Fort Mandan State Historic Site, Washburn

Impressive site to visit the history of Lewis and Clark with their expedition. The Fort Mandan is a recreation of the original fort that was located a little more up river and now underwater or otherwise not accessible. This site definitely gives the impression of how the expedition lived. Each room of the fort is a particular topic for the tour guide to discuss and illustrate the life of expedition members. The rooms were very well laid out with re-created artifacts that demonstrate life in the fort. My 8 year old thought this was the highlight of our vacation. The tour guide was exciting, knowledgeable, and patient with questions. I believe there are several tours per day. We visited on Saturday (last tour?) with only one other party participating in the tour. There are bathroom facilities that were open and perhaps more that was closed perhaps due to a slow day.

We visited Fort Mandan with our 8 and 10 year old daughters. Our guide was fantastic! He opened all of the rooms in the fort, then took out various artifacts and explained how the expedition would have used them. Touching is very encouraged, as everything is a replica. Nothing of the original fort survived the harsh North Dakota weather. The original Fort burned to the ground. Using Lewis and Clark's diaries, the fort was rebuilt so that later generations can understand this part of their voyage. Everyone we encountered at the Fort and the interpretive center were very knowledgeable, friendly, and eager to share their knowledge. If you visit with kids, make sure they ask for the junior rangers program book. Our girls had a blast and earned their really cool badge.

For Lewis & Clark fans, this is a required stop. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The fort itself is quite rundown, but gives a good idea of the conditions the L&C group faced. There are many good examples of tools, weapons, and clothing from that period. Be sure to visit the nearby L&C Interpretive Center before going to the fort. It contains a great timeline of the expedition and many additional exhibits.

Very interesting piece of American history. The guides are very informative and don’t melt in 90+degree weather. Lol. You get to see how the fort was set up. In the museum area, there are copies of the maps that were made on the journey. With the tour and looking through the museum, it took about an hour. (This was in the extreme heat of summer) It is not a long walk from the museum to the fort. There are benches in the fort for those that need them. One price gets you in the Louis and Clark interpretive center as well as fort Mandan.

Lots of interesting information at the Visitors Center, and our tour guide, Shannon, gave us an excellent tour of the replica fort, which is a few miles from the Visitor Center. I highly recommend stopping at both.