beecher island

History abounds here but it is away from any facilities so it was wonderful to find nice clean bathroom facilites for the travelers and history buffs:)

Walk the trail that the soldiers and Indians took during the battle. See the cannon, and artifacts. A great place for reunions and family outings!

Beecher Island is an interesting, beautiful place to visit for local history. There is a memorial to the calvary scouts who were killed during the Battle of Beecher island, and a second memorial to Chief Roman Nose who was also killed. You will find out that those battles are not so black and white. The scouts who were attacked there, were actually heavily armed and on a mission to hunt down some native americans who had been attacking settlers. As in other battles of this type, the scouts got much more than they bargained for. There is primitive camping, hiking, arrow head hunting, etc. There is also a yearly "Beecher Island Days" celebration. The best time to go is in the Spring when there is water in the river, Summer for camping, and Fall when the giant cottonwoods are changing colors.

A great place to visit, hike the trails and imagine what happened there so many years ago.

my husband and i like history and this was a fun historical place to see.

The reason I say that this is for history buffs is because there's not a lot here, aside from the Arikaree River, a small and pleasant picnic park, and a monument dedicated to the battle. The Battle of Beecher Island (September 17–19, 1868) was between the Army and several of the Plains Indian tribes. Lieutenant Fredrick Beecher (nephew of a Civil War hero), was killed during the battle. You ought to read the Wikipedia listing for this before visiting, because, although this was not one of the most notable of the battles during the Indian Wars, it is one of the most interesting because the stranded army troops had to kill and eat their own horses and two soldiers ran 70 miles for reinforcements. It quite a story. What a visit here will help you do is understand what really happened here. The setting was not what I expected. If you drive in from the north the roads are paved all the way, while from the south they are gravel (though well maintained) most of the way. From the north, get off US-385 onto the following country roads -- 30, JJ, 27, and KK (you can plot this out on Google Maps). The park is not supported with any government funds, so you may wish to put a donation in a little cash box near the monument. As yet, there are no facilities and there is no settlement nearby.