Fort Rice, Military fort site near Mandan, United States.
Fort Rice is a former military post on the west bank of the Missouri River in North Dakota, active from 1864 to 1878. The post was built with wooden palisades, watchtowers, barracks, and a hospital, and the outlines of these structures can still be traced in the ground today.
General Alfred Sully founded Fort Rice in 1864 to secure transportation routes across the Northern Plains and support westward expansion. Over the following years it served as a base for several military campaigns against the Lakota before being abandoned in 1878.
Fort Rice was a place where soldiers and traders from the east met the Lakota people, often under tense conditions. This contact shaped the way the Northern Plains were remembered, and the site still carries that weight for visitors today.
The site sits along the Missouri River and is open for walking, with ground markers showing where the main structures once stood. There are no enclosed buildings or exhibits on site, so it is best visited during dry weather when the terrain is easy to cross.
Fort Rice was the starting point for the peace talks that led to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, one of the most debated agreements between the US government and the Lakota. The negotiations began here, even though the treaty itself was signed at a different post.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
