North Dakota National Parks

North Dakota national parks offer visitors a cultural and natural history encompassing the 19th century fur trade, Native American history, and stories of those who explored this country. One President's zeal for protecting the environment is also celebrated through the protection of the land that inspired him.

Come Visit These North Dakota National Parks:

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site: The exchange of buffalo robes and furs for trade goods cemented a complementary relationship between fur traders and Indian tribes centered at Fort Union. In the trade exchange, each culture brought something of value to the other.

Fort Union Trading Post Weather

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site: Step into a reconstructed earthlodge and imagine boiling buffalo meat in a clay pot or pounding corn with a mortar and pestle. View the artistry of everyday and ceremonial clothing, bags, and implements. Listen to memories of traditional Hidatsa Indian life, then walk to Sakakawea Village site, where earthlodge depressions hint of life in a vibrant village, alive with games, ceremonies, and trade.

Knife River Weather

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail: Between May 1804 and September 1806, 32 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from the plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery. In their search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean, they opened a window onto the west for the young United States.

North Country National Scenic Trail: Our northern tier of States offers some of the most outstanding scenic beauty to be found anywhere in America. The "North Country" is a land of diversity whose beauty is accentuated by its distinctly changing seasons. As you travel the North Country, the hills and valleys, lakes and streams, show how the glaciers molded the landscape. Historic sites along the way tell the story of how America was settled and grew as a nation.

North Country Ratings

Theodore Roosevelt National Park: Theodore Roosevelt first came to the badlands in September 1883 on a hunting trip. While here he became interested in the cattle business and invested in the Maltese Cross Ranch. He returned the next year and established the Elkhorn Ranch. Years later he stated several times, "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."

Theodore Roosevelt Weather