September 25, 2024
North Dakota Summer Non-Stop Three Day Itinerary
Part 1 - Fargo
Part 2 - I-94 North Dakota Road trip
Part 3 - Medora
Why save North Dakota for last?
Planning a North Dakota Trip
Our ND road trip began around noon on a Friday from Fargo, on the eastern border of North Dakota, and ended at sunset in Regent, not too far from the western border.
Our first stop was in Jamestown, about an hour and a half from Fargo. The Frontier Village was fun to explore, going in and out of the different buildings, such as the Louis L'Amour Writer's Shack and a jail cell. At the end of the main street, we met Dakota Thunder, the World's Largest Buffalo. The antique and curiosities shop was more like a museum than a shop. We bought a Louis L'Amour book for the road.
After Jamestown, our first stop was seeing the Largest Sandhill Crane, right off the interstate. The exhibit sign was helpful as it explained the area's interesting topography- giant glacier potholes forming small ponds everywhere - perfect for waterfowl. Then, we rushed to the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck to arrive just 10 minutes before the building closed. Fortunately, security still let us in to take a quick peek around. We saw the legislative chambers and the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame, which has portraits and short biographies of notable North Dakotans. One interesting person to read about is Harold Schafer, a businessman who invented Mr. Bubbles (if you were born before 1972, you might know this). He served as North Dakota Governor and envisioned creating the city of Medora as a non-profit foundation. Next, we ate dinner at Kroll's Restaurant, a German/American diner, and had fleischkuekle (meat filling in a pie crust) and knoephla soup (dumpling soup).
Then on to Salem Sue, the World's Largest Holstein Cow, and boy is she large! We hiked to the top of the small hill behind Sue for a beautiful view of the area. Then it was about an hour drive to the start of the Enchanted Highway. We started the 'Highway' about an hour before sunset. Surpringly even though it was the summer season, we saw NO ONE on the Enchanted Highway. This actually made the experience that much more surreal. It was just us exploring these giant works of art scattered along the road to the town of Regent. It was so fun to hop in the car to see what was coming next. We recommend following the road and looking out the window for the next art piece - you won't miss them! At the end of the highway, we stayed at the Enchanted Castle Hotel. An old school was converted into the hotel so it had a quirky, creepy, enchanted vibe, but it was a one-of-a-kind overnight experience!
After a great time in Medora, we had to return to Fargo for our return flight. We only had time for one stop, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park near Bismarck in the town of Mandan (named for the Mandan tribe). After entering the state park, we encountered a historical interpreter ready to show us around the fort which is rich with history. Custer stayed there before the Battle of Little Big Horn, as well as Lewis and Clark, and Sacagawea. It was used as an internment camp in World War II. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time for the tour. We walked around the On-a-Slant Indian village and read about the people who once lived there from 1575 to 1781. It was a quick stop for us, but you could spend hours there.
Extras
If we had more time, we would have taken another route back to Fargo, likely to the northern section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and North America's Geographic Center(s).
Several cities have claimed this title over the years. Here's a fun article about the debate!
-
Rugby, ND, the geographic center of the North American continent
-
Robinson, ND, Hanson's Bar, the geographic center of the North American continent
-
Center, ND, the scientific center of the North American continent
We also recommend checking the Sunflower Map at NDtourism.com, which tells you the location of sunflower fields and when they will be in bloom in late July and August. We stopped at a couple of sunflower fields on our route, and they were so close to blooming!
There are more cities and countryside to explore, such as Minot, Grand Forks, or the International Peace Garden. More reasons to go back to North Dakota!
Detailed Itinerary
Thursday - Read Fargo blog post
9:30 Arrival at Hector International Airport
10:30 Snacks and Drinks at Herd and Horns, North Dakota State University
11:15 Walk around Downtown
12:00 C'mon Hotel
Friday - Read Fargo and I-94 Road Trip Blog Post
8:00 Fargo/Moorhead Visitor's Center
9:00 Hjemkonst Center in Moorhead
10:00 Dilly, Dilly Bar, Dairy Queen
10:30 Kringen Lodge, Sons of Norway Lunch
12:00 Depart Fargo
1:30 Sandhill Crane
4:50 State Capitol
5:30 Kroll's Dinner
6:30 Salem Sue
8:00 Enchanted Highway, first sculpture
9:30 Enchanted Castle Hotel
10:30 Drinks at the Bar in Regent, Popcorn at the Hotel Bar
Saturday - Read Medora blog post
7:00 Depart Regent for Medora
8:00 Dakota Cyclery, Mountain Biking
12:00 Badlands Pizza Lunch
1:00 Theodore Roosevelt National Park
5:00 Pitchfork Steak Fondue
7:00 Medora Musical
9:30 Chokeberry Ice Cream from Medora Convenience Store
10:00 Sully Creek Campground for the night
Sunday - Read Medora and I-94 Blog Post
7:00 Sully Creek Campground explore
8:00 Point-to-Point Hike
10:30 Medora Stables, Horseback Trail Ride, Ice cream in Medora
12:00 Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Preview, Depart Medora
3:00 Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
4:00 Dinner at Sickies, Bismarck
7:00 Arrive at Fargo, Brewhalla
7:30 Arrive at Airport
9:30 Flight departs
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning the All Fifty Club receives a commission if you decide to purchase through the links at no cost to you. This commission helps support the mission of the All Fifty States Club. The All Fifty Club may have received travel benefits, discounts, products, or compensation for writing this post. However, all reviews are based on our own experiences and opinions.