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Ft. Stevenson State Park

Activity Calendar

2009 Special Events

SKY DANCE SAKAKAWEA - May 23-25 (1 - 4 pm)
Kite flying festival for all ages. Fly your own kite. Build your own kite.  See kites of all shapes and sizes being flown, including stunt kites.   (701-463-2661)

MILITARY SERVICE PERSONNEL DAY – May 25
            Free admission into Fort Stevenson State Park (701-337-5576)

NATIONAL TRAIL DAY - June 6 (2 pm) (701-337-5576)
Ranger guided hike through park’s native prairie.  North Dakota bird checklist available.  Hike will start at the Guardhouse Interpretive Center.

GEOCACHING EVENT - June 12-14 www.geocaching.com
For the first time at Fort Stevenson State Park, it hosting a GeoCaching Event.  This is a state wide geocaching event that will allow presenters to speak about different aspects of Geocaching.  Hands on classes will be presented so the participants get a good idea of how the units operate.  The group will be hiding some temporary caches in different areas of the park.

FORT STEVENSON FRONTIER MILITARY DAYS - June 27 - 28  
(1 pm – 4 pm) Living history demonstrations with military encampment and maneuvers.  Skills and crafts of the Indian Wars period on display.  Visit the
Fort Stevenson Guardhouse Interpretive Center.  (701-337-5576)

PARK APPRECIATION DAY - June 28 
            Free admission into Fort Stevenson State Park. (701-337-5576)

JULY 4th CELEBRATION – July 4  (At dusk)
            Fireworks display in the picnic area of the park. (701-337-5576)

ND GOVERNOR’S CUP FISHING DERBY - July 17- 19 (701-337-5576)
252 teams competing for the Governor’s Cup 34th annual championship.  Flights go out between 7:00 am and 8:30 am.  Weigh-ins begins at 3:00 pm.

ND JUNIOR GOVERNOR’S CUP FISHING DERBY - July 18 (10 am-1 pm)           
Open to ages up to 17.  Prizes awarded.  Only charge is the park entrance fee. (701-337-5576)

CANDISC BICYCLE TOUR – August 1 - 8th (1-800-799-4242)
            “Far East Tour” 2009 will cycle the picturesque haunts of legendary Sitting Bull and the Dakota Territory Frontier Army between huge Lake Sakakawea and Devils (Spirit) Lake.  Visit historic Fort Totten and Fort Stevenson Guardhouse.

BEACH PARTY – August   29 (1-800-799-4242)
Garrison Chamber of Commerce Beach Party, live bands and entertainment, fun and food for all ages, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s music.  Early ticket sales available.

GARRISON FALL WALLEYE CLASSIC - September 11-12 CALL 800-729 for further information.

Amphitheater Programs

Amphitheater programs are held each Friday and Saturday night throughout the summer, starting at 9:30 p.m. Information is posted on the campground bulletin boards.

Interpretive Activities

Weekend interpretive activities, including hikes, campfire programs and Dakota Explorers, are held every weekend during the summer. Information is posted on the campground bulletin boards.

June 12th-14th  Caching and Camping- ND style
Friday, June 12th  Geocaching

  • Geocaching 101: Come join us at the amphitheater to learn the basics of geocaching.

Saturday, June 13th

  • Ft. Stevenson Geocaching: Explore and find the caches hidden throughout the park.  Also, join us for a potluck and homemade cache making.
  • Night Cache: Join us at the amphitheater to participate in a night cache through the park.

Sunday, June 14th

  • ND Geocaching:  If you are interested in joining a geocaching organization join us at the amphitheater to get more information.

June 19th-21st  Prairie Dogs
Friday, June 19th

  • Small mammals of the Prairie:  Join us at the amphitheater to learn about the little known small mammals that live below your feet.

Saturday, June 20th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse:  We will be hiking to Prairie Dog town. Join us at the Guardhouse and we will learn about the endangered black tailed prairie dog..
  • Prairie Small Animal BINGO: Come to the amphitheater Saturday night to play small animal bingo and win lots of cool prizes!

June 26th-27th  Frontier Military Days

Saturday, June 27th (5th Annual Great American Campout)

  • Frontier Military Days: Come to the Guardhouse to experience life during the frontier. There will be a military encampment with cannon firings, butter making and tomahawk throwing.
  •  
  • Early Lighting: Special presentation by Rev. Steve Holmes on the early lighting used by settlers and the cavalry. Join us at the Guardhouse for this interesting presentation.

Sunday, June 28th

  • Frontier Military Days: Military encampment at the Guardhouse with more cannon firings, Arikara displays and black powder rifle firings.
  • Ft. Stevenson On the Market: presentation given on the history of Ft. Stevenson Reservation building and land sale at the Guardhouse.

July 3rd-5th  Independence Day
Friday, July 3rd

  • Patriotic Family Fun: Join us at the amphitheater to sing Patriotic songs and celebrate the 4th of July.

Saturday, July 4th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: Come to the Guardhouse to have fun and make patriotic crafts.

Fireworks: Join us at de Trobriand Marina to enjoy a firework display put on by the Garrison Firefighters.

July 10th-12th  Birds
Friday, July 10th

  • Meet the Grebes: Come to the amphitheater to experience and learn about the life of a grebe.

Saturday, July 11th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: Meet at the Guardhouse, to go on a bird watching hike. We will have bird checklists and see how many birds we can find.

ND Birds: Join us at the amphitheater to play BIRDS (bingo) and find out what birds live here in the park.

July 17th-19th  Governor’s Cup
Friday, July 17th

  • Someone Smells Fishy: We will be having a fish identification challenge at the amphitheater. Come join the fun and see how many fish you know.

Saturday, July 18th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: Come to the Ft. Stevenson’s de Trobriand Lodge to try your hand at fishing. The Jr. Governor’s Cup will be going on Saturday morning, ages 17 and under are welcome, and rods and reels will be provided to those who do not have them.
  • Exotic FISH: Join us at the amphitheater to learn about the exotic world of fish. From the really tiny to the really big we will be learning about all different varieties.  

July 24th-26th  Nature in North Dakota
Friday, July 24th

  • Nature in ND: Join us at the Amphitheater to play Nature Jeopardy. Come have fun with us, we will have prizes for everyone!

Saturday, July 25th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: Wildflower hike. We will be walking one of our many trails and learning about the native prairie. Meet at the Guardhouse.
  • Keeping Nature Around: Join us at the Amphitheater to become more aware of the destruction that is happening to our natural environment and what we can do to keep nature around.

July 31st-August 2nd Lewis and Clark
Friday, July 31st

  • Lewis and Clark: We will be learning about many of the plants and animals that Lewis and Clark saw on their journey through the Dakotas. Come to the Amphitheater to see what Lewis and Clark saw.

Saturday, August 1st

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: We will be making images like Lewis and Clark did on their adventure. Come to the Amphitheater to see how it was done in the 1800s.
  • Lewis and Clark: Lewis and Clark Bingo will be played, and we will talk about their adventure through North Dakota. Prizes will be awarded!

August 7th-9th  Creepy Crawlies
Friday, August 7th

  • Creepy Crawlies: Learn about some weird bugs of the world at the Amphitheater. We will explore the really weird bugs that live on earth.

Saturday, August 8th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: Join us at the Guardhouse, to go on a bug hunt. We will hike through one of our trails to see what creepy crawlies we can find.
  • More Creepy Crawlies: We will be learning more about the creepy crawlies of the world at the Amphitheater.

August 14th-16th Really Weird Animals
Friday, August 14th

  • Really Weird Animals: Join us at the Amphitheater to listen and see some really weird animals do some awesome building.

Saturday, August 15th

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: We will be looking at really weird animal homes. Come to the Guardhouse to see animals and their living environments.
  • Weird Animals in Action: Come to the Amphitheater to see animals live doing some pretty weird things!

August 21st-23rd  Fire!!
Friday, August 21st

  • Fire!:  We will be learning about the good and bad sides of fire. Join us at the Amphitheater to see which side you are on.

Saturday, August 22nd 

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: Meet at the Guardhouse to go on an un-nature hike. We will be hiking one of our many trails to make sure it is staying clean for everyone to enjoy.
  • Pack it In; Pack it Out: Join us at the Amphitheater to learn about fire safety and how to leave no trace when in the outdoors.

August 28th-30th Beach Party!!!!
Friday, August 28th

  • Surf’s Up: Come to the Amphitheater to experience a real surfing adventure.

Saturday, August 29th

  • Beach Party!!! Join us at the de Trobriand Bay for lots of fun and celebrate the end of summer!!

September 4th-6th Camping and Coloring at Ft. Stevenson State Park
Friday, September 4th

  • Wildlife in Action: Join us at the Amphitheater to see the many different creatures that live here on Earth.

Saturday, September 5th 

  • Kids in the Guardhouse: There will be a Ft. Stevenson State Park coloring contest. Meet at the Guardhouse to get started.
  • Are you an Average Camper: Come to the Amphitheater to see how camping savvy  you are. We will be playing “Are You Smarter than the Average Camper?”