Anyone with a hankering to play cowboy could do worse than follow in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt , who declared "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota." Roosevelt initially came to the state in search of spiritual and physical renewal after the deaths (on the same day) of his mother and first wife. He dubbed what he discovered during his few years in this "grimly picturesque" area, with its clear skies, panoramic views and weird, colorful landforms, a "perfect freedom." The national park named after him is the choicest destination in the North Dakota Bad Lands (distinct from South Dakota's Badlands) that dominate the state's western half.

The Missouri River wriggles like a giant raggedy worm out of Montana, down past the capital, Bismarck , and into South Dakota. En route it is transformed into Lake Sakakawea, a virtual inland sea nearly two hundred miles long that's the state's premier water playground. Scenic state highways 1804 and 1806 follow the routes mapped out by the Lewis and Clark expedition in those respective years.

Western North Dakota

• Western North Dakota

Explore Western North Dakota

• Bismarck and Mandan
• Medora
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park

North Dakota cities


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