Listen bestie, I went to North Dakota ironically. I left completely obsessed. This is my chaotic good travel confession.
Okay, so storytime: I literally booked this North Dakota road trip because I was running out of content ideas and thought it would be hilarious to make fun of the “most boring state.” Plot twist of the century? I’m writing this from a coffee shop in Fargo, extending my trip by three days, and already planning my next visit. North Dakota said “hold my hotdish” and proceeded to serve me the most unexpected glow-up of my entire travel career.
And no, I’m not being paid by the North Dakota tourism board (though honestly, they should probably slide into my DMs after this post goes viral).
Day 1: Fargo Made Me Question Everything I Know About Cool Cities
The Vibe Check: Fargo is giving major “I’m not like other Midwest cities, I’m a cool Midwest city” energy, and you know what? It’s actually not wrong.
Y’all, I pulled up to downtown Fargo fully prepared to make Coen Brothers jokes, and instead found myself in what can only be described as if Portland and Minneapolis had a baby and raised it on prairie grass and good vibes. The cognitive dissonance was REAL.
My Fargo Reality Check:
- Coffee Culture That Actually Slaps: Found this local roastery where the barista had full sleeve tattoos and could tell me the life story of every bean. The oat milk latte hit different when you know it’s made with actual care instead of corporate efficiency.
- The Fargo Theatre Moment: This 1926 Art Deco palace is literally a whole mood. Watching an indie film here felt like time travel, but make it aesthetic. Posted the neon sign to my stories and had 47 people ask where I was. The serotonin boost was immaculate.
- Broadway Street Wandering: Spent three hours just vibing through local galleries and boutiques. Found vintage band tees, local art that actually speaks to my soul, and a bookstore that feels like a Pinterest board came to life.
Evening Plot Twist: The Fargo Air Museum sounds like something your dad would drag you to, but these vintage planes are actually stunning? Like, the stories behind these aircraft had me tearing up in a hangar in North Dakota. Character development I wasn’t expecting.
Food Take: Had my first hotdish and I’m not even mad about it. It’s essentially midwestern comfort food that gives zero effs about being trendy, and sometimes that’s exactly what your soul needs.
Accommodation Tea: Stayed at this boutique hotel downtown that had better design aesthetic than half the “cool” places I’ve stayed in Brooklyn. North Dakota is really out here serving looks and I’m here for it.
Day 2: Grand Forks Gave Me Main Character Energy
The 80-Mile Meditation: This drive is pure prairie therapy. I put on my “introspective baddie” playlist and just… existed? In the best way? Sometimes you don’t realize how chronically overstimulated you are until you’re surrounded by infinite sky.
Grand Forks Backstory That Hit Different: This city literally rebuilt itself after devastating floods in ’97, and the resilience energy is absolutely immaculate. Like, imagine your entire downtown getting destroyed and your response is “bet, let’s make it even better.” That’s big Capricorn energy and I respect it deeply.
Why I’m Obsessed:
- The Greenway Glow-Up: 2,200 acres of pure serenity along the Red River. Rented a bike and spent hours just vibing through trails that felt like a Studio Ghibli movie. The golden hour content was chef’s kiss but honestly, being present in the moment hit harder than any photo ever could.
- University Town Magic: There’s something about college towns that just hits different, you know? The energy is curious and optimistic, and the North Dakota Museum of Art is legitimately world-class. The building looks like it crash-landed from 2050 and I’m living for the architectural drama.
The Hockey Revelation: Okay, I know literally nothing about hockey, but catching a game at Ralph Engelstad Arena was a MOMENT. This $104 million temple to hockey had me understanding why North Dakotans treat this sport like a religion. The community energy was intoxicating.
Coffee Shop Intel: Asked a local for recommendations and got directed to this tiny place that looks like nothing from outside but serves pastries that would make Emily in Paris weep. Sometimes the best experiences come with zero Instagram potential.
Day 3: Devil’s Lake Unlocked a New Level of Surreal
The Journey Continues: 100 miles deeper into what feels like the edge of civilization, except civilization here means “world-class fishing and existential beauty.”
The Climate Reality Check: Here’s the thing nobody warns you about – Devil’s Lake is literally rising due to climate change, swallowing roads and creating this hauntingly beautiful post-apocalyptic landscape. Dead trees emerging from water like Gothic art installations? It’s giving Black Mirror but make it nature documentary.
My Existential Lake Moment: Kayaking through this ever-changing landscape while processing the fact that I’m witnessing geography rewriting itself in real time? That’s the kind of content that changes you as a person, not just as a creator.
Grahams Island State Park Adventures: This used to be an island but now it’s a peninsula because the lake said “new geography, who dis?” The hiking trails offer views that make you feel like the main character in your own nature documentary. Posted a sunset selfie that got more engagement than my last three city posts combined.
Fishing Plot Twist: I don’t fish. Like, ever. But the walleye here are apparently legendary, so I hired a guide and spent four hours on the water. Didn’t catch anything Instagram-worthy, but caught something better – actual peace and quiet for my chronically online brain.
Bird Content: The pelican migration here is absolutely unhinged in the best way. Hundreds of these majestic creatures appearing over the water like they’re auditioning for Planet Earth. My followers are obsessed with the footage.
Day 4: Bismarck Served Unexpected Capital City Elegance
The Prairie Skyscraper Moment: Bismarck’s State Capitol is this 19-story Art Deco tower rising from endless prairie, and the visual is absolutely sending me. They call it the “Skyscraper of the Prairie” and honestly, the name delivers exactly what it promises.
Missouri River Main Character Moment: Taking a riverboat cruise on the Missouri River sounds like something your grandparents would do, until you realize you’re literally following Lewis and Clark’s route but with craft cocktails and air conditioning. The historical significance hit different when you’re actually on the water.
Museum That Actually Slaps: The North Dakota Heritage Center is three stories of “actually, the Great Plains have been serving looks for centuries.” Dinosaur fossils, Native American artifacts, and pioneer stories that completely reframe everything you thought you knew about this region.
Dinner Revelation: Bismarck’s restaurant scene is absolutely not playing around. Found this chef who could be cooking anywhere but chooses to create magic with local ingredients right here on the prairie. The bison short ribs were literally life-changing.
Cultural Side Quest: Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park features reconstructed Mandan earth lodges that completely shifted my understanding of Indigenous architecture. These structures are genuinely more innovative than most modern buildings, and the cultural education was better than any college course I’ve taken.
Day 5: Audubon Wildlife Refuge Broke My Brain in the Best Way
The Final Pilgrimage: 60 miles to what might actually be the most peaceful place in America. And I’ve been to a lot of “peaceful” places that were just expensive and fake.
Silence That Actually Hits: You think you know quiet until you’re standing in 14,739 acres of pristine prairie wetland. This isn’t just absence of noise – this is your nervous system finally remembering what calm feels like. Posted about it and had dozens of DMs from followers asking how to find this kind of peace.
Wildlife Content That Goes Hard: The 8-mile auto tour sounds basic until you realize you’re essentially driving through a nature documentary. White-tailed deer casually posing for photos, over 250 bird species serving looks, and if you’re lucky, moose who wandered down from Canada like they’re lost tourists.
Photography Reality Check: Every single corner is Instagram gold, but trying to capture this place through a phone screen feels like missing the entire point. This is where you come to remember that some experiences are meant to be felt, not shared.
Migration Season Energy: Timed this perfectly for fall migration and witnessed thousands of waterfowl turning the sky into a living, breathing artwork. The footage is incredible, but being present for it was transformative in ways I’m still processing.
The Real Tea About North Dakota Travel
What Actually Happens: By day three, your entire relationship with space and time changes. The scale here does something to your brain that city living just can’t replicate. You start understanding why people write poetry about endless skies and infinite horizons.
The People Energy: North Dakotans have mastered authentic kindness without toxic positivity. They’ll give you directions, restaurant recs, and probably connect you with their cousin who knows someone who can help with literally any problem you might have. It’s giving community vibes that social media keeps trying to recreate artificially.
What Sticks: Months later, you’ll find yourself defending North Dakota to anyone who’ll listen. You become that person who starts sentences with “Actually, North Dakota is…” and you won’t even care because you know what you know.
The Roads as Meditation: These long, straight highways aren’t boring – they’re therapeutic. Perfect for processing thoughts, having phone calls with your therapist, or just existing without the constant stimulation overload of city life.
Food That Changes You: Knoephla soup will ruin you for all other comfort food. Bison is genuinely superior to beef and I will die on this hill. Local walleye prepared by someone who actually grew up here is a spiritual experience.
Why This Trip Matters Right Now
In an era where every travel destination is getting Disneyland-ized and optimized for social media, North Dakota remains beautifully, stubbornly authentic. This is travel for people who remember why they started exploring in the first place – not for content, but for genuine transformation.
North Dakota doesn’t need your validation or your hashtags. It’s been here doing its thing long before you arrived and will continue long after you leave. But if you let it, it might just validate parts of yourself you didn’t know needed validating.
Packing Reality Check: Bring layers because prairie weather is chaos. Pack binoculars for the wildlife moments. Leave your preconceptions at home because they’ll just get in the way of actual experience.
Content Creator Real Talk: This trip gave me more authentic engagement and meaningful content than my last six “trendy destination” posts combined. Sometimes the best stories come from the places nobody expects you to fall in love with.
The Bottom Line: North Dakota is having its moment, whether it knows it or not. Get here before everyone else figures out what I just figured out.
Best time to visit: Late spring through early fall when the prairie is giving main character energy and the possibilities are actually endless.
Who should go: Anyone who’s tired of performing travel instead of experiencing it. Anyone who wants to remember what authentic discovery feels like. Anyone ready to have their assumptions completely obliterated by a place that refuses to be anything other than exactly what it is.
Trust me on this one, besties. North Dakota is about to be your next obsession. đź’•
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