Valley City, North Dakota, may not be the first city that comes to mind when thinking about the fall travel season, but it should be. Not only has Expedia named Valley City the Most Beautiful town in North Dakota, Midwest Living magazine recommends the Sheyenne National Scenic Byway as one of the Great Midwest Fall Color Getaways.
Between the historic bridges along the Sheyenne River and the scenic miles of the North Country Hiking Trail, Valley City is an ideal spot to soak up the vibrant colors of fall.
Sheyenne National Scenic Byway
The Sheyenne National Scenic Byway encompasses 63 miles of roadway along the Sheyenne River. The route begins just north of Valley City at Lake Ashtabula and winds southbound to the city of Lisbon following ancient Native American footpaths and Pioneer Wagon trails.
Besides just taking in the fall colors, there are plenty of places to stop along the way. Twenty-seven award winning interpretive panels are placed along the route to give visitors an in-depth understanding of the history and culture of the area.
Little Yellowstone Park is a 27-acre campground filled with hiking trails, making it a great spot to stretch your legs. A spring fed stream runs through the middle of the campground, complete with picturesque foot bridges.
North Country Trail
As the longest scenic trail in the National Trails System, the North Country Trail stretches 4,600 miles from North Dakota to Vermont. There are two perfect spots along the trail to experience fall colors, both under five miles round trip.
A loop through Fort Ransom State Park takes you through both prairie lands and along wooded ravines, showcasing the diversity of landscapes in North Dakota. An out and back trail in Sheyenne State Forest takes you past the state’s only waterfall and features breathtaking vista views over the river valley. For trail specifics and maps, click here.
Historic Bridges Tour
Valley City is nicknamed the City of Bridges, thanks to the thirteen bridges that can be found throughout the area. Eight bridges make up the Historic Bridges Tour, which can easily be completed in under a day. Pick up some informational pamphlets and detailed maps at the Rosebud Visitor Center before starting the tour.
While some of the bridges are more ornate than others, they are all great spots to view fall foliage along the Sheyenne River. The most impressive of the bunch is the High Line Bridge, one of the longest and highest single-track railroad bridges in the United States.
Medicine Wheel Park
Medicine Wheel Park began as a class project at Valley City State University, and soon turned into a community wide collaboration. The main attractions of the park are the solar calendars; one horizon calendar (the medicine wheel) and one meridian calendar. The Medicine Wheel Calendar is a rock structure replica of a Native American solar calendar discovered in Wyoming.
Other sights not to miss include Native American Burial Grounds, woodland nature trails, scenic overlooks and a perennial garden. As pretty as these sights are in the spring and summer, the blazing reds, yellows and oranges of autumn leaves give them an extra bit of magic in the fall.
Sheyenne Valley Arts and Crafts Festival
Every September the Sheyenne Valley Arts & Crafts Association puts on a weekend long festival in nearby Fort Ransom. Over 150 local and regional artists showcase their goods, along with live music, demonstrations, and of course plenty of food.
If you are looking for a unique experience to add to your bucket list, fall in Valley City, North Dakota, is it. Experiencing even just one activity on this list will satisfy your craving for enjoying the beauty of fall in North Dakota.
This post was sponsored by North Dakota Tourism. As always, all opinions are my own.
Loved your post on Valley City! I wish I could be there now to see the fall foliage and the bridges. Putting it on my list for a possible trip next year!!
I haven’t been to Valley City but the pictures literally gave me a virtual tour there.
I love learning about off-the-beaten-path destinations, and this definitely fits the bill! The fall colors in your pictures are stunning, and I love all your activity ideas. The bridge tour sounds like a lot of fun and a great opportunity to practice taking photos, especially among the orange and red leaves. I looked up the High Line Bridge, and it looks so pretty, especially with the reflection over the water.
The foliage in North Dakota looks amazing! Maybe I should plan a travel there soon don’t think it’s a long flight from canada
I am excited to visit here. I am sure I am going to love medicine wheel park and historical bridges tour . By the way all the places look breathtaking beautiful.
I hope to see this in person one day! love the photos.
I haven’t reached North Dakota yet but would love to visit soon. My family would definitely enjoy a trip to the Little Yellowstone Park and enjoy those picturesque footbridges. Thank you for sharing these wonderful spots. 🙂
I haven’t reached North Dakota yet but would love to visit soon. My family would definitely enjoy a trip to the Little Yellowstone Park and enjoy those picturesque footbridges. Thank you for sharing these wonderful spots.
This place looks so beautiful. The abundance of colors makes an impression of luxurious richness. You’ve chosen the right time of the year and now we have an opportunity to partake in your adventures.
Oh, I cannot wait to see the colors of the fall. They look similarly beautiful everywhere, in Dakota… or here, in Northern Europe. We have them a bit earlier though. I keep my camera ready.
Oh my goodness, this place looks beautiful! Although I’ve never been to North Dakota before myself, I would love to make my way over in the near future. Thanks for sharing all of this! 🙂
Loved the place through your post. Felt like I am into the place. I love fall colours experienced the same in Virginia. Good article, keep posting about beautiful places.
It looks and sounds amazing! I am running in all 50 states, so when I get to ND I’m checking out your tips!
Living in the Philippines, I am always fascinated by the beauty and colors of the fall season. Actually I love travelling during the fall season because it’s not too cold but it’s nice and beautiful for a warm coat. Hihi.
I’ve never been to North Dakota. The colors in the trees along the river in that photo look gorgeous. My parents did travel through there and found some beautiful handmade jewelry.
I haven’t been to the Dakotas yet, but it’s definitely on my list! Thanks for the ideas!
LOVELY! I’ve never been to North Dakota before, I usually go to Northern MN or WI to check out the fall colors. But I may need to change this. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Wow, I love the view fall in North Dakota and the place looks amazing I would love to visit this place someday. Awesome photos!
Wow! I would love to visit this! Nature is such a blessing.
I would like to visit the state park. It’s nice to see so many trees. We seem to be tearing them all down to put up buildings where I live… it is disheartening.
Everything looks absolutely beautiful! I wish we had places like this in fall that we could visit. Summer seems to run straight to winter though. I love the colors and the places you suggested!
Love the fall colours! The scenery is stunning!
I haven’t been to North Dakota before either but these colors! Fall in Valley City looks absolutely beautiful! The sites you described sound like fun too. I guess I do need to add North Dakota to my list of places to see — during the fall!
It looks so gorgeous! I’ve always wanted to travel north during fall to see the leaves change. I live in Texas where everything just dies…thanks for sharing!
what an accurate list of things you can’t miss, i really love this season so probably i think i can’t afford to miss anything lol.
Seems sad but since fifty shades or grey I have always wanted to visit Dakota. I am sure one of the scenes was from there and it looked amazing. The national park has some beautiful autumnal colours going on. We haven’t been to the US and a while and we need to really plan one and try and cover this Valley city
I haven’t heard of Valley City but if it has been classified as the most beautiful city in North Dakota by Expedia, it must mean something! The Sheyenne National Scenic Byway looks amazing, I’d love to take that drive. The fall colours are absolutely breathtaking. Also, the historical bridges tour sounds like something I’d like to experience.
How gorgeous is autumn… love the colours and atmosphere in your country. There are lots of activities and things to do, sometimes is up to us to discover and appreciate what we have.
I just returned from mid-west USA but could not make it to north Dakota but could imagine how beautiful this place may look in fall time. I love fall time due to so many colors on trees and therefore adding this Valley city, ND on my next visit to mid-west. Sheyenne National Scenic Byway really looks scenic in fall colors and I would love to go along this road for 63 miles along Sheyenne river.
Sheyenne National Scenic Byway is just incredibly beautiful. There is a Lisbon in America? Whoa! I didn’t know that. Gonna check out the map..
I really love going on trail walks in Fall. The colors are just incredible indeed! I would definitely love to do the Historic Bridges tour. Medicine wheel park sounds impressive. Intriguing to know that its a modern initiative, though it looks ancient!
I never see much about the Dakotas, but I have always wanted to visit and explore. This post honestly makes it look like such beautiful country. Thank you for sharing.
I love those colorful trails! We recently experienced this in South Korea but if given the chance why not experience it again there too right? How was the temperature?
Oh this looks so lovely! I would absolutely love to visit there
Fall in Valley City, ND, sounds wonderful. Not many people think about traveling to ND but the less traveled spots hold some magic. I like that it sounds like the community is so supportive of these open areas. Sheyenne Scenic Byway must get pretty crowded with leaf peepers at this time of year. The solar calendar sounds intriguing. Thanks for bringing this area to my attention.
I love autumn and its insane colours! It is my dream to see fall in the US one day and now I know that North Dakota would be a good place to see these trees! I also had no idea that there was a little Yellow Stone Park.
Those leaves are so vibrant! I have never visited North Dakota but fall looks like the prime time to do so! When would you recommend for peak foliage?
I love to see fall foliage and the changing of leaves on the trees and Valley City seems like the perfect spot for it. It’s great that you can take a tour and see most of the historic bridges in just a day. The vantage points from these bridges seem perfect for capturing the fall colors in all their glory!
Those are gorgeous colours – is this what is meant by Indian Summer ? The Sheyenne National Scenic Byway looks worth driving along especially when it is by the river. I think the most hidden beautiful spots can be right by our own backyards !
I have known nothing about North Dakota before this article and quite frankly I was really intrigued by the pictures of the fall. I was never really into the states when it comes to traveling but if ever make any plans for the states I definitely visit the Valley city.
Wow- North Dakota in the fall looks amazing! I haven’t been there yet, but I hope to eventually visit all 50 states. It looks like I should do North Dakota in the fall, because these photos are stunning! 🙂
I live in Southern California and rarely get to see those beautiful fall colors. My goal to is travel to all 50 US States this would be absolutely beautiful to stop and see all the beautiful fall leaves. I lovd that there would be so many hiking trails to chose from.
I have never been to North Dakota but there are so many things to do/explore there, especially the Sheyenne National Scenic Byway. It’s very beautiful and I would love to visit it someday.
I must admit that Valley City wasn’t even on my radar before your post, but it really looks amazing in the fall with the bright colours. I’d be interested in doing one of the scenic trails especially the historic bridges tour. One of my bucket list items is to do a US road trip and hit as many states as possible – I didn’t have North Dakota on the list until this post! And I especially hope I get to visit the weekend craft festival if I ever make it there.
I haven’t made it up to North Dakota yet, but I’d love to some day. The Sheyenne National Scenic Byway looks absolutely beautiful for a nice fall adventure. I do love a good road trip and would love to check out the interpretive panels to learn a little more. I think it’s awesome that the native footpaths and pioneer trails. How awesome!