What is Life Like in Grand Forks, ND?
An Air Force friend of mine is being reassigned to Grand Forks, ND. Can some one from that area give me an idea of the climate, things to do (especially in the winter), etc? How is the hunting up there?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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upstate NY still has more yellow snow per sq mile.
ukey:
ukey:I lived there 15 years ago. The winters are COLD. I recall -15 to -40 days. Yes, bellow zero.
The Red River Archers have a great indoor range that is now 40 yards. I loved shooting there. The base is about 20 miles west.
As for the hunting, I can not comment on that any more.
Arrow
The Red River Archers have a great indoor range that is now 40 yards. I loved shooting there. The base is about 20 miles west.
As for the hunting, I can not comment on that any more.
Arrow
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cold, windy, und hockey is big. Lots of cute college girls, parties, not much else. Should be able to find places to hunt. it also stinks because of a potato plant.
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I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba which 2 hours due north of Grand Forks. Everyone, and I mean everyone in Winnipeg goes down to Grand Forks on a regular basis. I have been there each month this summer, mostly shopping for hunting stuff I can't get at home (which is pretty much everything!).
Its a nice little town. Its cold in winter but it has everything a man (or woman) could want. The Raplh Engelstad (spelling?) Arena pits some NHL rinks to shame! The Aleris Center gets all the entertainment (bands, etc - many play GF instead of other major American cities). They have tons of shopping (mostly for the Canucks). There is some serious money in GF!
There are many lakes close by in Minnesota too, lost of land for hunting, plus you are only 2 hrs away from even more fantastic goose, grouse ,moose, and deer hunting in Manitoba!
I would love to live in GF - or Fargo.
Its a nice little town. Its cold in winter but it has everything a man (or woman) could want. The Raplh Engelstad (spelling?) Arena pits some NHL rinks to shame! The Aleris Center gets all the entertainment (bands, etc - many play GF instead of other major American cities). They have tons of shopping (mostly for the Canucks). There is some serious money in GF!
There are many lakes close by in Minnesota too, lost of land for hunting, plus you are only 2 hrs away from even more fantastic goose, grouse ,moose, and deer hunting in Manitoba!
I would love to live in GF - or Fargo.
I have been in Grand Forks for 6 Years. Whitetail deer and waterfowl hunting are most popular. Not much for pheasants, winters are to cold and not enough habitat for them to survive. The land is flat and not much for trees. Just shelter belts and farmsteads. Fishing is so so, World class channel cats on the Red River, Devils lake and Stump Lake 60-80 miles west hold some great walleye. If you want anymore specifics drop me a pm.
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I live in the Minneapolis area too. I have relatives NW of Grand Forks. I agree with all that is said here. You also have a lot of hunting and fishing all across northern Minnesota.
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Why not Minot? When I was in I got "They don't shoot 'em, they Chanute 'em".
My friend was stationed there in the late '80's, early '90's and loved it. Had plenty of Deer hunting. I thought he said there were Mulies and Whitetail.
The Snow Goose season is long and the bag limit is generous. Waterfowl hunting should be excellent as was said.
I don't know if I could stand the winters, -65 wind chill was enough for me in Central Illinois. That was my last winter in '94 before moving home to Seattle.
If he likes hunting he should be in heaven, if he has enough warm clothes.
My friend was stationed there in the late '80's, early '90's and loved it. Had plenty of Deer hunting. I thought he said there were Mulies and Whitetail.
The Snow Goose season is long and the bag limit is generous. Waterfowl hunting should be excellent as was said.
I don't know if I could stand the winters, -65 wind chill was enough for me in Central Illinois. That was my last winter in '94 before moving home to Seattle.
If he likes hunting he should be in heaven, if he has enough warm clothes.
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gotta love simplot.. but if you love to fish and hunt then we got plenty to go around.
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North Dakota
If you let it North Dakota will grow on you. I have been here since 94 and won't go back to living in VA. The hunting is awesome if you take the time to do your prep work. Getting on POSTED LAND will be the toughest thing to do. But in most cases just asking might open the door. Alot of people see a POSTED sign and keep on driving without asking. So be friendly and you will be amazed. And there is alot of public land and plots available too. The winters aren't as bad as they use to be(Global Warming!! LOL). 97 was the last true ND winter!! But like they say here, if you don't like the weather just wait five minutes.:wink:
If you let it North Dakota will grow on you. I have been here since 94 and won't go back to living in VA. The hunting is awesome if you take the time to do your prep work. Getting on POSTED LAND will be the toughest thing to do. But in most cases just asking might open the door. Alot of people see a POSTED sign and keep on driving without asking. So be friendly and you will be amazed. And there is alot of public land and plots available too. The winters aren't as bad as they use to be(Global Warming!! LOL). 97 was the last true ND winter!! But like they say here, if you don't like the weather just wait five minutes.:wink:
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I was born in winnipeg manitoba, raised in grand forks and north west minnesota, grand forks is a nice place when the red river stays in its banks
Grand Forks.......
Well, not much to do in winter except watch hockey, shoot bows, and try to stay warm. Great ice fishing within 2 hour drive. Waterfowl hunting is unmatched anywhere else in the USA. As was previously stated, get in contact with Red River Archers. 40 yard indoor range with bow press, scale, paper tune, etc. Also have spots league on Monday and Thursday night, 3D league on Tuesdays. You won't find a nicer bunch of guys anywhere. I came here as a freshman in college in 1999 and haven't left yet. Feel free to ask any more questions. I have a lot of free time on my hands.........
Well, not much to do in winter except watch hockey, shoot bows, and try to stay warm. Great ice fishing within 2 hour drive. Waterfowl hunting is unmatched anywhere else in the USA. As was previously stated, get in contact with Red River Archers. 40 yard indoor range with bow press, scale, paper tune, etc. Also have spots league on Monday and Thursday night, 3D league on Tuesdays. You won't find a nicer bunch of guys anywhere. I came here as a freshman in college in 1999 and haven't left yet. Feel free to ask any more questions. I have a lot of free time on my hands.........
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Well I guess since I was born and raised here I'll make a few comments!
This entire area is a rural, farm driven community no matter how much the "city" people in Grand Forks try to tell you different. But there isn't many of them so its not much to worry about!
People here are friendly but very soft spoken. We're not overly vocal when it comes to "issues". Some people may take this the wrong way and think we're rude but get people here talking and they won't shut up. I was blessed with the gift of gab and will talk to anyone anywhere as long as you leave your religous views and political views out of the conversation.
Life is a little simpler here. Not so busy not so fast, but still plenty big enough to have lots of entertainment. The nightlife in GF is good because of the college crowd. I don't partake much anymore but still enjoy it! We have one of the best little race tracks in the upper midwest, a freakin unbelievable college hockey arena and plenty of concerts and entertainment to keep your entertainment needs occupied.
Like I said before farming is the name of the game in this area. Some of, if not the best, land in the world is in the Red River Valley. A typical farm here is in the ballpark of 1500 acres. A large farmer will have as much as 10,000 plus. Beets, Potatoes, Corn, Wheat, Barley, Edible Beans, Soybeans, Sunflowers and Canola are the staple crops in the area.
Grand Forks is about 50,000 people with quite a few smaller communities in the general area.
The seasons here are extreme. In summer you will see temps all the way into the 100s and every level of humidity you can imagine. More often than not, its pretty humid in the summer. The winters are cold. No other way to put it. Its not uncommon to get three weeks in January or February when it doesn't get above zero. And high temps for the day can typically be -15 degrees F. It usually snows enough to cover everything and make it white but its so open here it usually blows up the snow into drifts. Trees are not in abundance. I would guess somewhere around 95 percent of the trees that grow in this county are planted or stem from a tree planted by a person. Spring and Fall are the most level seasons. But either of them can have drastic temp changes very quickly. Last spring we had a day in the 80s and the next day it snowed five inches. Wind is the norm. Its very rarely calm here. I love the season changes, always gives you something to look forward to.
Its flat here. And when I say its flat, I mean its flat. Not rolly, flat. We have a hill, but it was pushed up as a dike to hold water back. You can watch your dog run away for a couple days. When you go on a road trip you can see where you are going when you start. Yes its that flat. However there is no place in the world (and I've been a lot of places in this world) that have sunsets like North Dakota. Most beautiful there is. Period. Occasionally in the fall and winter you can see northern lights. Lots of stars. Probably like you've never seen.
Not a lot of crime here. Which is great.
Anything else you need to know PM me! Like I said I've lived here all 26 years of my life and I don't intend on leaving anytime soon!
Oh yeah, we have a hell of an archery club! I'm the VP so if you need info let me know!
And as far as hunting is concerned, there are no deer, pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse, moose, coyotes, foxes, rabbits or other game to go after.:wink:
This entire area is a rural, farm driven community no matter how much the "city" people in Grand Forks try to tell you different. But there isn't many of them so its not much to worry about!
People here are friendly but very soft spoken. We're not overly vocal when it comes to "issues". Some people may take this the wrong way and think we're rude but get people here talking and they won't shut up. I was blessed with the gift of gab and will talk to anyone anywhere as long as you leave your religous views and political views out of the conversation.
Life is a little simpler here. Not so busy not so fast, but still plenty big enough to have lots of entertainment. The nightlife in GF is good because of the college crowd. I don't partake much anymore but still enjoy it! We have one of the best little race tracks in the upper midwest, a freakin unbelievable college hockey arena and plenty of concerts and entertainment to keep your entertainment needs occupied.
Like I said before farming is the name of the game in this area. Some of, if not the best, land in the world is in the Red River Valley. A typical farm here is in the ballpark of 1500 acres. A large farmer will have as much as 10,000 plus. Beets, Potatoes, Corn, Wheat, Barley, Edible Beans, Soybeans, Sunflowers and Canola are the staple crops in the area.
Grand Forks is about 50,000 people with quite a few smaller communities in the general area.
The seasons here are extreme. In summer you will see temps all the way into the 100s and every level of humidity you can imagine. More often than not, its pretty humid in the summer. The winters are cold. No other way to put it. Its not uncommon to get three weeks in January or February when it doesn't get above zero. And high temps for the day can typically be -15 degrees F. It usually snows enough to cover everything and make it white but its so open here it usually blows up the snow into drifts. Trees are not in abundance. I would guess somewhere around 95 percent of the trees that grow in this county are planted or stem from a tree planted by a person. Spring and Fall are the most level seasons. But either of them can have drastic temp changes very quickly. Last spring we had a day in the 80s and the next day it snowed five inches. Wind is the norm. Its very rarely calm here. I love the season changes, always gives you something to look forward to.
Its flat here. And when I say its flat, I mean its flat. Not rolly, flat. We have a hill, but it was pushed up as a dike to hold water back. You can watch your dog run away for a couple days. When you go on a road trip you can see where you are going when you start. Yes its that flat. However there is no place in the world (and I've been a lot of places in this world) that have sunsets like North Dakota. Most beautiful there is. Period. Occasionally in the fall and winter you can see northern lights. Lots of stars. Probably like you've never seen.
Not a lot of crime here. Which is great.
Anything else you need to know PM me! Like I said I've lived here all 26 years of my life and I don't intend on leaving anytime soon!
Oh yeah, we have a hell of an archery club! I'm the VP so if you need info let me know!
And as far as hunting is concerned, there are no deer, pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse, moose, coyotes, foxes, rabbits or other game to go after.:wink:
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I have lived in several states and traveled a lot with my job. I can say that Grand Forks and North Dakota as a whole has some of the nicest people anywhere. I only lived there a few years, but would go back in a second if there was employment available for my wife and I. I can't think of a better place I'd rather have my children grow up. With a little determination you will never have to eat frozen walleye again if you live there. I know, people from the South scoff at ice fishing, but it is really a great sport with the right equipment. Riding snowcat's as snowmobiles are called there is great fun, fishing for cats in the Red River, and muskies in some of the Minn. lakes are plentiful. The Minnesota side has a lot of black bears and whitetails, but ND has better deer hunting I think. A two hour ride to the North (Winnepeg) provides nearly all the cultural diversity as the East coast.
The University of ND has the most amazing hockey rink in the world. Even if you are not into hockey you have to go once! I would rather watch UND hockey that the Chiefs vs. the Raiders or even KU (Basketball) vs. Mizzu.
If you can't make friends in GF and have lots to do I would be truly worried about you.
The University of ND has the most amazing hockey rink in the world. Even if you are not into hockey you have to go once! I would rather watch UND hockey that the Chiefs vs. the Raiders or even KU (Basketball) vs. Mizzu.
If you can't make friends in GF and have lots to do I would be truly worried about you.
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haha..
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Good post xswanted! Pretty much sums it all up.
There are no deer in the Fordville area........especially SW of Fordville a few miles! :wink:
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