The 15 destination properties in the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department welcome tour groups of all sizes. Each destination property offers unique opportunities for visitors. Please contact the location ahead of time before a visit in order to coordinate special accommodations your group may need. Specialized programming and private tours are available but may cost an additional fee.
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park offers a large variety of learning experiences with three unique historic sites.
The first occupants of the state park were the Mandan Tribe that called On-a-Slant Village home for over two-hundred years. Today, the reconstructed Earthlodge village offers visitors a glimpse in the life of the Mandan’s at On-a-Slant. The site is open to explore on your own, and there are also daily guided tours of the village by park interpretive staff. Please be respectful of this village site still held sacred today by the Mandan people.
The state park was named after the old territorial fort - Fort Abraham Lincoln. Fort Abraham Lincoln when completion in 1873 became the home of General George Armstrong Custer. Today, historical first-person guided tours are conducted daily showcasing the rebuilt commanding officer’s quarters. This Victorian style home of was called the “Mansion on the Prairie” in the 1870’s and is uniquely arranged to replicate the time period and years that George and Libby Custer occupied the home. Interpretive staff dress in the post-Civil War era clothing and uniforms and offer an immersive glimpse into life on the military post in the mid 1870’s. Tours begin on the porch of the Commanding Officer’s Quarters at regular intervals
Just a year or so before the construction of Fort Abraham Lincoln an Infantry post was constructed on the hilltop overlooking the Missouri River valley. Fort McKeen was the first arm of defense protecting the advancement of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Today, self-guided tour is available explaining the military buildings that once completed the old infantry post.
Guided tours are included with the purchase of an interpretive pass. Availability of guided tours is seasonal, please call the park at 701-667-6340 to inquire about hours for historic sites and current schedule for Interpretive-led tours.
Interpretive Pass
Adult: $8
Student: $5
Family Pass: $25
(Parents and dependent children 18 and under)
Icelandic State Park
In 1880, Icelandic immigrants Eggert and Rannveig Gunlogson arrived in Dakota Territory and homesteaded 160 acres of land. 100 years later, Eggert and Rannveig’s youngest children, G.B. and Loa, donated their family homestead to Icelandic State Park to help preserve the heritage of North Dakota. G.B. felt that the settlement of 22 different ethnic groups in this region was a unique story to tell. It is a story that the Northeastern North Dakota Heritage Association and Icelandic State Park continue to tell today through the Pioneer Heritage Center Complex.
The Pioneer Heritage Center is an interpretive center exhibiting the settlement and development of North Dakota from 1870-1920. Also located on the grounds are the Hallson Church, Akra Community Hall, Cranley School, and the Gunlogson Homestead. These historic buildings tell the story of how a diverse group of people blended their need for religion, sustenance, educational growth, culture, and social understanding together.
The Pioneer Heritage Center Complex is open to guided tours May through September. Groups that would like to book a guided tour can call the Pioneer Heritage Center at (701) 265-4561, to set up a date and time. Self-guided tours are also available Victoria Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Self-guided tour brochures can be picked up at the Pioneer Heritage Center. An annual vehicle pass or daily pass is required to visit the Pioneer Heritage Center Complex. There are no additional fees for guided tours.