Minot

The Souris River goes through the middle of town, carving a valley in the middle of flat prairie. The town arose in 1880s as a stop along the Great Northern railway. During Prohibition the city became a nexus for alcohol smuggling. After World War II the city settled down into quiet suburbanation. There's a US Air Force base north of town. You can drive to Canada in just over an hour.

Minot is a rather unusual city, though possessing levels of services similar to much larger cities, it struggles between small-town and cosmopolitan attitudes. Civic growth is not greatly helped by the climate. T-shirts available at the airport have this motto: "Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason!"

• Minot Convention & Visitors Bureau 1020 South Broadway (Located in the Scandinavian Heritage Visitors Center)
• Minot Air Force Base "Only the Best Come North"
• Minot Area Development Corporation

Unless you've brought a bicycle and happen to be in good shape, you aren't getting anywhere in Minot without a car. Some public transit is available at certain times, but for visitors it's more trouble than it's worth.

• 🌍 Minot railroad museum, 19 1st St NE, ☏ +1 701 852-7091. The museum, has provided its guests with a glimpse at the fascinating history of the westward railroad expansion since its opening in 1986. (updated Oct 2019)
• Riverwalk of Minot. A 2.5-mile walking and biking trail along the Souris River, which is accessible from a number of Minot attractions including the Railroad Museum and Roosevelt Park. 
• 🌍 Roosevelt Park and Zoo, 1219 Burdick Expressway East, ☏ +1 701 857-4166. May: 10AM-6PM; June–August: 10AM-8PM; September: 10AM-6PM; October: Weekdays 10AM-5PM (Weather Permitting). Roosevelt Park is the city's largest park. Features include a zoo, a swimming pool, and a 2/5ths scale railroad you can take a ride on around the park, in addition to gardens, walking paths, picnic shelters, tennis courts, and a band shell. Be sure to check out the sundial near the train station and the statue of Theodore Roosevelt in the southwest part of the park. 
• 🌍 Scandinavian Heritage Park, 1020 S. Broadway, ☏ +1 701 852-9161. A 14-acre park highlighting the Scandinavian roots of the region. Feature of the park include a 230-year-old house from Norway and a stave church. 

• 🌍 The North Dakota State Fair, 2005 Burdick Expressway East (State Fairgrounds). The North Dakota State Fair is one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, bringing big name concerts, carnival rides, and fairway fare. The fair runs 9 days, from the second-to-last Friday in July to the last Saturday in July. 
• Norsk Høstfest, 2005 Burdick Expressy East (State Fairgrounds). The Norsk Høstfest is North America's largest Scandinavian heritage festival, running more than 25 years. The Høstfest, like the State Fair, brings in big-name entertainers to Minot, along with a lot of other folks! The Norsk Høstfest runs 4 days, starting the first Wednesday in October to the following Saturday. 
• 🌍 Lillian and Coleman Taube Museum of Art, 2 N. Main St. (corner of Main St. & Central Ave. downtown), ☏ +1 701 838-4445. Tu-F 10:30AM - 5:30PM, Sa 11AM - 4PM. This venue has over 1600 square feet of gallery space, for emerging and established talent locally, regionally, and internationally. Showcase guest artists and member’s work, as well as maintaining a permanent collection. The gallery's Museum Gift Shop sells ND artists' work. Tours are welcome anytime. Admission is by suggested contribution. 

Shopping opportunities are ample in Minot. Souvenirs are available at the airport.

• Downtown Minot, northeast of the intersection of Burdick Expressway and Broadway, has small shops and restaurants, particularly along Main Street and Central Avenue.
• 🌍 Dakota Square Mall, 16th Street SW (off the US 2/52 bypass). Target, Sears, Herbergers, J C Penney, and Scheels Sports. Numerous specialty shops. The mall is in the middle of a shopping district that grew around it, including Hobby Lobby, Super Wal-Mart, and Best Buy. 
• Town and Country Center, Broadway. A strip mall. Much of it is office space but there is a drugstore, a variety store, and a travel agency. 
• Arrowhead Mall. A strip mall on 16th Street SW quite a bit north of the mall. There's a drugstore, a supermarket, some restaurants, and some offices. 
• Budget Music and Video, 1944 S. Broadway, ☏ +1 701 852-5321. A locally owned record shop with a large collection of new and used CDs, body jewelry, incense, lighters, posters, and paintings amongst other odds and ends. 

Food is pretty cheap in Minot. You're looking at $10 tops per person in most cases, maybe $20 at some of the nicer sit-down restaurants. If you really want to pull out on the stops, it is theoretically possible to spend $50 a plate at a handful of places in town... if you care to.

You will not need a reservation for any restaurant in town. Some restaurants do have private rooms that can be reserved, which are generally for business or political meetings.

• 🌍 The Blue Rider, 118 1st Ave SE, ☏ +1 701 852-9050. 
• 🌍 The Tap Room, 23 South Main Street (Entrance on First Avenue), ☏ +1 701 340-7216. (updated Feb 2018)

Accommodations are easy to find in Minot -- except during the State Fair and Høstfest. Be sure to reserve your rooms well in advance if you're planning to stay during late July and early October.

There is little crime in Minot. Most residents do lock their doors, but in wintertime many people leave their cars running in parking lots as they run their errands.

Probably the most significant danger comes from city traffic. Pedestrians should yield to oncoming traffic -- most people will not stop to let you by, even at crosswalks. Also, drunk and exhibition driving is a risk late on weekends. Stay alert on the roads at those times.

The telephone area code for Minot is 701.

Minot has excellent telecommunications infrastructure; the telephone system is modern, internet access is ubiquitous, and cellular coverage within the city is excellent. Analog and digital PCS, CDMA and GSM networks are available. Coverage in the city and along the roads is excellent. Coverage gaps deep in rural territory are quickly being filled. Local telephone provider SRT is a partner with Sprint and Verizon Wireless, among others. Alltel Wireless also maintains infrastructure in the area; while its native service is based on CDMA technology, it offers a parallel GSM network that some carriers such as T-Mobile US use for roaming. AT&T Wireless now offers limited coverage in the city but not in the surrounding rural areas.

Minot has a web cafe, Broadway Bean & Bagel, on South Broadway. Public Internet access is also available at the Public Library (next to the Amtrak station) and Minot State University (North Broadway). Free WiFi access is available in pockets downtown and around MSU.

• Rugby (70 miles E) is the geographical center of North America. From Minot, take US 2 east and drive for about one hour.
• The International Peace Garden (120 miles NE) is on the Canadian border near Dunseith. From Minot, take US 2 to Rugby and turn north on ND 3, park is on left at border crossing.
• Lake Sakakawea (40 miles S) provides ample water recreational opportunities. From Minot, take US 83 south and drive about half an hour, US 83 crosses the lake. The cities of Garrison and New Town have boater services.
• 4 Bears Casino near New Town (60 miles SW) has a wide variety of entertainment. From Minot, take US 83 south about 15 minutes, then turn west at ND 23 and drive about 40 minutes.