The International Peace Garden: A Living Monument on the North Dakota–Canadian Border

In the forested highlands of north‑central North Dakota, where the prairie suddenly lifts into wooded hills and quiet lakes, the Turtle Mountains feel like a secret the state has been keeping. This is a landscape that reveals itself slowly, a bend in the road where aspens gather in pale clusters, a ridge where sunlight pools on glacial hills, a stretch of highway that seems to slip between worlds. Travelers who come expecting endless plains are often startled by how quickly the terrain changes here, how the air cools, how the horizon folds inward.

At the northern edge of this country, right where the United States meets Manitoba, Canada, lies a place shaped by hope and friendship, an idea made visible in stone, water, and thousands of flowers. The International Peace Garden, founded in 1932 as a living monument to cooperation, rises from the Turtle Mountains like a promise kept. It is both wild and carefully tended, a blend of forest and formal gardens, a border you can walk across without feeling divided.

Driving the Turtle Mountain Scenic Byway toward the Garden feels like approaching a story's crescendo. The route winds past lakes tucked into the hills, through pockets of birch and poplar, and alongside communities shaped by generations of Indigenous history and cross‑border life. But the International Peace Garden is where the journey gathers meaning, where the landscape opens, where the symbolism deepens, where the quiet beauty of the Turtle Mountains meets something larger: an enduring reminder that cooperation can be cultivated just as intentionally as a garden bed.



The International Peace Garden doesn't just sit on the border; it breathes it. The Turtle Mountains rise gently around you, their forested hills folding into the Garden's manicured geometry as if the wild landscape itself agreed to peace. What makes that feeling even more striking is the way the Garden lies directly between the two border gates, with Canada's to the north and the United States' to the south, like a green, living handshake stretched across the line. You pass through the entry stations, step into the Garden, and suddenly the hard edges of international boundaries dissolve into open lawns, lakes, and flowerbeds. The space between the gates becomes a sanctuary, one of the few places where the border feels less like a checkpoint and more like a welcome mat.

How the Peace Garden Came to Be (1928–1932)

The story begins in 1928, when Dr. Henry J. Moore, a horticulturalist trained at London's Kew Gardens, imagined a living monument to friendship between the United States and Canada. He wanted something bold: a garden planted directly on the border, funded not by wealthy patrons but by small donations from everyday citizens, including schoolchildren. His idea caught fire.

Manitoba offered 1,451 acres of wilderness; North Dakota added 888 acres of farmland. On July 14, 1932, more than 50,000 people traveled over rough prairie roads to witness the dedication. Messages of support arrived from President Herbert Hoover and Canadian leaders, reinforcing the Garden's importance as a symbol of friendship from the very beginning.

Building Peace, One Stone at a Time (1933–1941)

In 1933, Minneapolis landscape architect Hugh Vincent Feehan designed a master plan rooted in Beaux-Arts symmetry, with long vistas, geometric patterns, and a central axis aligned precisely with the international border.

From 1934 to 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) transformed the wilderness into a functioning garden. They carved roads, bridges, and trails; built the historic lodge from Turtle Mountain granite and timber; and created Lake Udall and Lake Stormon. Their craftsmanship still shapes the Garden's character today.



Construction paused during World War II, then resumed in 1948 with renewed binational support.

Symbols, Structures, and a Growing Legacy (1948–Present)

A Border You Can Wander

Floral Clock (1964)

The Floral Clock, one of the Garden's most beloved landmarks, is a blend of artistry, engineering, and international goodwill. Gifted by the Bulova Watch Company in 1966, it quickly became a signature photo stop.

Planted each spring with thousands of blooms, the clock originally featured about 3,500 plants arranged by hand. Its 18‑foot face has kept time since 1967, and after nearly four decades of service, the original movement was replaced in 2005. Today, the design changes annually, using 2,000–5,000 plants to create patterns that reflect regional culture and creativity.

Willis Pavilion

Peace Chapel

The Peace Chapel, built in 1968, remains one of the Garden's most moving spaces. Manitoba limestone walls, carved with quotations on peace, create a quiet, contemplative library of human aspiration. Soft light filters through French colored glass, giving the chapel a warm, contemplative glow. Even after the peace towers were removed in 2017, the chapel continues to embody the Garden's mission of reflection and unity.

Carillon Bell Tower

The Carillon Bell Tower, built in 1976, houses the historic Sifton Chime, one of only four such sets in the world. The bells sound the Westminster chimes on the quarter hour, marking time across the Garden with their resonant tone.

9/11 Memorial

Established in 2002, the 9/11 Memorial centers on steel girders from the World Trade Center. Each September, the Garden holds a remembrance ceremony here. In this quiet clearing, the weight of loss meets the steady presence of community.



The Conservatory: A Glass Jewel in the Garden

The Conservatory rises from the landscape like a prism. Inside, warm air, filtered sunlight, and the scent of living green create an atmosphere that feels almost out of season. Tropical plants, sculptural succulents, and seasonal displays thrive together under one roof, a small but powerful echo of the Garden's larger message: very different things can coexist when given the right space.

Summer Floral Celebration & Handshake Across the Border

A Garden Built on Intention

The Peace Garden still reflects the vision Dr. Moore imagined nearly a century ago: a place where two nations could share something beautiful simply because they chose to. Its 2,339 acres aren't just scenic; they're deliberate. Every trail, lake, and flowerbed reinforces the idea that peace is something tended over time, season by season, bloom by bloom.

The Turtle Mountain Scenic Byway

The Turtle Mountain Scenic Byway isn't the most dramatic drive in the state. Even so, it offers a quiet shift in the landscape as prairie gives way to forest, lakes settle into the hills, and pockets of birch and poplar hint at the Turtle Mountains ahead. The Peace Garden is the high point of the route. Yet, the byway continues beyond it and eventually reaches Mystical Horizons, a modern prairie‑style interpretation of Stonehenge perched on a ridge that shouldn't be missed. Standing among its concrete arches with the Turtle Mountains stretching out below adds another unexpected moment to the journey, a second high point that complements the Peace Garden rather than competing with it.

The International Peace Garden is one of those places that stays with you long after you've stepped back across the border. It's not just the formal gardens or the quiet forest trails; it's the feeling of standing in a space built entirely around the idea of cooperation. Even the drive through the Turtle Mountains adds to that sense of discovery, with small shifts in the landscape and stops like Mystical Horizons offering their own moments of reflection. Together, they create a journey that feels layered and meaningful, where the scenery, the symbolism, and the human gestures,  like the second annual Handshake Across the Border, all point toward the same idea: peace is something we build, visit, and carry with us.

And if you’re drawn to places where the landscape invites its own kind of quiet understanding, you may find a similar sense of connection in Exploring the North Dakota Badlands: Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the TR Presidential Library — another corner of the state where meaning settles into the terrain.

Know Before You Go

Crossing the Border for the Peace Garden

Because the International Peace Garden sits between the U.S. and Canadian ports of entry, you'll check in with your home country's border officers when you arrive and again when you leave. Even though you're visiting a shared park, you're still making an international crossing, so bring documents that make the return trip simple.

A passport or NEXUS card is the preferred form of identification. For U.S. and Canadian citizens, a driver's license and birth certificate are acceptable alternatives. For minors who are too young to have a driver's license, a birth certificate alone is sufficient.

Border Contacts

If you wish to double‑check requirements before you go, here are the direct lines:

• Canada Border Information Service: 1‑800‑461‑9999
• U.S. Port of Entry (Dunseith, ND): 1‑701‑263‑4460

Links to Plan Your Trip

International Peace Garden Website

2026 Turtle Mountain Guide

North Dakota Tourism





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