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North Dakota offers plentiful recreational and entertainment opportunities throughout the state. Whether seeking cultural or outdoor pursuits, the Peace Garden State has something for everyone.

The Peace Garden State is so named because of the delightful International Peace Garden, which straddles the border of the U.S. and its northern neighbor, Canada. The garden lies midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and commemorates 150 years of peace between the two countries with its lovely garden. Another geographical point of interest is Rugby, known as the "Geographical Center of North America", at the junction of U.S. Highway 2 and North Dakota Highway 3.

North Dakota is home to a number of museums, showcasing a multitude of varying subjects. The North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks boasts a collection of contemporary and international art, including contemporary Native American art, beginning with the early 1970s to the present. The Plains Art Museum in Fargo showcases a permanent collection of nearly 3,000 works including national and regional contemporary art, traditional Native American art, and traditional folk art; additionally, several exhibitions are offered each year. At the North Dakota Heritage Center Bismarck, visitors can enjoy exhibits focusing on North Dakota in the state’s largest museum, and can view its impressive collection of Plains Indian artifacts. History buffs will enjoy the North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, which emphasizes the period of the Lewis & Clark Expedition’s time spent at Fort Mandan, and displays Native American artifacts and other historical pieces, and a rotating collection of Karl Bodmer’s watercolor accounts of the Upper Midwest Indian cultures. Aviation aficionados will want to visit the Fargo Air Museum in Fargo, particularly for its collection of World War II era aircraft. Dinosaur enthusiasts will enjoy the Dakota Dinosaur Museum in Dickinson, which displays and preserves geological and paleontological specimens for the public and for education; 11 full-scale dinosaurs from the Triassic-Cretaceous era reside inside the museum, and 3 full-scale dinosaurs grace the grounds. For baseball fans, the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo commemorates New York Yankee outfielder Roger Maris, who hailed from North Dakota, with displays and artifacts from his youth and Major League days.

Performing arts aficionados will appreciate many options in the Peace Garden State. Orchestral music fans can enjoy the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony, performing for over 30 years, which serves central and western North Dakota; the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, serving the Fargo-Moorhead region; and the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, serving the Grand Forks area. Fans of stage productions have the Dakota Stage, Ltd. in the Bismarck-Mandan area, the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre, and the Fargo-Moorhead Opera.

North Dakota’s rich history can be experienced through sites of historical interest. Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park marks the site of an important infantry and cavalry post where Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry rode out against the Sioux tribe at the Little Big Horn; parts of the post have been reconstructed. The Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site in Williston provides a living history interpretation of the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri River from 1828 to 1867, where several tribes conducted trade. The Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in Stanton is a reconstructed earthlodge where visitors can learn about traditional Hidatsa Indian life. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail commemorates the trail across eleven states along which the Corps of Discovery traveled toward the Pacific Ocean between May 1804 and September 1806, opening the lands of the West to settlement. The Chateau de Mores State Historic Site in Medora marks the site of the summer home of the Marquis de Mores, a French aristocrat and entrepreneur who arrived in the Dakota Territory in 1883 and found his fortune in the cattle industry; the original chateau and out-buildings are featured along with interpretive exhibits. The Double Ditch Indian Village State Historic Site preserves the remains of a large earthlodge village once inhabited by Mandan tribes from around 1500 to 1781. The Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site contains restructured portions of a military post that served early Dakota settlements and guarded Red River traffic from 1857 to 1877. Fort Buford State Historic Site was a military post established to protect overland and river routes of western immigrants, and is the site where the Hunkpapa Sioux Leader, Sitting Bull, surrendered in 1881. The Gingras Trading Post State Historic Site preserves the 1840s oak-log post and home of Métis leader Antoine Blanc Gingras, and represents one of the few remains of the Red River Valley fur trade era. Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site, southeast of Kulm in Dickey County marks the locale where a tremendous battle of twenty-two soldiers and over 100 Native Americans succumbed in battle.

North Dakota offers many family friendly activities and attractions. Animal lovers are particularly well served by the zoos of the Peace Garden State. The Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton features over 200 animals and birds of 60 different species, and includes "Grandpa’s Little Zoo", a hands-on educational area for children to experience farm animals. The Red River Zoo in Fargo resides on 33 acres (0.133 square kilometers or 13.3 hectares) of former ranch land, and features landscaped exhibits, rolling hills, streams, and ponds; additionally, the zoo is home to many endangered species, both exotic and native, from areas with similar climates to the region. The Dakota Zoo in Bismarck is the state’s largest zoo, with 500 reptiles, birds, and mammals representing 125 species, both native and exotic. The Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot features a wide variety of animal species and offers educational experiences. The Children’s Museum at Yunker Farm in Fargo provides children and families with over 50 hands-on exhibits for educating and stimulating creativity, where children and parents can interact and participate in educational programs, special events, and outreach programs. The 55-acre (0.22 square kilometer or 22.2 hectare) grounds feature a miniature train, carousel, play ground, pumpkin patch, nature trails, and more.

Outdoor recreation and nature viewing opportunities abound in North Dakota, with its interesting topography, wildlife viewing opportunities, and unique geological sites. The North Country National Scenic Trail crosses seven states, from New York to North Dakota, and links scenic, natural, historic, and cultural areas of northern regions; upon its completion it will be the longest continuous hiking trail in the U.S. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora features President Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch and the Little Missouri River Badlands the former president so greatly enjoyed. Devils Lake is the state’s largest natural lake, a scenic locale with two state parks providing boating, angling, and camping experiences. Custer National Forest contains the most ecologically diverse forest in the Northern Region, and extends from the prairies of South Dakota to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness near Red Lodge, Montana. Burning Coal Vein represents a badlands under formation, and marks the unusual phenomenon of a fire in the coal layer deep underground which burned when the first white settlers came to the area. Other important natural areas in the Peace Garden State include Cross Ranch Nature Preserve, which protects the mixed-grass prairie that once flourished, along with extensive floodplain forests and valuable wildlife habitat; the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the state and comprised of marshland, meadows, riverbottom hardwoods, sandhills, and uplands, where hundreds of species of birds make their home or stop along migratory routes; and Johnson Gulch Wildlife Management Area, which protects an unbroken prairie tract of nearly 12,000 acres (48.6 square kilometers or 4,856 hectares) so that all may appreciate the prairie landscape as it once existed prior to statehood. For any outdoor enthusiast, North Dakota is a paradise.

North Dakota hosts many enjoyable events throughout the year. The United Tribes International Pow Wow takes place in the Lone Star Arena at the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck; more than 70 tribes, with over 1,500 dancers and drummers, celebrate this cultural event annually. The Norsk Høstfest, occurring annually in October, is North America’s largest Scandinavian festival, where visitors can celebrate Scandinavian culture and entertainment. North Dakota’s agricultural legacy is celebrated at the Big Iron Farm Show in West Fargo and the North Dakota State Fair in Minot.

Sports fans will appreciate the professional teams in North Dakota. Hockey fans can cheer the North American Hockey League team, the Bismarck Bobcats; and basketball fans can rejoice in the NBA Development League (D-League) team, the Dakota Wizards in Bismarck.

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