Pioneer Trails Regional Museum
Pioneer Trails Regional Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
A museum exploring the rich history of the prairies of the Midwest, from Native American civilizations to early settler culture to dinosaur fossils. The first week of June, PTRM hosts an ATV tour, following the many historic trails that cross the area. Throughout the summer, the Paleontology Department offers Day Tours for individuals and groups that would like to experience a day in the life of a Paleontologist. Call the museum to book your tours today!
Duration: 1-2 hours
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10 within 3 miles
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2 within 6 miles
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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
33 reviews
Excellent
24
Very good
7
Average
2
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Tom L
Oshkosh, WI306 contributions
Jun 2022
This museum is really quite amazing. The folks responsible for it should be VERY proud of what they've achieved. It does an exceptional job of telling the story of the region's diverse life through the years. It is clean, well-lit, and well organized. Some of the signage gets a little verbose, but most is concise and well absorbed. Best of all, this is not just a display of artifacts. Like the world's greatest museums, this is a research facility as well, at least in the field of vertebrate paleontology! In fact, guests are able to watch a paleontologist in his lab cleaning fossils! Anyone interested in pioneer life, indigenous peoples, or dinosaurs will find something to go "Wow!" about here! Definitely worth detouring off the interstate on your way west!
Written July 8, 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.
Luane H
Pearl City, HI70 contributions
Jun 2014 • Family
We drove from Rapid City, SD to Bowman, ND just for a day. After reading the reviews, we decided to visit this museum. What a surprise to see such a nice museum. There were many wonderful displays. The kids loved the dinosaur exhibit. The adults loved the Native American exhibits. There was something for everyone to see! We spent about 2 hrs there and enjoyed every minute. The $3 admission was a bargain. The staff there were really friendly and suggested a local restaurant for us to try - Eats N Treats (great burgers).
Written June 24, 2014
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.
Dr Stephen
Ashbourne, UK2,870 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
My wife and I visited the museum on our Seattle- NY road trip in October 2017. Free parking and $5 to get in makes this a bargain.
There are lots of exhibits covering Dakota's history:
Dinosaurs
General Custer
Sitting Bull and the Sioux
Farming
Military
Local history
Definitely worth a call if you are nearby. If I have informed you, please give me a "Helpful" vote. Thank you.
There are lots of exhibits covering Dakota's history:
Dinosaurs
General Custer
Sitting Bull and the Sioux
Farming
Military
Local history
Definitely worth a call if you are nearby. If I have informed you, please give me a "Helpful" vote. Thank you.
Written October 11, 2017
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.
Chris J
Battle Creek, MI54 contributions
May 2013
Wow, I really didn't expect this in a small town like Bowman. There are a number of displays featuring the history of the area 1. The German-Hungarian settlers. 2. Cowboys and ranching 3. The sioux uprising/Indian Wars 4.Fossils including a full replica of a stegasaurus. 5. Frontier life and finally, 6. The members of the community who have served in the armed forces. The displays are fresh and modern and well put together. The young lady at the desk was knowledgable and helpful. The giftstore was great and had a large selection of books, possibly a couple hundred titles, though they didn't seem to be arranged with any order to them. This is certainly worth a stop. Give yourself at least an hour. Oh, and by the way, there is also a buffalo ranch just north of town. Good for a few pictures from the road.
Written May 17, 2013
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.
jason a
Oakland, CA87 contributions
Jun 2018 • Couples
Stopped in on a whim and was very pleasantly surprised. Great details about history of North Dakota and the area. Worth 45 mins of your time.
Written June 27, 2018
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.
RoadTrip50M
Queens, NY284 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
Maybe this is a low budget museum, but there is a lot to read, behold, and contemplate here.
The reading is in large print, quick to communicate yet educational. The photos and exhibits are well-chosen.
The museum gave excellent historical context to towns in the sparsely populated lands we'd passed on the way, and a though-provoking presentation on how the American spirit had evolved. There was also a wall on the role of women.
The visit got me thinking about how many of us Americans, in the 21st centuries, are lazy and interested in the external resources and solutions. Go, and pay thoughtful homage to the people who paved the way for future generations to feel drawn to dreams, journeys, sweat, and ongoing improvement.
The reading is in large print, quick to communicate yet educational. The photos and exhibits are well-chosen.
The museum gave excellent historical context to towns in the sparsely populated lands we'd passed on the way, and a though-provoking presentation on how the American spirit had evolved. There was also a wall on the role of women.
The visit got me thinking about how many of us Americans, in the 21st centuries, are lazy and interested in the external resources and solutions. Go, and pay thoughtful homage to the people who paved the way for future generations to feel drawn to dreams, journeys, sweat, and ongoing improvement.
Written September 4, 2013
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.
Isern1952
Fargo, ND263 contributions
Aug 2011 • Business
Having visited this museum several times over the years, I've come to appreciate it more and more, as it develops and improves. It's certainly one of the better local history museums on the northern plains. The PTRM is becoming well-known for its initiatives in paleontology, but I'm more interested in the historical exhibits. And in local museums, I think it's best to encounter an artifact person-to-object, rather than expecting interpretation. I'll give one example of many outstanding individual artifacts in the PTRM: the Chisholm Trail marker emplaced in North Dakota (originally at Scranton, now moved to the museum in Bowman). P. P. Ackley was a Texan with an overblown enthusiasm for the old Chisholm Trail, such that he put markers of it up and down the plains, including in places, such as western North Dakota, with no connection at all to the Chisholm Trail. The trail marker exhibited at the PTRM, then, is an artifact of popular enthusiasm for the romance of the range. The Ackley markers were the subject of an episode in the PBS series, History Detectives.
Written December 11, 2011
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.
retiredohardscrabble
Cadyville, NY57 contributions
We made a day trip from Rapid City, SD to travel north to see this museum. It was over 300 miles round trip. It was worth the trip. The museum is very well setup. Displays are very tastefully done - lots of old photos of pioneers and indians. Wonderful displays. We spent 1 1/2 hrs and enjoyed every minute - and it was only a $3 admission. Very friendly lady in charge answered questions and was kind enough to suggest a local restaurant to us (which was great - Jabr's Family Restaurant). Very much enjoyed this small but wonderful museum
Written September 16, 2010
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.
Catherine O
Montague, CA38 contributions
May 2018 • Family
If you are traveling near Bowman, ND, don't miss this museum. So much history to be found there. It covers the Native Americans and has excellent displays and photos. It has a section on the homesteaders with displays and photos. A really impressive paleontology section and active interaction with the local archeology department. It was a nice surprise.
Written May 29, 2018
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.
jloonatic
Anchorage, AK13 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
We spent two hours looking at all the displays in this interesting museum. If you want to know about this area of North Dakota, this is the place. It was very educational to learn about the history of the cowboys, Indians, plants, wildlife, immigrant settlers, ranch life, cattle and sheep herding, paleontology, and geology. I really liked the display of barbed wire. Who knew there were so many kinds? This place is well worth a lengthy visit.
Written April 24, 2013
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.
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