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If you're looking for beautiful scenery, outdoor recreation, small-town charm, you've come to the right place! Dunn County is unique among western North Dakota counties, home to both prairie and badlands. Located in the northwest part of the county are the Killdeer Mountains, which are more accurately described as hills. These hills help create a mini-ecosystem on the southern edge of the Little Missouri Badlands, with a great abundance of aspen forest and wildlife. Whether you've just moved here, or you've been here all your life, it's time to start your legend!

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Lake Sakakawea

Little Mo Campground

Dunn County leases the Little Missouri Recreation Arm from the Army Corps of Engineers and redeveloped the campground with a grant from the Outdoor Heritage Fund. The Little Mo Campground is a quiet oasis that is located in the Little Missouri Arm Recreation Area on Lake Sakakawea just 15 miles north of Dunn Center and is a great place for year-round activities. With a fishing license, walleye, northern pike, small bass, catfish, and white bass can be caught. Several mowed walking trails exist. Dunn County Park Board opens the Little Mo Campground in May (weather permitting) through late September. The campground will be operated and maintained from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Little Mo campground offers paved road access to 30 campsites, with 30/50 power and non-potable water, four primitive tent sites a fish cleaning station, docks, a picnic area, picnic tables, fire rings, trash receptacles.
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Beautiful Fall Day on Lake Ilo

Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge

Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is one of more than 560 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, a network of lands set aside specifically for wildlife. The system is a living heritage site, preserving wildlife habitat for people today and for generations to come. Lake Ilo NWR is located one mile west of Dunn Center, ND, along Highway 200. Refuge headquarters is located on the southeast side of Lake Ilo. The refuge is open sunrise to sunset. Two interpretive and educational displays provide opportunities to learn about key features of the refuge. An archeological display containing a reconstructed stone tipi ring and the history of Lake Ilo Dam. Lake Ilo NWR also has a nature playscape for kids ages two to one hundred. There are about six miles of mowed trails to hike, bike or cross-country ski. Lake Ilo also has a picnic area equipped with electricity, which can be reserved by calling 701-573-4848.
 
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Eagles Nest at Lake Ilo Nature Playscape

Lake Ilo Nature Playscape

Friends of Lake Ilo
What is nature play? Nature play is any type of play that includes participation with, or use of, objects that nature provides. Here children have the opportunity to engage in creative, unstructured play with natural elements in a natural setting. The areas at the Lake Ilo Nature Playscape are: Pollinator Plot, Shelters, Water Feature, Animal Trail, Eagles Nest, Climbers/Balance, and a Gathering Place.  This project was made possible through the collaboration of the Dunn County Park Board, Killdeer Girl Scouts Troop 85112, the Outdoor Heritage Fund and McKenzie Electric Operation Roundup.  Come play at Lake Ilo Nature Playscape!
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Old Schoolhouse

Dunn County Historical Museum

Local history museum showcasing authentic memorabilia and agricultural equipment from the homesteading era through mid-1960s. Families are welcome! For more information on current exhibits, call 701-548-8111 or visit the Web site.
Killdeer Mountain Four Bears Scenic Byway
Scenic Byway

Killdeer Mountain Four Bears Scenic Byway

From the Killdeer Mountains to the deeply entrenched Little Missouri River Breaks and Badlands, this 64-mile byway provides a unique and enchanting landscape in one of the most scenic areas of western North Dakota. The rich culture and history of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes along with the cowboy and rodeo lifestyles found here provide visitors an enthralling adventure in west-central North Dakota. Begins north of Manning on Highway 22 through Killdeer to Highway 23, then east to New Town.
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Beautiful Badlands! Come Explore Little Missouri State Park

Little Missouri State Park

Little Missouri State Park has over 6,000 acres of picturesque badlands along the Little Missouri River. Features group picnic shelters, hiking and horseback trails, semi-modern and primitive camping. Horse corrals are available.
Deer Killdeer Wildlife Management
Enjoy the Wildlife

Killdeer Mountains Wildlife Management Area

Called TAH-KAH-O-KUTY, “the place where we kill deer”, by native Indians rise above the plains north of the city. See the majestic oak and birch trees. Wildlife including wild turkeys, deer, and other game birds inhabit the area. Enjoy the solitude, rare flora and fauna which adorn this area. On the west side of the range is a haven for deer, elk, bighorn sheep, pheasant, grouse, wild turkey and antelope.
Flint Knife River Quarries
Flint Excavations

Lynch Knife River Flint Quarries

Located east of Dunn Center, on 95th Avenue, Lynch’s Knife River Flint Quarries have historical value, as it is where Native Americans camped and harvested flint for their tools and weapons. This type of flint has been traded throughout the continent for centuries. Privately owned, please call ahead 701-548-8111.
The Loop
Beautiful Views

The Loop

For a scenic ride in any season, start nine miles west of Killdeer on Highway 200 and go north on good gravel roads, viewing the western slope. The road winds through part of the wildlife management area. After traveling approximately 10 miles, turn east and enjoy a view of the north and south mountains as you reach Highway 22, which will take you back to Killdeer. The Highway 22 Route holds the secrets of buffalo herds, longhorn cattle drives, wagons carrying grain to market and supplies to settlers, as well as the more recent “oil boom” traffic. Glimpses of buildings from early settlement days are still seen along the highways and byways. Our land has been inhabited by many, from prehistoric dinosaurs and saber-toothed tigers, to American Indians, such as the Hidatsa, Arikara, Mandan and Sioux, who followed the great buffalo herds to Western Dakota, along with men of vision like Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores who established a meat-packing empire in Medora in the 1880s.
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Nine-Hole Golf Course

Medicine Hole Golf Course

A nine-hole golf course, grass greens with unique-promising elevations. Approximately 120 feet between highest and lowest green. Enjoy a meal and the beautiful view from the patio.
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Little Missouri River

Little Missouri River

Little Missouri River, the only designated scenic river in North Dakota, offers canoeing as a major recreation attraction, especially in the spring when runoff raises the water levels to the most acceptable levels. Canoers will enjoy not only the magnificent scenery as the river weaves in and out of the buttes, but also glimpses of howling coyotes, occasional soaring golden eagles and other Badlands wildlife.
Hutmacher Farm
Built from the Earth

Hutmacher Farm

The Hutmacher Farm is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is considered the Midwest’s finest still-standing example of the earthen abodes built by Germans from Russia. Unbelievably, Alex Hutmacher lived here until 1979. The Hutmacher farmstead is a good example of what immigrants were willing to endure for their chance at the American dream. With no trees available for building material, and purchased lumber out of their price range, many settlers on the prairie spent their first years in dwellings like this, built from the only material available — the earth itself. Many had left behind nice homes (and most of their worldly possessions) in Europe, to move to dwellings like this, where there were daily encounters with vermin and insects, and where the roof needed constant maintenance to stave-off leaks, but the promise of new opportunity was worth the hardship. Photo credit: Kim Dvorak
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Battlefield Memorial

Killdeer Mountain Battlefield

Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site overlooks the site of a battle fought on July 28, 1864, between troops commanded by General Sully and a gathering of Sioux Indians. This attack on an Indian trading village in the Killdeer Mountains was one of a series of military reprisals against the Sioux that followed the US-Dakota War of 1862 in Minnesota. However, many of the village’s inhabitants were not involved in that war. The Killdeer Mountain Battlefield is eight and one-half miles northwest of Killdeer, ND.
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Saddle Up

Dodge Saddle Club

The Dodge Saddle Club provides support for local youth rodeo events, camps, and clinics.
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Catch the Big One!

Lake Sakakawea

Where can you find a lake 180 miles long, that has more shoreline than the California Pacific coast and is brimming with state parks? North Dakota. Lake Sakakawea is a wonderland for anglers, boaters, campers and swimmers who take advantage of its immense size year-round. With easy access points around the lake, beautiful scenery and many places to drop anchor, there is something there for every outdoor enthusiast.
Powwow
Immerse Yourself

MHA Nation - New Town

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (now known as the MHA Nation) welcomed explorers Lewis and Clark more than two centuries ago. Today, tribal members encourage visitors to experience their vivid history and culture.
Maah Daah Hey Trail
Ride or Hike the Trail

Maah Daah Hey Trail

The Maah Daah Hey Trail is a 144-mile non-motorized single track through the Badlands of North Dakota. It is at times rugged, challenging and relaxing and always amazing. International Mountain Biking Association has designated the hiking, biking and horseback riding trail as EPIC, meaning it’s one of the top mountain biking trails in the United States. Photo credit: Brian Payne.