You can go read about NYC, D.C., and San Francisco in a million places, so when I cover USA travel on here or via my bloggers at Perceptive Travel, we tend to highlight the places that don’t get so much press. These days there are very few places where you can’t find plenty to do. Every U.S. state has stepped up its attention on tourism the past few decades as it realizes this is a good way to bring in revenue and jobs without having to lure in a bunch of big companies.
I’ve gushed before about places in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, Oregon, and elsewhere that may not be anywhere near the top of your list, but have plenty to offer. This is especially true for families since almost every city of any size has a whole array of things for them to do. Unlike the really crowded national parks everyone has heard of and the cities like Orlando that seemingly every foreigner wants to visit, these aren’t destinations with long lines and packed parking lots. The really great appeal of these places though as it relates to this blog is…they’re pretty cheap.
Cheap doesn’t have to mean boring, however. Let’s take, as an example, this month’s highlighted place: .
For many people even in the Midwest, this state will not make their top-10 list. They would probably struggle to even come up with five things you would see or do there. But it can be a legendary destination if you do some digging.
If I were heading up there this month, I’d do some hiking and biking on one of the 13 North Dakota trails for both. I would hike some of the 25 miles through the Badlands and then go biking on the 140-mile Maah Daah Hey Trail. Besides the great name, it’s got places to camp and lots of wildlife viewing options in the grasslands. If you’re a serious cyclist, there’s a 400-mile loop trip each August and probably not a lot of traffic for most of it.
And I’d probably take a canoe or kayak trip somewhere like the Sheyenne River.
I wouldn’t have to lay out a lot of money for any of this. You can see a full list of fees here, but some examples: park fees are $5, renting a fat tire bike is $25 a day, camping fees are $17-$25 a nite depending on whether you need electricity, cabins are $55 to $105 (the latter sleeps six). At Lake Metigoshe or Cross Ranch State Park, you can stay in a yurt! It’s $65 a night and sleeps 4-6.
But if you aren’t into all that sweating in the outdoors activity, or camping, you can stay in semi-civilization and get a hotel bargain instead. You can take the kids to the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown ($5 adults or $10 for the whole family) and stay at the Econolodge for $79 a night.
Lewis & Clark stayed in this area while pushing west and it’s here they met Sacagawea. (She’s on that dollar coin nobody wants to carry around, but was quite useful when alive.) You can check out the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center ($7.50 admission) and stay in Bismarck, ND, 38 miles away, for $94 a night at the Radisson.
Do you get more excited when you hear the word “free”? Well, there are 56 free attractions listed on the official state tourism website, so there’s plenty to pick from. If you love posting strange photos on Instagram, you’re going to want to head straight for the Enchanted Highway, where you’ll get shots like this. Enjoy!
Once in a blue moon this blog will mention a particular company or destination that has paid to be featured here. This particular post was brought to you by North Dakota Tourism. As always, they did not have any say in the content and all opinions are my own. – Tim L.
