North Dakota’s Lewis & Clark Golf Trail

A 20-course exploration across the Peace Garden State brings rich history and great golf.

By Chris Duthie

Ever since the 1980s launch of Alabama’s resplendent Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, destinations across the country have compiled their own “golf trails.” Among them: the Red Rock (Utah), Santa Fe (New Mexico), Divine 9 (Nevada) and High Plains (Nebraska). Colorado reportedly has 10 of its own.

Another vaunted collection is North Dakota’s Lewis & Clark Golf Trail, a 20-course journey into one of America’s more historically noteworthy and distinctive regions. Indeed, Teddy Roosevelt, George Custer, Sitting Bull, Sakakawea, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark made this land famous — plus it’s a sumptuous outdoor playground for golfers.

Here are four defining reasons to why it should be part of your upcoming summer vacation plans:

1) Described as one of the best links designs in the U.S. by Golf Magazine and the finest public routing in the state by Golfweek, the Links of North Dakota in Williston is 7,092-yards of Steven Kay golf gloriously orchestrated on wind-blown, grass-cloaked dunes overlooking Lake Sakakawea. Take time to explore meticulously restored Fort Mandan, the famous encampment where Captain Lewis Second Lieutenant Clark and more than two dozen volunteers serendipitously spent a bitter cold winter in 1804-1805.

2) Next on the tee is Bully Pulpit, a 7,166-yard Michael Hurdzan creation that Golf Digest ranks the third best course in the state. Located near Medora among North Dakota’s wickedly gorgeous Badlands, the public course anchors a remarkable vacation destination that boasts the outdoor recreation haven Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Medora Musical and a walkable town rich in museums, boutique shops, restaurants and lodging.

3) From Medora, head 133 miles east on I-94 to Bismarck, home to public Hawktree Golf Club, ranked the top course in the state by Golf Digest. Crafted by North Dakota native and former Colorado resident Jim Engh, the 7,085-yard links design is noted for its black-slag bunkering, punishing par-3s and a walkable, wind-blown site that supremely tests a golfer’s mettle. After, enjoy an entertaining outing at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, site of the frontier home of General George Custer; visit North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum; or take a tranquil boat tour on the Missouri River.

4) Looking to complete this grand Lewis & Clark Golf Trail memory? Check out local 18-hole favs like newly renovated and expanded Painted Woods in Washburn, scenic Heart River in Dickinson, and Tom O’Leary and Riverwood in Bismarck.  The recently restored Vardon Golf Club in Minot occupies the former site of the  Minot Country Club, which reopened with a new private layout, brilliantly crafted by Engh, that allows some guest play.

North Dakota capital Bismarck is an 11-hour drive or 1.5-hour flight north of Denver. For more about this rich and diverse region, go online to ndtourism.com. What are your favorite memories of North Dakota? Share your comments below.

RELATED LINKS

Minot’s Flood of Opportunity

Next on the Tee: Lewis & Clark

Nebraska’s Sandhills is Heaven

Golf Courses of the Red Rock Golf Trail

Chris Duthie is a Durango-based contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer. Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.