One Day South from Bowman

Your Guide to North Dakota’s Best Kept Secrets

Pioneer Trails Regional Museum, Bowman Haley Dam, Cave Hills

Both Bowman Haley Dam and Cave Hills offer beautiful camping. Consider spending a night there before returning to Bowman.

Stop 1: Bowman Haley Dam

Launch your boat, paddle your kayak, or cast a line at this year-round recreational haven

Bowman Haley Dam is Bowman County’s largest body of water. Amenities and 17 miles of shoreline make for a year-round recreational haven. Electrical Campsites, seasonal Marina, boat ramp, and shelters.

Boating and fishing are top activities for visitors to Bowman Haley. Variety is available in your possible catches with Bluegill, Brown Trout, Muskie, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Tiger Muskie, Walleye, White Bass or Yellow Perch taking up residence in the dam. If you don’t have your pole in the water, you might be enjoying water skiing or tubing on the lake.

Electrical camping sites can be reserved by contacting the Marina 701-275-6316 and are $15 per night or primitive camping is available you just need to register at the Marina. There are primitive bathrooms available year-round and full bathrooms during business hours of marina.

Stop 2: Cave Hills – North Unit

Hike, drive, hammock, or camp on these beautiful sandstone capped buttes covered in pine trees

The Cave Hills are a pair of expansive buttes in far northwestern South Dakota capped in sandstone and covered in pine trees. The North and South Unit of the Cave Hills are divided by Bull Creek. The North Cave Hills are the most popular and were also home to uranium mines in the mid-1900s. To this day, reclamation efforts are still happening in the Cave Hills and making way for better road access for you to navigate the area with ease. The Cave Hills are part of Custer National Forest and are maintained by USDA Forest Service.

Whether you are looking for a short or long hike, a beautiful drive, a gorgeous hammocking location, or a weekend camping in beautiful scenery, the Cave Hills will not disappoint. Camping is available at the Picnic Spring Campground on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are 8 primitive sites with toilet access, non-potable water, and a 14 day limit. With enough research and searching you may find the hidden gem of the North Cave Hills, Ludlow Cave, which is known for its petroglyphs.

Printable Directions

Stop 3: Pioneer Trails Regional Museum

Learn more about local history and the expansive fossil collection of the area

Pioneer Trails Regional Museum is a family-friendly museum that brings history to life and a must see part of your visit to Bowman County. The museum is a regional research and repository for history from within 100 miles of Bowman, ND. Learn about the local area through story telling brought to life in educational exhibits. Send the kids through the museum with an interactive scavenger hunt to engage them while they are learning. If an even more hands-on approach is your idea of fun, sign up for a Dig-for-a-Day Tour to collect fossils and explore the local geology. After time in the field, you will return to the preparation lab to learn more about what happens after fossils are found. In the middle of dinosaur country, this well curated museum will not disappoint. Open year round.

Take in more of North Dakota’s Beauty

Lengthen your stay be spending the night in Bowman and going on Pioneer Trails Regional Museum’s Paleo Site Tour for a day.