auto trail. Refuge head- quarters is east of Edmunds on a good gravel road. On the east shore of Arrowwood Lake is an attractive picnic area with a spring.
Routes: Interstate 94 from Bismarck to Jamestown. U.S. Highways 52 and 281 to Edmunds, county road to Arrowwood National Wildlife Ref- uge. Motels in Jamestown and Carrington. Camping at Jamestown and Pipestem Reservoirs.
The Valley
This is the last day of the tour of North Dakota and it will end at home in Grand Forks, heart of the Red River Valley.
• Mayville is one of North Dakota’s most attractive small cities. It is a midwestern town and a drive through it will reveal many contrasts with Watford City.
• Mayville State College is located here. The railroad depot, built in 1897, houses a historical museum. Like many other towns in this part of the state, Mayville celebrates its 100th birthday this year.
• Aviator and explorer Carl Ben Eilson was born and raised at Hatton and the community maintains two memorials to him, an arch and a museum. The museum is in the Andrew Ness house, a pioneer mansion.
• Throughout this trip, you’ll see evidence of North Dakota’s agricultural wealth. This is nowhere more evident than in the fields of sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets, pinto beans and wheat that line the roads through the Red River Valley.
Routes: From Jamestown, State Highway 20 to Glenfield, State Highway 200 to Mayville and junction Interstate 29. Interstate 29 to Grand Forks and home.
