I love this trail area! There are a few different paths to choose from. My favorite path is the one…read morethat runs right along the Missouri River (literally like only a couple feet away). It is well maintained and dog friendly; dog owners are doing a good job of cleaning up after their dogs. It is a super beautiful area. Overall, the trail is a good amount like over two miles (I never go fully to the end due to time, but it is far). Lastly, there's like random educational plaques placed on the trail that teach about the local area (from the waters to the birds to the types of trees). This is a pretty sweet area, one of my favorite places to wander!

Stopped here on a cross country trip to get some exercise and walked a few miles through pretty…read morecottonwood trees with a few views of the river. Traffic noise was constant from the interstate and too much trash along the way. I am afraid this is as good as it gets in this neck of the woods.

Awesome dog park bro! The best in the Midwest. Well taken care of and lots of room for the little…read moredoggos and the big doggos too. Woof woof

It's a great park with plenty of friendly and responsible dog owners!…read moreHere are a list of rules from the website: Park Hours: Open 5 am -11 pm Use the Dog Park at your own risk. Owners are legally responsible for their dogs and any injuries caused by them. Dogs are allowed off leash in dog park areas only; Mandan City Ordinance 16-03-02. Owners must carry a leash at all times. Dogs should be leashed before entering and prior to leaving the dog park. Dogs must wear a collar, carry ID tags, be properly licensed and vaccinated, be parasite free and in healthy condition. Owners must remain in the dog park with their dogs at all times. Dogs must be leashed when maintenance crews are working in the dog park. No children under the age of 12 allowed in the dog park without adult supervision Owners must pick up and dispose of dog feces. No more than two dogs per handler at any time. Female dogs in heat and dogs less than four months of age are prohibited from entering the dog park. Dogs must be removed from the dog park at the first sign of aggression or excessive barking. Violators of these rules will be subject to removal from the dog park and suspension of dog park privileges. All users need to abide by City and Park Ordinances. Keep all gates closed No smoking No alcohol No bicycles, skateboards, or motorized allowed inside the fence.

A rather nice park for the pooches to burn energy & be social, with appropriate sections & benches…read more We will be taking a temporary break from parks and groomers, (no fault of the park), due to the doggie virus going around, as we encountered another family with a sick dog at home. My advice would definitely be to head out here but give the sick pups a chance to get things sorted to avoid the spread, according to the vet.

The Dakota Bark Park is a pretty decent dog park. It has three areas; small, medium and general…read more It's very spacious so the dogs have plenty of room to run around and chase each other. There are a few shady slots for those warmer days too, but only in the general park (which is the largest). The only real negative is that that water fountain doesn't work, so be sure to bring your pups water to drink. There are dog bags provided. It's a little hard to find but it's worth looking for since its one of the only place I found in Minot where the dogs can run around freely. Overall, this is a good park for the pups.

We're visiting from Texas and came by this park and I knew the kids would love it!! There's a huge…read moreempty space we used to fly kites and then they enjoyed playing on all of the fire department themed playground equipment. This is so much different from back home and the kids loved it!!

Hhhmmmm where in Bismarck can I find a super big park to run, play, take pictures or do whatever my…read moreheart else desires? Well my fellow yelpers, the answer is Sertoma Park. This park is 98.7 acres of pure fun and nature. There 11 shelters here, each consisting of their own picnic areas, parking lot, playgrounds and restrooms. Some shelters are bigger than others, so the capacity ranges from 25-350 people. With that many shelters and playground, you are pretty much guaranteed your own play area every time you come. Some shelters have special features: Shelter #7 is the closest to the amusement park, Shelter #8 is closest to the zoo and has a eagle mural on the floor nearby, shelter #9 is closest to tennis courts and has a baseball diamond, shelter #10 (my favorite) has a bunch of sand volleyball courts and a horseshoe complex. Some other features of this parks are multiple running trails, fancy art on the floor, lots of Pokestops for Pokemon Go, very close to the Dakota Zoo (see my review for that one if you are interested) and lots of trees to provide shade. This is my favorite park in Bismarck and perfect to go running or play volleyball to destress from graduate school.

What a gem of a park! We camped for one night (could have easily stayed longer if we'd had more…read moretime) and enjoyed fishing and the historic sites. Ranger Austin was a friendly wealth of information and my 5 yo really enjoyed wearing the buffalo head dress he brought over. Our campsite faced the Missouri, which was sweet. However, all of the campsites are pretty close together. If I were to go back, I'd opt for site 1, which faces the river and has a little more space to it as it is close to a parking lot, but not obtrusively so. Also, the bathrooms were spotless and boasted the nicest campground shower I've ever had.

For a state with an abysmal and brutal record (in fact to the present day) of encounters with…read moreindigenous Americans (oh wait, that's not very distinguishing among other states is it?) this state park does quite an excellent job of presenting a rebuilt indigenous people's village. The cultural and linguistic explanations about the native people's way of seeing and thinking is especially noteworthy. The reconstructed "earthlodges" sit on the site of an actual, large settlement of a northern plains tribe from the 1700s. If you tour this site, you'll learn about the spread of smallpox from the Spanish populations further south, up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, that weakened the entire population even before contact with the european invaders from the east. There are exhibit narratives about a tribal leader traveling to the east to meet with U.S. leaders, however, these narratives omit the brutal part of the european-native confrontation. Notably, the Whitestone massacre from the 1860s, where 300+ women and children at a big harvest camp were brutalized and killed, not too far from this exact site. (A "genocidal" action of the U.S. Army that provides historical precedent for the likes of Boko Haram.) Yes, history is told by the vanquishers, but in this case, a very dedicated woman of indigenous origin has spoken of her heritage through storytelling over many years, and her painstaking, tenacious work has paid off in the quality and insights available at this exhibit. You'll be enriched by insights into the native peoples' worldview. Additionally, I recommend a stop at the visitors center because the media there really brings alive the structures you see in the native village. The military forts at this state park are so predictable...and deceitful (because right to the present, few european americans want to admit and reconcile with the perpetration of atrocities.)

Nice park for the playground, a small picnic area, letting your dog run, and a sweeping view.read more

Ever seen a sundial? Optimist family park is the only park in this city that features one. Some…read moreother features of this park are a basketball court, horseshoe pit, reservable picnic shelters, sand volleyball courts, decent sized grass fields and restrooms that are nicer than at most parks. Located in a friendly neighborhood, this is small park is perfect if you got a hour or two to just chill. It isn't crowded and has pretty much all you are looking for in a park.

Driving over the Missouri River on I-94 towards Bismarck, I spotted this park along the riverside…read moreand made the detour to stop. It's not exactly easy to get there but if you're living in Bismarck then that's different. Walking trails (some folks were walking their dogs), art, history and a boat ramp for launching into the River. Yes, Lewis and Clark passed through here and stopped at nearby Fort Mandan as they explored through the Louisiana Territory from St. Louis along the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, eventually reaching the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. If you're in the middle of recreating their journey, then more power to you. If not, and you're also not launching a boat into the river, then you're probably not going to be overly excited about Keelboat Park. [Review 10751 overall, 519 of 2019.]

I honestly think this place was a bit underwhelming. I had read that it was the prettiest overlook…read moreof that river, that makes me sad. I thought it was a glorified parking lot. I was disappointed.