7 Breathtaking Towns to Visit in North Dakota

North Dakota is a sparsely populated state; the 70,000-square-mile region claims fewer than 800,000 residents, yet some of its secluded towns are so extraordinary travelers often wonder why there aren't more people here! With a giant amphitheater, an Indigenous village, peace gardens and more, North Dakota offers up some of the most breathtaking landscapes and attractions. From quaint Medora to the historic Fort Ransom, the following ND communities are liable to take your breath away.

Medora

Home to about 120 people, Medora attracts thousands of tourists via Theodore Roosevelt National Park within the Little Missouri National Grassland. This million-acre expanse of badlands, grasslands, and petrified woods engulfs the community and fuels its economy, although Medora has several of its own spectacular attractions. These include the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, Rushmore Mountain Taffy Shop, and Pitchfork Steak Fondue. The last of those is a "badlands barbecue" consisting of New York strip steaks impaled on pitchforks and dunked in barrels of oil. But the most breathtaking attraction in Medora (aside from the literally breathtaking terrain of Theodore Roosevelt National Park) is the Medora Musical, a lovely musical revue at the open-air, 2,800-plus-seat Burning Hills Amphitheater. It is called "The Greatest Show in the West" and we can understand why.

Stanton

Stanton straddles a tributary of the Missouri River called the Knife River, which is famous for the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. Sitting a half-mile north of town, it is a preserve of Hidatsa tribal grounds, complete with remnants of centuries-old villages enmeshed in beautiful riverside scenery. The highlight is a reconstructed 40-foot earth lodge with a seating area, cache pit, fire pit, corral, shrine, and platform beds. From the Indian Villages, tourists can recharge with food and drink at The River Run, Inc. or a nap at the Sakakawea Park Campground before heading north to Lake Sakakawea and its namesake park or east to Washburn and its heritage haunts. The Fort Clark State Historic Site, Fort Mandan State Historic Site, and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center surround Stanton's slightly larger neighbor.

Jamestown

Jamestown is the ninth-largest community in North Dakota despite equating to roughly 15,000 people! A non-misleading Jamestown superlative is that it has the World's Largest Buffalo Monument, which is 26 feet tall, 46 feet long, and weighs 60 tons. If your jaw will not drop for a concrete bison, perhaps it will for real bison - specifically, white bison. The North American Bison Discovery Center has a bison herd and museum, which displays the taxidermized body of Mahpiya Ska (AKA White Cloud), an extremely rare albino that headlined the herd for almost two decades. White Cloud had a white calf named Dakota Miracle, who also passed away. Another white bison, Dakota Legend, is presumably still alive and roaming the preserve.

Take that gaped mouth over to Jonny B's Brickhouse for wood-fired pizza. Sufficiently stuffed, you can tour historic downtown buildings like the Stutsman County Memorial Museum, Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site, and St. James Basilica, a Vatican-worthy church in the middle of North Dakota.

Rugby

Rugby has a scrum of attractions. This 2,500ish-person "city," named after the town of Rugby, England, is considered the geographical center of North America and has a 21-foot stone obelisk in commemoration. But it is just a quarter of the size of another Rugby sculpture, the Northern Lights Tower, which stands more than 88 feet and is dedicated to the aurora borealis.

After rounding out your Rugby tour at the Prairie Village & Museum, drive north to Bottineau to see 30-foot Tommy the Turtle at the gateway to the Turtle Mountains and then to the Canadian border for one of ND's top attractions, the International Peace Garden. It spans nearly 2,400 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens and is so iconic that ND's official nickname is the Peace Garden State.

Fort Ransom

Claim Fort Ransom for a scenic ND vacation. Among its luxuriant loot are Fort Ransom State Park, a 950-acre nature preserve along the Sheyenne River; Pyramid Hill, a mysterious earthen mound topped with a 25-foot Viking statue; and the Sheyenne River State Forest, which contains North Dakota's only registered waterfall. Other scenic spoils in the area include the Sheyenne National Grassland, Fort Ransom State Historic Site, and Thor's and The Old Mill Grill. Fort Ransom has only about 100 residents but deep Norwegian roots, which explains the Viking statue and Thor-themed pub. Some believe that Vikings sailed up the Sheyenne River, but this is pseudohistorical.

Richardton

If you thought Jamestown's basilica was the only out-of-place shrine in North Dakota, check out Richardton's St. Mary's Church/Assumption Abbey, which looks like it came from Medieval Europe. Sure enough, the abbey was founded by a monk from Switzerland's Benedictine Order, which dates to the Middle Ages. The present building was completed in 1910 and is still run by Benedictine monks.

After getting your Assumption on, you can get your consumption on at El Noa Noa Bar and Grill before heading east to see the 50-foot-long fiberglass cow in New Salem and then continuing on to Mandan for sights at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park and bites at Frieds Family Restaurant. Try a fleischkuechle, the unofficial state sandwich and a symbol of ND's German culinary influence.

Regent

Instead of traveling east of Richardton, you can go 15 miles west to Gladstone and then head south to Regent. Make sure to take your time, because the 32-mile road between Gladstone and Regent is called the Enchanted Highway and is lined with massive, magical sculptures. There are nine, including Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again, Sir Albert and the Dragon (in progress), and Geese in Flight, the last of which is 110 feet tall, 154 feet wide, weighs almost 80 tons and was declared the "largest scrap-metal sculpture" by the Guinness Book of World Records. Regent-born Gary Greff built these sculptures to help keep his tiny town alive. It worked since Regent boasts the Enchanted Highway Gift Shop and Enchanted Castle Hotel with the Excalibur Steakhouse.

Do not think that North Dakota is north of anything interesting. The state centers several small communities containing breathtaking attractions, such as Medora and its musical, Stanton and its earth lodge, Jamestown and its buffalo, Rugby and its obelisk, Fort Ransom and its pyramid, Richardton and its abbey, and Regent and its highway. Suffice it to say, do not let this upper Midwestern state pass you by!