Interstate 94 in North Dakota

Points of interest

The route enters at Beach and passes through the Badlands near Medora near and the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. A public rest area about seven miles (11 km) east of Medora provides an awe-inspiring view, especially at sunset, and an opportunity to hike through some of the scenery on the Painted Canyon Trail. Further east, I-94 provides access to the north unit of the national park, then passes through the cities of Dickinson, Mandan/Bismarck, Jamestown, and Valley City on the way to West Fargo and Fargo, where it leaves the state and crosses into Minnesota.

Through North Dakota, I-94 travels nearly due east-west, generally following both the railroad route and the former route of US 10 (called "The Old Red Trail" or "The National Parks Trail"), where its eastern terminus is at Exit 343 in West Fargo.

The highway intersects with the Enchanted Highway 11 miles (18 km) east of Dickinson at Exit 72. (The small green mile signs on the side of the road initialize at zero on the Montana border). At New Salem, it passes Salem Sue, a 38-foot-high (12 m) sculpture of a Holstein cow and is clearly visible on the south side of the highway; the road to Sue allows a vantage point to view a panoramic landscape. Between Mandan and Bismarck, I-94 crosses the Missouri River with a view of the Northern Pacific (now BNSF) Railroad Bridge to the south. At Steele, it passes the world's largest sculpture of a Sandhill crane, 40 feet (12 m) tall and named "Sandy;" on the south side of I-94, just east of Exit 200. At Jamestown, it passes the world's largest sculpture of a buffalo (actually bison) named "Dakota Thunder," 28 feet (8.5 m) in height and on the north of the highway.

Continental Divide sign,
westbound on I-94

At approximately mile marker 275 on the westbound lanes between Jamestown and Valley City, the highway crosses the Laurentian Continental Divide, at an elevation of 1,490 feet (454 m) above sea level. The rivers that are west of this divide flow South into the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico, while the rivers that are east of the divide flow North into Hudson Bay. The James River, that flows through Jamestown, feeds into the Atlantic Ocean, while the Sheyenne River, that flows through Valley City (36 miles (58 km) east of Jamestown), feeds into Hudson Bay.

In Fargo, a well-known yet unnamed pedestrian bridge crosses over I-94; opened 42 years ago in 1976, in time for the United States' bicentennial. While providing a unique crossing for the surrounding neighborhoods, it serves as a landmark for commuters and travelers. Westbound, it is one of the first North Dakota landmarks visible from the highway.^[2]