Icelandic State Park

Icelandic State Park
North Dakota State Park
The Tongue River in Icelandic State Park
Country United States
State North Dakota
County Pembina
Elevation 971 ft (296 m) [1]
Coordinates 48°46′43″N 97°45′43″W / 48.77861°N 97.76194°W / 48.77861; -97.76194Coordinates: 48°46′43″N 97°45′43″W / 48.77861°N 97.76194°W / 48.77861; -97.76194 [1]
Area 912 acres (369 ha)
Established 1964
Management North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department
Location in North Dakota
Website: Icelandic State Park

Icelandic State Park is a public recreation area located on Lake Renwick five miles (8.0 km) west of Cavalier in Akra Township, Pembina County, North Dakota. The state park's 912 acres (369 ha) include the Pioneer Heritage Center and the Gunlogson Homestead and Nature Preserve.[2]

History

The park was established in 1964 to preserve evidence of North Dakota's Icelandic heritage after G. B. Gunlogson donated 200 acres (81 ha) of his family's lands to the state in 1963. The land had been in the Gunlogson family for over 80 years when it was donated to North Dakota.[3]

Activities

Renwick Dam

The nature preserve has three miles of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing,[4] while the park offers fishing, swimming, kayaking and boating on Renwick Dam, and both primitive and modern camping.[2] The park is 912 acres - 200 of which are wooded - and includes a beach, museum, historic buildings and a 6-mile bike path connected to nearby Cavalier, North Dakota. [5] The park sits adjacent to the Cavalier Country Club, a 9-hole public golf course. [6]

Nature preserve

The Gunlogson State Nature Preserve is an arboretum and nature preserve dominated by mature elm and basswood that lies along both banks of the Tongue River. The preserve's many rare species include plants such as the ladyfern, water arum, and two-seeded sedge and animals that include the piliated woodpecker, western wood pewee, and the finescale dace.[4]

The preserve's woody plants include species of maple (Acer negundo), birch (Betula papyrifera), dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), hazel (Corylus cornuta), hawthorn (Crataegus rotundifolia), silverberry (Elaeagnus angustifolia), ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), willow (Salix amygdaloides, Salix bebbiana), American linden (Tilia americana), and elm (Ulmus americana, Ulmus pumila). About a hundred other species are represented on the site.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Icelandic State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. 1 2 "Icelandic State Park". North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Historical Overview". North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Gunlogson State Nature Preserve". North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Icelandic State Park". www.parkrec.nd.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  6. ↑ "About-Us". www.cavaliercountryclub.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
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