Knife River Indian Villages Historic Site
Knife River Indian Villages Historic Site
4.5
Full view
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
95 reviews
Excellent
45
Very good
43
Average
6
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Brian Krieger
Shelby, OH312 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
On its own, the Knife River Indian Villages is not that great. A small museum, one earth lodge you can tour on your own, and a 1 mile trail to where Sacajewea’s village used to be. There isn’t much left except for indentations in the ground. Was disappointed to see that no ranger programs were offered and the rangers were just there - not overly friendly. Since the Lewis & Clark site and Fort Mandan is only 30 minutes away, this wasn’t a total bust. Still, I had hoped for a lot more. Abraham Lincoln State Park in nearby Bismarck has the same stuff but in a nicer location AND with Custer’s cavalry headquarters. This site does have a Junior Ranger program for kids.
Written July 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Conner T
Altoona, IA80 contributions
Jun 2022
We enjoyed watching the interpretive movie in the visitor's center, exploring the earthlodge, and hiking a portion of the trail system. The park was a bit bigger than we expected coming in and we didn't plan for spending enough time. I'd say 1.5-2 hours would give you the chance to hike all the way to the river and fully explore the museum exhibits.
Written June 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EC13091
Ellicott City, MD1,549 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
We had a wonderful visit here, and had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed the explanatory film, then toured the exhibits and took one of the hikes. As we had expected, we stayed over an hour and a half, and it was time well spent. We left with a far better understanding of these villages, and how the people lived.
Written September 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grussingtravels
Detroit Lakes, MN248 contributions
Sep 2022
We have a goal to visit all the National Parks and we homeschool so we engage in the Junior Ranger program when visiting every site. We had such a great time hunting through the visitors center to answer the questions, visiting the earth lodge (WOW), watching the movie and talking with the park ranger. It was a very hot day and since we had lot of little legs with us we only hiked a small portion of the trail. If we were in the area I would visit again and do the entire hike as long as it's not 96 degrees.
Written September 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Davigeta
Saint Louis, MO1,122 contributions
Aug 2021
This is a nice historic site, with a good movie available. There's a small museum, an earth-lodge with appropriate replicas inside it, and a nice garden. Walk to the first abandoned village from the visitor center, After that you can continue or skip the second village (unless you MUST see the remains of Sakakawea's village- basically indentations in the ground). Access to the Knife River is blocked. Overall, vey good but not great.
Written August 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mtream
Denton, TX159 contributions
Jun 2021 • Friends
This place was so great! It's really cool that they have a video with information they gathered from one of the last living people that lived in the "old ways". The fact that she shared the culture and ways of life was really special. I enjoyed going into the earthlodge and reading the guide that helps you imagine what it would be like living there in those days. The weather was great and the trail was a nice stroll. I'd say it was well worth the hour long drive from Bismarck.
Written June 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GriffnLeanne
Morrinsville, New Zealand124 contributions
Nov 2022 • Couples
What a fabulous stop! The 15 minute movie was really informative followed by a week presented gallery with supporting material. There wasn’t too much to take in and it was really easy to follow. The earth hut was well done and the person in the information centre really helpful! Unfortunately the snow meant we didn’t take advantage of all the walks , but we enjoyed our winter visit
Written November 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen H
Lincoln, NE576 contributions
Jun 2021 • Friends
This is a very well done park. The film was informative and everything was well presented. The rangers at the visitors center were enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
You can make an easy walk out to see a completely furnished earth lodge as it was at the time. They even burn fires in there from time to time so it has the smell of an earth lodge in use. The walk out is paved and easy to use.
There is a walk out to see the divots in the ground where the lodges used to be. It was a flat walk with a few benches along the way. Mostly in the sun with a bit of shade. It was hard to see the indentations since you were level with them but you could tell they were there.
It would be nice if there was a platform to go up and see from a bit higher.
You can make an easy walk out to see a completely furnished earth lodge as it was at the time. They even burn fires in there from time to time so it has the smell of an earth lodge in use. The walk out is paved and easy to use.
There is a walk out to see the divots in the ground where the lodges used to be. It was a flat walk with a few benches along the way. Mostly in the sun with a bit of shade. It was hard to see the indentations since you were level with them but you could tell they were there.
It would be nice if there was a platform to go up and see from a bit higher.
Written June 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KateS
Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States6,092 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
Interesting, historically -relevant place. So much to learn! We enjoyed the 15-minute movie in the Visitor Center & felt a spiritual connection knowing we were on the actual site of ancestral villages. The earth lodge reconstruction was particularly impressive.
Written September 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
h.thao09 h
27 contributions
May 2022 • Family
We went on a Saturday afternoon couple hours before closing. It was a great experience because it was not a packed touristy attraction so we were the only ones there until a couple came 5 minutes after us. We had the small little theater to ourselves and watched the 13 minutes movie about the recollections of one of the ladies who grew up and lived there. The earthlodge was beautiful inside and the trail to the river was good as well. I guess it really
Comes down to who you go with and when you go as the nice weather and cool breeze also added to the good experience we had there.
Comes down to who you go with and when you go as the nice weather and cool breeze also added to the good experience we had there.
Written June 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello,
.
I'm planning a future trip to the region and I wanted to know how much time to allow at the site.
Written November 22, 2020
We will be traveling from Dickinson and are trying to choose between Knfe River site andOn A Slant site. Does anyone have any input or suggestions? We really want to spend some time but would consider visiting both places if that is possible in one day getting us back to Dickinson by night. I guess the questions are which place to choose, how long to expect to visit, how long is the travel time? Thanks for any guidance
Written August 14, 2015
We will be visiting on a Sunday. What are the hours of operation for Sunday?
Written May 30, 2015
Showing results 1-3 of 3
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing