Hazen, ND Road Trips

Most North Dakota towns owe their names either to someone related to the railroad or the post office. In this case, it is the latter. A. Z. Hazen was the third assistant postmaster general in the early days of the town, which was first settled around 1882.

1 Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, 564 County Road 37 (13 ki E of Hazen, and one-half mile north of Stanton on County Road 37), ☏ +1 701 745-3300. Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day, 8AM-6PM, rest of year, 8AM-4:30PM. Established as a National Park Service (NPS) site in 1974. This is the only NPS site that preserves and protects the Northern Plains Indian Heritage. The Native Americans have occupied this area for over 11,000 years. There are the remains of three Hidatsa village sites within the park boundaries. The Big Hidatsa site has 110 depressions, the Sakakawea (Awatixa) site has 60 depressions and the Lower Hidatsa site has 40 depressions. This was once a thriving civilization situated along the Knife River. Sakakawea lived at the Awatixa site when she met Lewis and Clark at Fort Mandan. A state of the art museum dedicated to preserving the culture of the Hidatsa, Mandan and Arikara tribes is located at the visitor center. A 15-minute video about village life can be viewed in the visitor center theater. A full-scale reconstructions of a Hidatsa earthlodge features authentic furnishings. Programs in the earthlodge are conducted during the summer months. Free.

1 Lake Sakakawea State Park. (updated Apr 2018)

Cenex Grab n' Dash (Highway 200 & 4 Ave), ☏ +1 701 748-2511.

Lewis & Clark RV Park, ☏ +1 701 748-2267. Roughrider Motor Inn, 707 8th Ave NE, ☏ +1 701 748-2209.

By car: from Bismarck, north on US-83 for about 40 miles, then west on ND-200A for approximately 30 miles. From Minot, take US-83 south about 60 miles south to ND-200 west. By air: Mercer County Regional Airport