 The Sheyenne Grasslands are home to the western prairie fringed orchid, a federally listed threatened species. |
 Juneberries: found in the woody draws along the Sheyenne. Photo: Jean Legge TOURISM IN THE SHEYENNE RIVER VALLEY HELPFUL LINKS Nature & Wildlife/ National Scenic Byway Designation |
SAVE THE SHEYENNE RIVER Brought to you by The People To Save The Sheyenne / Table of Contents |
Sheyenne Valley
makes for scenic inexpensive trips
By Janell Cole
The Forum - 05/20/2001
Don't fret about those high gasoline prices this
summer. Just point the car in the direction of North Dakota's
Sheyenne River valley for an inexpensive day trip or weekend
camp-out.
Or even several day trips. It could take you all summer to see
all the sights and enjoy all the things to do up and down the
valley.
Whether you want camping, fishing and boating on Lake Ashtabula
or whether your taste leans more toward bird-watching and a shot
of the endangered wild prairie orchid in bloom, it's within a
short drive. Or maybe you're more into antiquing and neat places
to eat in downtown Valley City after a trip around the town's
bridge tour.
The folks at the Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce and their
friends to the north and south, from Cooperstown to Lisbon, have
been knocking themselves out the last few years to plug their
area as a tourist attraction.
It's working, too, said Curt Brown, executive vice president of
the Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce. He can hardly keep
count of the number of tour buses coming through the area now. He
doesn't have to call them and ask them to come. "They've
been calling us," he said.
A recent one was the Mother's Day Mystery Tour that showed off
the Valley City bridge tour and the Sheyenne River Valley Scenic
Byway/Backway south through Kathryn.
"There's a real energy in Valley City," said Al
Stenehjem, the new state tourism director. He and his staff spent
two days last month taking a whirlwind tour of as many sites as
they could squeeze in up and down the valley, with Brown and
others from the area guiding the way. They rode the ski lift at
Bear's Den Mountain Ski Resort at Fort Ransom, ate at Rockin'
Rodney's in Luverne, N.D., did the bridge tour and Medicine Wheel
Park in Valley City and chowed down on ribs at Kelly's Crossing
at Lake Ashtabula, just to name a few things.
Brown is proud to say he and his volunteers wore the tourism
department staff out to the point that they were begging to go to
their motel rooms to rest.
"People keep calling us the best-kept secret. It's important
people get to experience it. Otherwise, it goes to waste,"
he said.
North of Valley City
When you pass under the Hi-Line bridge on your way out of the
city, you're headed into a whole world of fishing, camping and
resorts. Many sites are well-signed.
In order, from south to north, they are:
Valley City National Fish Hatchery, where you can walk around the
ponds, have a picnic, take the kids fishing in the pond (under 16
fish free in North Dakota) and watch birds. There are lots of
geese with the goslings right now. The building's interpretive
displays inside aren't open weekends, but manager Matt Bernard
says most of the good stuff is outside. The best
time to see the hatchery is through June. Five miles north is
Faust Park, where you can also picnic and put your canoe in the
river.
Bald Hill Dam on County Road 19, which holds back the waters of
Lake Ashtabula, has the public Mel Reiman Recreational Area. If
you cross the river and stay on No. 19 along the west side of the
lake, you can visit Katie Olsen's Landing
To follow the lake on the east side, head up County Road 21 to
visit the lake at Sundstrom's Landing, Camp Davis, Bay Shore
Resort, Eggert's Landing, or continue to the Ashtabula Crossing,
where you can camp, boat or sit down at Kelly's Crossing
restaurant, which Stenehjem said serves some the best ribs in the
state. If you cross the lake at Ashtabula Crossing, County Road
26 will take you north to another longtime resort area, Sibley,
which has a dance hall, bar and restaurant that has been serving
a Sunday buffet for decades.
If you cross the lake again at Sibley, heading east, you can head
up County 27 to Luverne, N.D., population 14, home of Rockin'
Rodney's Bar and Grill and Volden Farm bed-and-breakfast.
Rodney's features a 1*-pound hamburger and is listed in the
state's Vittles in the Vast Lane directory of small-town
eateries.
In Valley City
The attractions in Valley City itself include the antique shops
and gift stores, Medicine Wheel Park, Barnes County Historical
Society and Museum and the interpretive bridge tour, a
self-guided interpretive drive that covers seven bridges in the
city and an eighth just north of town at the Valley City National
Fish Hatchery-Maryvale convent intersection.
Though Maryvale has become a popular retreat center, it's not
open for tours or public visits. You may go so far as to drive
into the parking lot and take a peek at the place as you make a
U-turn on your way out, but the sisters' request that you respect
their privacy and not intrude on the grounds.
South of Valley City
Take County Road 21 south out of the city (Exit 292 off
Interstate 94) and you've embarked on the Sheyenne River Valley
Scenic Byway/Backway, an official designation by the state of
North Dakota. This drive is famous for its scenery all year
round, but is especially noted for its fall color.
Five miles south of the city is Country Junction at King School,
a converted 1930 country school. The gift shop-consignment shop
opens for the season Friday.
Other minor attractions along the way are the Stephan Cabin,
Ellis Nelson School House, Daily Historic Site and Clausen
Spring/Birch Creek Historic Site, a couple miles west of Kathryn.
At Kathryn, nestled in the valley about 15 miles south of Valley
City, you can stop at the Dew Drop Inn, another restaurant
featured in the state's "Vittles in the Vast Lane"
listing. Also at Kathryn you can see the Walker Dam Mill site,
Wadeson Cabin Historic Site and the Waldheim Church.
Driving south of Kathryn, at the junction of the Byway/Backway
with state Highway 46, is Little Yellowstone State Park.
The next stop on your way through this forested, rugged, hilly
area is the scenic town of Fort Ransom, along with Fort Ransom
State Park and Fort Ransom Historic Site. There you can find
shopping, museums and camping. The big events are Sodbuster Days
in July and the arts and crafts fair in September.
The road takes you next to Lisbon, where you can engage in
primitive camping in the Lisbon State Forest and visit the
Sheyenne National Grassland.
By this time you're probably so tired, it'll be time to head
home!
Readers can reach Forum reporter Janell Cole at (701) 224-0830
Helpful Link:
H. R. Morgan State Nature Preserve: captures the secluded meeting of the Sheyenne River and Sheyenne Sandhills in its full spectrum of plant and animal life. http://www.state.nd.us/ndparks/Acrobat/hrmorganbrochure.pdf