North/South Dakota

[Beegod Santana]

So the dakotas are about the last section of the country I haven't really explored yet, mostly because of horror stories I've heard about being stuck for weeks on end and ridiculous laws regarding hitchhiking and train hopping. But alas, since I can't (legally) leave the country, and I need some adventure in my life, I figured I'd go on here and see if anyone has any advice on getting through. Friendly towns, rest stops, places to try to get work, chill yards, beautiful rural routes and great hiking / camping areas is what I'm looking for. I'll be doing my own research, but any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you have real detailed info, PM me rather than post it here. Thanks

 

[Doobie_D]

Ive only done the highline part of North Dakota. And all i can really tell you about is the town of Fargo and Minot. Both of which are pretty cool towns as far as people there and ease of riding in and out of. Fargo is a college town so you can imagine the types of people there. Pretty generous and curious (in a good way). Minot (why not minot?) is a smaller town. Lots of good dumpsters and there is a sushi place right on the main drag straight up from the hop spot that a couple of ex travelers work at and at the end of the night the'll hook it up with lots of rice and sushi. Good stuff. The crew change right in downtown minot is really fast (like 5 minutes at the max) so you gotta be on yer toes when they come thru. Unless you wanna walk out to i think its Gavin yard? which is in the middle of nowhere. best bet when riding into Minot try and catch a piggy as it will stop downtown for its crew change.But as for the rest of the state ive only seen what BNSF runs thru on the hi-line and its pretty nice lookin despite what you would think is lots of flat cornfeilds and such. Theres alot of towns right near the tracks that are abandoned. Ive always wanted to find one on a heavily used siding and start up a little community. Its kinda creepy. Some still have street lights that are on, cars in the driveways but thers just no one around. weeds have just about taken over the whole block. Wish i knew about SD but ive never been thru

 

[maus]

sioux falls is nice, i think. that whole area is pretty. the black hills are really beautiful. plus, apparently some faction of the lakota people recently reasserted their independence from the u.s.!

pretty much everyone ive met in SD has been extremely nice, including the one cop who stopped to talk to me and my friend while we were hitchhiking - just asked us where we were going and how old we were, didnt ask to see ID, told us good luck... someone who picked us up said theres a punk scene in pierre but we didnt check it out. ummm and i heard vermillion is the most meth'd-out town ever, but i guess you hear that about a lot of places... sioux falls used to have an awesome hardcore scene. it definitely has some awesome diners and cornfields.