A Gorgeous Garden In North Dakota Is A Symbol Of Peace And Friendship Between Canada And America

Built on the border of the U.S. and Canada, the International Peace Garden is one of the most unique gardens you can visit — in either country. In its Formal Gardens, over 80,000 flowers bloom over the delineation between nations, and visitors are free to explore the walkways and reflecting pools of an international project nearly a century in the making. The International Peace Gardens is an amazing stop to add to any road trip across the unique stretches of North Dakota.

Straddling the frontier between Canada and the United States, within the Turtle Mountains, the International Peace Garden has celebrated the friendship between these two North American countries since its conception by the National Association of Gardeners in the 1930s. This enormous project culminated in about 2,400 acres of gardens, galleries, and hiking trails that draw in tens of thousands of visitors every year from both sides of the border. Here's everything you need to know about visiting these uniquely located gardens, from when to see the most flowers to what documents you'll need to bring to get in.

To find out the best time to visit the International Peace Garden — and to visit any of the best botanical gardens in America, for that matter — you need to figure out what flowers are on display and when their flowering season is. Luckily, the International Peace Garden has done that work for you: The garden is beautiful year-round, but generally its gardeners plant flowers in June that will then bloom from mid-July through August. That's the best time to see installations like the gorgeous Floral Clock, which is a working clock made up of thousands of flowers, and the Sunken Garden, which surrounds multiple water features and a large reflecting pool. The indoor gardens of the Conservatory, with over 5,000 species of succulents and cacti, can be enjoyed year-round, as can the Peace Chapel — if it hasn't been snowed in — which is a tranquil place of worship where the walls are covered with messages of peace from around the world.

If you are passing by in the wintertime, the garden is still worth visiting thanks to these attractions as well as the cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails. You will have to bring your own equipment, but there are official Peace Garden cabins that you can rent for a cozy weekend in the Turtle Mountains.

The International Peace Garden is located 13 miles north of Dunsieth, North Dakota, and 16 miles south of Boissevan, Manitoba. There are two entrances depending on which side of the border you are approaching from and all visitors must show a passport or government-issued ID with a copy of their birth certificate. For minors without ID, a copy of a birth certificate is sufficient. If you have a passport or Nexus card, bring it because you will get through the process much faster.

There are picnic areas at the gardens if you bring your own lunch, as well as a cafe that sells burgers and Mexican food until 5 p.m. You can keep the kids busy in the Nature Play Area, where a dynamic play structure is accompanied by storytimes based on teachings from local indigenous communities. Guided tours are available for large groups that reserve in advance, but generally you only need a day to work your way around the garden and experience the museum. For more North Dakota travel, check out our guide to the beautiful Grahams Island State Park, located on a glistening lake.