Oct 10 2008
Help! Things to do in Grand Forks, ND?
We’ll be in Grand Forks next weekend, and as is often the case, I’m a loss as to what to do with the kids. It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with the area; I grew up near there and spent five years at UND. But as a mom, I always seem to have a hard time finding fun things to do with the kids.
Here’s what I’ve thought of:
- Play area in Columbia Mall. No. 3 of my 4 kids are too tall for most mall play areas.
- Splashers of the South Seas Water Park at CanadInn. Not this time. Looks like fun, but a water park’s not on my list this time around.
- Myra Museum. No. Closed after September 15.
- North Dakota Museum of Art. Maybe, but would be a short visit. It’s free, though, so we might give it a try.
- Ralph Engelstad Arena. Maybe–do they still do tours? I can’t find anything about it on their website.
- Grand Forks Public Library. (I worked there for several years.) This is a good bet. The kids always love the pirate ship, and they have a great book collection.
- East Grand Forks Campbell Library. Another nice library; will check hours and maybe we’ll go there again.
- The park across the street from the East Grand Forks library. Maybe the kids are getting old enough for this one, since the play area is so big and has so many walls, I never liked supervising four of them there by myself when they were little.
- Valley Dairy Car Wash. This is a definite possibility. See my other post about the car wash.
- Bike trails. I wish I had room to take our bikes along, because Grand Forks has no hills!
- Homecoming Activities. Parade if the weather’s decent. I don’t think they’d appreciate it if I took my four kids into an English class during their reunion visits.
Don’t get me wrong, the Grand Forks area has some great festivals (where else do they have an all-you-can-eat french fry feed for Potato Bowl?) and nice parks, but this time of year it’s hard to come up with fun things to do.
People who are familiar with Grand Forks, clue me in. What can I do with the kids there next weekend?
I used to visit Grandforks during Childhood. My family is from Crookston Minnesota, so Grand Forks was a big outing. Mostly we just hung out at the mall. There is a movie theater and a great soup restaurant. At the time we had no Targets in California, so that was a in Grand Forks that I have eaten at once or twice.
I don’t remember how far away Crookston is, but they have this awesome pizza/icecream parlor called Happy Joe’s with amazing icecream creations and cheap yummy pizza specials. Just googled it and there is one in Grand Forks as well. This is a must visit and bring quarters for the video games.
http://www.happyjoes.com/stores.php
Sorry I couldn’t be more help. The last time I was in ND, I was pregnant with my first!
Have fun,
Bridget
How about the pumpkin farm/hayride place that J and A took the kids to. I think it was near Emerado? They have their pictures on dropshots and looks like they had fun.
Auntie Laurie:)
p.s. - Too bad you’re not in Columbus this weekend! There are tons of half off activities for Celebrate Columbus Days! Great deals on lots of places!
I wish I could be of more help. We never went there over the course of our 18 months in Bismarck. Fargo, yes, but not GF. Besides, the twins were babies when we lived there, so even if I had been there I wouldn’t be of much help! I hope you find something fun to do there, though
So how was the trip to Grand Forks? I haven’t been there in ages. We just moved back to my hometown by Minot, but I was gone for 10 years, so it’s like experiencing some of the tundra all over again.