Fargo - city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States of America

For other places with the same name, see Fargo (disambiguation).

Fargo is a modern city of just over 100,000 in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. Many people relate Fargo to the eponymous 1996 Coen Brothers movie starring Oscar-winner Frances McDormand and William H. Macy, though none of the movie was filmed in Fargo. Neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota is across the river from Fargo and the area is generally referred to as Fargo-Moorhead. Fargo is the seat of Cass County.

Understand

Climate

Get in

By plane

Fargo's Hector International Airport 📍 (IATA: FAR) is served by Allegiant, American, Delta, and United with flights to Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, and Dallas.

By train

The national railway company Amtrak serves Fargo via its very scenic Empire Builder route, running daily between Chicago and Seattle/Portland. Unfortunately, arrival time is in the middle of night, about 2:30AM, and delays are quite common on this route too. There are several restaurants near the station, and during the summer you may eat outside overlooking the train tracks.

• Fargo railway station, 420 4th St N, 46.880983°, -96.786016°, +1 800-872-7245. 2020-05-01

By bus

• Jefferson Lines, 214 12th St NW, 46.879170°, -96.921131°, +1 701 293-1222. Jefferson Lines provides bus service to Fargo from cities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. 2018-02-25

By car

Fargo is located at the intersection of Interstate Highways 29 and 94. It's about 230 miles northwest of the Twin Cities on I-94, about a three-hour and twenty minute drive.

Get around

Matbus Bus transportation is available to most parts of the city. They are phasing out the tokens, so if you want a souvenir, get one now. Parking is plentiful, even on the main thoroughfares in downtown areas.

See

Two interesting landmarks in the surrounding are the KVLY-TV mast and the KXJB-TV mast, which were the tallest towers on earth until the construction of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

• Fargodome, 1800 N University Dr, 46.903036°, -96.80155°, +1 701 241-9100. Offers athletic events (most notably North Dakota State football games), broadway shows, music concerts. During some concerts 1/4 of the population fits inside the Fargodome.
• Roger Maris Museum, 3902 13th Ave (West Acres Shopping Center (at I-29)). Open year-round. Admission is free.
• Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway, 46.879167°, -96.787778°, +1 701 239-8385. The Fargo Theater show mostly independent films, on actual film, not digital. Inside the theatre there is a statue of Marge Olmstead Gunderson, of the movie Fargo carved out of wood, also inside on the stage is a functional Wurlitzer pipe organ that is occasionally used to score silent films.
• North Dakota State University, 46.8916°, -96.8003°.
  • North Dakota State Bison. The university's sports teams, competing in eight men's and eight women's sports, mostly in the Summit League. The most prominent program by far is the football team, a major power at the Division I FCS (second) level, including nine national championships in 11 seasons (2011–2015, 2017–2019, 2021); it plays in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Most Bison teams play on campus, including the football team (the Fargodome is owned by the city, but the underlying land is owned by the university and part of the campus). Football games frequently sell out, but tickets for other sports are easier to find. Tip to fit in with the locals: the "S" in "Bison" is locally pronounced with a "z" sound instead of the "s" sound found in most other American English dialects.
• Plains Art Museum, 704 First Ave, +1 701 232-3821.
• Fargo Air Museum, 1609 19th Ave N, 46.9058°, -96.8042°, +1 701-293-8043. Open year round.
• Children's Museum, 1201 28th Ave (Yunker Farm).
• Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. Minor league baseball. While you are there, check out the Maury Wills Museum.
• Horse Racing, 5180 19th Ave N (North Dakota Horse Park), 46.9013°, -96.8774°, +1 701 277-8027. Season is from early August to mid-September.
• Red River Zoo, 4220 21st Ave SW, 46.8462°, -96.8531°, +1 701 277-9240. Open daily May to October, weekends only rest of year. Has red pandas.
• Bonanzaville, USA Museum and Village, 1351 Main Avenue W, West Fargo, 46.8754°, -96.9296°, +1 701 282-2822. 36 buildings providing an insight into the earliest settlers, how they lived, what they possessed and the challenges they faced. Main museum, rotating gallery and village: adult $12, senior/collerge $10, student (6-16) $6, child (5 and under) or military with ID free 2022-12-24

Do

• Thunder Road Family Fun Park, 46.8376°, -96.8430°. Go-kart racing, batting cages, adventure golf. Open May–September.,
• Sky Zone Fargo, 46.8656°, -96.8470°. - located in Fargo

• Celebrity Walk of Fame, 2001 44th St. SW (Exit 348 Interstate 94), +1 701 282-3653. The walk where more than 100 celebrities have left their marks in cement. Stars from music, the arts, politics, and sports, like: Garth Brooks, Neil Diamond, KISS, Maury Wills, Debbie Reynolds, and Governor Jesse Ventura, have left their signatures, handprints and footprints. No fee

• Vietnam Week, 1609 19th Avenue North. dedicated to Vietnam era.

• Scheels Fargo Marathon.

Buy

Fargo has many interesting boutique and specialty style shops downtown.

• West Acres. Fargo shopping means the million square foot West Acres, featuring Sears, JC Penney and Macy's plus a hundred other stores. During and post construction West Acres was colloquially referred to by residents as "Wasted Acres" as it was built on farm land.
• Zandbroz Variety. Has an eclectic collection of books and trinkets, including Fargo memorabilia.

Eat

Budget

• Grand Junction. East Coast Style Subs serves hot subs grilled fresh right in front of you. A local favorite. Try the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich, very delicious.
• Boppa's Bagels, 3051 25th St S # O, +1 701 241-7800. Boppa's Bagels makes wonderful bagels, of note are their speciality bagels, that are also available at some coffee shops around the city.

Mid-range

• Passage to India, 855 45th St, +1 701-281-0277. An excellent Indian buffet place. A flavourful and delightful selection from soup to dessert is available.
• Himalayan Yak, 1109 38th St S, +1 701-251-4939. Offers excellent Greek and Italian food.

Splurge

• Maxwells Restaurant & Bar. Unprepossessing exterior, but fine dining inside. 2018-01-13

Drink

• Babb's Seattle Coffee House. A fantastic independent coffee shop located across the street from the Fargo Theater downtown. Credit cards are accepted for a $0.25 surcharge.
• Bismarck Tavern, 6th Ave. and Broadway. The PBR is always cold, all the whiskey drinks are doubles, and pull tabs litter the dirty floor that is inexplicably emblazoned with the New York Yankees logo. This downtown Fargo watering hole is Fargo's best dive bar. Black jack tables, off-sale liquor, and pinball are available.
• Dempsey's Public House, 226 Broadway. Traditional Irish pub. Upstairs of Dempsey's is The Aquarium, a live music venue featuring bands of every musical style.
• Blarney Irish Pub. Irish pub inside the Hotel Donaldson bar featuring pub food as well as beers and ales on tap.

Sleep

Great variety of hotels and motels ranging from budget to luxury. Major national chains like Motel 6, Comfort Inn, Best Western, Howard Johnson's, Ramada, Radisson, Courtyard by Marriott, and Travelodge all have Fargo locations.

In addition, you may rent rooms from $300 per month or less. There are signs everywhere and some interesting residential hotels scattered about.

Budget

• Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Fargo 19th Ave/Airport Dome, +1 701-404-9564.
• C'Mon Inn, +1 701 277-9944.
• Lindenwood Park Campground, +1 701 232-3987.

Mid-range

• AmericInn Lodge and Suites, +1 701-237-1634.
• Best Western Plus Kelly Inn & Suites, 1767 44th St S, +1 701-282-2143.
• Candlewood Suites Fargo-N. Dakota State Univ, 1831 NDSU Research Park Dr N, +1 701-235-8200.
• Country Inn & Suites, +1 701 234-0565.
• Fairfield Inn by Marriott, +1 701 281-0494.
• Holiday Inn Express, +1 701 282-2000.
• Holiday Inn, +1 701 282-2700.
• MainStay Suites, 1901 44th St SW, +1 701-502-4041.
• Fargo Inn & Suites, 1025 38th St S, +1 701 282-6300.
• Red Roof Inn Fargo - I-94/Medical Center, 1921 44th St SW, +1 701 281-8240.
• Wingate Inn, +1 701 281-9133.

Splurge

• Hotel Donaldson, 101 Broadway, +1 701-478-1000. A beautiful experience. The Donaldson has only 17 rooms, each featuring original works by a Plains artist. It was immaculately renovated in 2003. Room decor is modern. Amenities include flat screen cable TV, rooftop spa and high speed internet access. Outstanding personal service includes complimentary gourmet breakfast bar in the morning and wine and cheese bar in the early evening.
• La Maison des Papillons B&B, +1 701 232-2041.
• Radisson Blu Fargo, 201 5th St N, +1 701 232-7363.
• Delta Hotels by Marriott Fargo, 1635 42nd St SW, +1 701 277-9000.

Stay safe

Fargo is a safe city, with little violent crime, however, use common sense especially when it comes to personal property, just as you would anywhere else. The only area in which a person would need to be on the look-out is downtown on the weekends, especially during the school year. With the many colleges and bars it makes for an unpredictable experience.

Connect

There is free wireless internet access in the food court at the West Acres Shopping Center.

Most coffee shops and even a few bars also offer free wireless internet access.

• High Plains Reader The source for what is happening in the city, an alternative newspaper that from the start was doomed to fail due to the small population of the city, but has since lasted over 10 years and remains as strong as ever. Free.

• KNDS Radio for Everyone. A collaborative university and community radio station, that thanks to the extreme flatness of Fargo can broadcast about the whole metro area on a Low Power FM Dial.

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