Bismarck City Circle Tour
Add the 43rd state to the list of state capitals you’ve visited. The "Skyscraper of The Prairie" was built in the 1930’s. Next door explore Plains Indian history and more at the North Dakota Heritage Center. See the historical Cathedral District with homes on the National Registry of Historic Places. You will visit the Historic Governors' Mansion, a Victorian style home built in the 1800’s. Tour Camp Hancock which was built to house railroad workers while constructing a bridge connecting the East to the West. The tour also includes a look at downtown Bismarck and a unique residential area.
Fort Abraham Lincoln
Relive the military history of the 1800’s at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. It was from this fort that the Seventh Cavalry, under the command of General George Armstrong Custer, rode out on the ill-fated campaign at the Little Big Horn. Visit with Custer’s staff as you explore his reconstructed home, the commissary, barracks and granary. Climb the steps to the block houses to view the Missouri River Valley and enjoy the excitement as the infantry soldiers and Seventh Cavalry relive history. Also, at The Fort is On-A-Slant Indian Village, which contains four earth lodges occupied by the Mandan Indians in the mid-1500s. The visitors’ center, loaded with military and Indian artifacts, has a 17 minute video which gives you a historic overview of this area.
Agricultural Tour
North Dakota leads the nation in the production of wheat, flax, barley and sunflower seeds. On your ag tour you can visit a USDA research center, a grain farm, a cattle ranch, livestock auction, or a variety of agriculture processing plants.
Energy Tours
The hub of North Dakota’s energy belt is in Bismarck-Mandan. In Bismarck, Basin Electric headquarters building tour will give you an overall understanding of the types of energy generation plants you will see. These plants include: power plants, active mines, abandoned mines, oil refineries, oil rigs, wind generation and the world’s largest and the country’s only coal gasification plant, all located 75 miles from Bismarck-Mandan.
Shopping
From authentic American Indian art pieces to western art and antiques, Bismarck-Mandan has a wide variety of shopping opportunities. With downtown Bismarck’s art galleries and unique shops, Mandan’s specialty shops, several shopping malls and a variety of locally owned stores, you’re sure to find a treasure in Bismarck-Mandan.
Lewis and Clark Trail
Lewis and Clark spent more time in North Dakota than anywhere else on the trail. Bismarck-Mandan is mid-point on the trail and the hub-city for many attractions. You can retrace the route of Lewis and Clark as they traveled through North Dakota in 1804-1806. Today, more than 200 years later, much of the landscape is unchanged. You can walk where they walked, camp where they camped, and gaze at the same unspoiled beauty the Corps of Discovery marveled at so long ago.