North Dakota Public Lands
3.9% of North Dakota is federal land: 1,736,495 of its 44,452,480 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in North Dakota is the U.S. Forest Service, with 1,103,162 acres, 2.5% of the state. This guide covers 22 state parks, 3 National Park Service units, 3 wilderness areas, and 20 national wildlife refuges.
Explore North Dakota public lands by type
North Dakota public land map
- National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS)
- National wildlife refuges (FWS)
- State parks
- Wilderness areas (dashed)
Land managed by (switch layers on or off)
Land ownership: USGS PAD-US 4.1, dissolved by manager and simplified (parcels under about 2 square km not shown). Unit boundaries simplified. Not for navigation or legal boundaries.
List of all 48 places on this map
State parks (22)
- Beaver Lake State Park (North Dakota)
- Butte Saint Paul State Recreation Area
- Cross Ranch State Park
- Crow Flies High State Recreation Area
- Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
- Fort Ransom State Park
- Fort Stevenson State Park
- Fort Stevenson State Park Arboretum
- Fort Totten State Historic Site
- Grahams Island State Park
- Icelandic State Park
- Lake Metigoshe State Park
- Lake Sakakawea State Park
- Lewis and Clark State Park (North Dakota)
- Little Metigoshe State Recreation Area
- Little Missouri State Park
- Pelican Point State Recreation Area
- Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area
- Rough Rider State Park
- Turtle Mountain State Recreation Area
- Turtle River State Park
- Writing Rock State Historical Site
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (3)
Wilderness areas (3)
National wildlife refuges (FWS) (20)
- Ardoch National Wildlife Refuge
- Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge
- Canfield Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge
- Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Hobart Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge
- Johnson Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake Alice National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake George National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake Nettie National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake Zahl National Wildlife Refuge
- Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge
- Mclean National Wildlife Refuge
- Rock Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Who manages North Dakota's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of North Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 58,674 | 0.1% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 1,103,162 | 2.5% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 492,461 | 1.1% |
| National Park Service | 71,359 | 0.2% |
| Department of Defense | 10,839 | 0% |
| All federal land | 1,736,495 | 3.9% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.
Camping on North Dakota public land
1 of North Dakota's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the North Dakota state parks table.
Common questions
- 3.9% of North Dakota is federal land: 1,736,495 of its 44,452,480 acres (2024 data).
- 58,674 acres, 0.1% of the state (2024 data).
- The largest federal land manager in North Dakota is the U.S. Forest Service, with 1,103,162 acres, 2.5% of the state.
- This guide lists 22 North Dakota state parks and recreation areas, 1 of them with camping on record.
- congress.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
- blm.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
The sentences on this page are generated by software from the sourced records above, not written by hand. How this content is made.