Highway 1804 & 1806 Tour

The Standing Rock Nation is part of the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota nation that once controlled a vast area from the James River in North and South Dakota to the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Learn the legend of the Standing Rock at Fort Yates, see the original Sitting Bull burial site and take time for fine dining and entertainment available at Prairie Knights Casino and Resort.

Bismarck/Mandan is the cultural center of south-central North Dakota. Exploring the Lewis & Clark Trail will take you through a variety of must-see museums and attractions, involving you in numerous fun-filled activities. Including the Lewis & Clark Riverboat, North Dakota Capitol Building, North Dakota Heritage Center, Double Ditch Indian Village, and Keelboat and Steamboat Parks.

Over 300 years of history is entwined among the Native American culture, riverboat traffic, military, and frontier life. Discover these sites within the Park: On-A-Slant Indian Village, The Custer House, Reconstructed commissary storehouse, granary, barracks, and stables, and Fort McKeen Blockhouses.

Lewis and Clark enthusiasts create their own legendary adventure while taking in the natural beauty of the towering cottonwoods along the Missouri River. Enjoy the world-class Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan State Historic Site that showcases the explorers, the culture of the Mandan tribe and the living conditions of the Corps of Discovery.

Cross Ranch State Park is located along some of the last free-flowing and undeveloped stretches of the Missouri River. A boat ramp and canoe and kayak rentals are available for those wishing to explore this scenic segment of the river, while anglers will find walleye, trout, catfish, salmon, pike and bass in its waters. An extensive trail system can be explored either on foot or on cross-country skis during the winter months. The trails allow access to a 5,000-acre nature preserve with mixed grass prairie, river bottom forests and wood draws.

In the early 1800s Knife River Indian Villages had a larger population than St. Louis, Missouri, and was once a major marketplace for the trade industry.  It was there Lewis and Clark first met Charbonneau and his wife, Sakakawea, in 1804, while visiting the village. Today you can walk among the ground depressions, visit the museum and earthlodge where presentations are given daily.

Lake Sakakawea is the largest man-made lake within one state with 609 square miles of water backed up behind Garrison Dam. The 180-mile-long lake has more shoreline than the coast of California, and just as many things to see and do. Lake Sakakawea is a wonderland for anglers, boaters, campers and swimmers who take advantage of its immense size year-round. The Garrison Dam at Pick City provides tours of the powerhouse. 
 

Outdoor recreation abounds in the area as well as excellent fishing opportunities in Lake Sakakawea. Other outdoor activities include camping, hiking, biking, recreational trails, and golfing the Doc Blatherwick Municipal Golf Course. In addition to the outdoors, Parshall also has the Paul Broste Rock Museum which houses the largest private collector’s rock exhibit and features rocks from all over the world.

Located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, it is the tribal center of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. The rich culture and history can be discovered while you visit these sites: MHA Interpretive Center, MHA Earthlodge Village, 4 Bears Casino & Resort, Four Bears Bridge, Crow Flies High Butte, and Killdeer Mountain Four Bears Scenic Byway. 

Killdeer is home to the oldest PRCA rodeo in North Dakota, the Killdeer Mountain Roundup Rodeo. The scenic Killdeer Mountains can lead you to several attractions including the Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site and Little Missouri State Park.

The north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park features popular vistas and wildlife viewing. Prairie dog towns and buffalo in their natural habitat make for great pictures. Self-guided nature trails are marked with interpretive signs. The North Unit also features the Maah Daah Hey Trail and the Little Missouri National Grasslands.

The Long X Visitor Center hosts mammoth fossil bones and a 60-million-year-old, 17,000-pound, petrified stump of a Bald Cypress tree. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is nearby, as is Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site and Fort Buford State Historic Site. Watford City itself is booming with the recent addition of the Rough Rider Center with its new athletic facilities and concert venue. Downtown features a collection unique shopping and dining experiences.

The area features the history of two great rivers converging, the stories of the “Buffalo Soldiers” who served the U.S. Army in the 1800s and the confined Nez Perce Chief Joseph and Hunkpapa Sioux Sitting Bull. These three great attractions are located within a five-mile radius of each other 25 miles southwest of Williston on Highway 1804: Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center, Fort Buford State Historic Site, and the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site.

The Old Fairview Bridge and Cartwright Tunnel Trail is now open to pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Yellowstone River in North Dakota just east of Fairview, MT. In addition, the Cartwright Tunnel is another unusual feature of this short trail. The tunnel is 1,458 feet long and was built in 1912 and 1913—most of the digging having been done by hand.