Pre- and Post- Conference Tours: Experience Legendary North Dakota!

If you’re headed to the 2022 NFPW Conference in Fargo, consider including the pre- and post-conference tours in your trip. The pre-conference tour on Wednesday, June 22 costs $50 and includes lunch, midafternoon break, and evening rooftop social. The post-conference tour is $525 and includes transportation, meals, activities, and lodging across the Peace Garden State from Sunday, June 26 through Tuesday, June 28. The registration deadline for both tours is Saturday, April 30^th. Register on the NFPW website.

REGISTER FOR TOURS

Pre-Conference Tour, June 22: Choose You Own Adventure in Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo

• Noon: Lunch at Bar Down/The Lights in West Fargo
  
• Build Your Own Tour: Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s First-timer’s Guide to Fargo Must See Attractions
  
• 2:00 p.m. Meet at Sheyenne Street Crossing for refreshments. Meet and Greet with West Fargo Mayor Dardis
• Continue Build Your Own Tour
• 5:00 p.m. Meet in downtown Fargo at Gateway by Epic for a rooftop social with appetizers and desserts. 

Post-Conference Tour, June 26 – 28: Legendary North Dakota

Day 1 - SUNDAY 6/26:
8:00 a.m. - Depart Radisson Blu in Fargo Travel west via I-94 to Jamestown (100 miles)

SUNDAY MIDMORNING: JAMESTOWN STOP

FRONTIER VILLAGE & WORLD’S LARGEST BUFFALO:Get a picture with the big buffalo, Dakota Thunder and catch a glimpse of the albino buffalos.

Travel west from Jamestown via I-94 to BISMARCK/MANDAN (1 hr 40 minutes or 102 miles)

SUNDAY LUNCH: ARRIVE IN BISMARCK/MANDAN  - Lunch (restaurant TBD) 

SUNDAY AFTERNOON:

STATE MUSEUM at the NORTH DAKOTA HERITAGE CENTER: Take a tour of the state's largest museum expansion with newly opened galleries. 

FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN STATE PARK: Park covering 977-acres located on the Missouri River’s banks south of Mandan.  The history goes back over 300 years when it was home to the Mandan Indians. Site of a military garrison in the mid-to late 1800s. Exhibits relate to the life of the Mandan Indians and the military history of the fort.

Located in the Fort Lincoln State Park is ON-A-SLANT INDIAN VILLAGE, this village was once home to a thriving Mandan Indian population. Reconstructed earth lodges of the Mandan Indians at On-A-Slant Indian Village.  THE CUSTER HOUSE, tour the home of General George & Libbie Custer. Reconstructed commissary storehouse, granary, barracks, and stables.  This was the last home and command of General George Armstrong Custer. It was from here that Custer and his 7^th Cavalry rode to meet their fate at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  FORT MCKEEN BLOCKHOUSES, infantry blockhouses set high on the bluffs over-looking the Missouri River. Same vantage point early cavalry soldiers had as they viewed the wide expanse of the Missouri River.

Check in at Bismarck hotel (TBD)

SUNDAY EVENING:
5:30 p.m. Dinner in downtown Bismarck (restaurant TBD) 

8:00-9:30 p.m. Sunset cruise on LEWIS AND CLARK RIVERBOAT. The explorers never had it so easy, but you can take a relaxing riverboat cruise on the Missouri River.

DAY 2 – MONDAY 6/27:
7:30 a.m. - Depart Bismarck Travel west via I-94 to Medora (2 hrs or 130 miles)
*If time allows, stop and take a pic with Salem Sue on the way! (35 minutes or 30 miles from Bismarck)

ENCHANTED HIGHWAY– The Enchanted Highway is populated with amazingly large metal sculptures of a family, grasshoppers, pheasants and more. The “folk art” figures are spaced along a stretch of highway from the I-94 south to Regent.

MONDAY MIDMORNING: STOP IN DICKINSON
10:00 a.m. *Note the time changes to MST time zone in Dickinson. Travel west from Dickinson via I-94 to MEDORA (35 minutes or 35 miles)

Painted Canyon Visitor Center located at Exit 32 on I-94. Panoramic views, visitor center, picnic area and restroom.

MONDAY LATE MORNING: ARRIVE MEDORA

Explore Medora Area:Medora is the gateway to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  This authentic Old West cow-town was founded in 1883 by the Marquis de Mores and named for his wife. Where to eat in Medora? Casual to up-scale and home cooking!

MONDAY AFTERNOON:

THEORDORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK–SOUTH UNIT: North Dakota Badlands provide the scenic backdrop to this park.  Named for the 26^th President, it memorializes his contribution to conservation.  The loop drive could provide a view of buffalo, deer, elk, big-horn sheep, wild horses, mule deer and prairie dog towns.

MONDAY EVENING:

Evening: PITCHFORK FONDUE: A unique western steak meal served at the Tjaden Center on the bluffs overlooking Medora.

MEDORA MUSICAL: Broadway-style musical show in spectacular Burning Hills Amphitheatre. The surrounding hills resound with music and laughter at this fast-paced, song-and-dance professional extravaganza. 

MONDAY NIGHT: RETURN TO DICKINSON

Head to Dickinson after the Musical - Travel east via I-94 to Dickinson (30 minutes or 30 miles)

Check in at Dickinson hotel (TBD)

DAY 3 – TUESDAY 6/28:

Breakfast at Brew Coffee, located in Teddy Roosevelt’s former church.

PRAIRIE OUTPOST PARK & BADLANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM: Several historic buildings, including a general store, post office, church. Germans from Russia stone house, Norwegian stabbur and veteran’s chapel. The nearby Badlands Dinosaur Museum features an evolving exhibit of fossils and minerals, a public preparation lab, and a vibrant research and fieldwork program. 

UKRAINIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE: Preserving, promoting and displaying Ukrainian culture in North Dakota.

TUESDAY LUNCH:

FLUFFY FIELDS VINEYARD & WINERY: Winery with daily lunch and dessert specials, along with a lite bite food menu.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: RETURN TO FARGO - Travel east on I-94 to Fargo (290 miles or 4 hours)