Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

About

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site preserves and interprets a major Upper Missouri fur-trade post on the North Dakota-Montana border. The National Park Service describes the site from its Williston-area address and provides detailed physical-access information for the parking area, fort approach, courtyard, Bourgeois House Visitor Center, and trails.

The visitor experience includes the reconstructed fort, Trade House interpretation, courtyard, visitor center, museum exhibits, videos, park store, restrooms, and views toward the Missouri River. The site is outdoors-forward, so the quality of the visit can depend on weather, seasonal staffing, and surface conditions, especially on gravel, grass, or muddy ground.

NPS physical-mobility guidance is unusually specific. It states that three designated ADA parking spots are located in the upper close parking lot. The route from parking to the fort includes a 20-foot elevation rise and a mix of hard-surface cement and packed gravel. In summer, cart rides are available to shuttle visitors to the fort site. The visitor center has a permanent ramp and a portable ramp that staff can deploy, and the main floor includes museum, videos, store, and restrooms accessible to manual or motorized wheelchairs or mobility devices.

The same source notes important barriers. The Trade House has two steps, the southwest bastion is reached by stairs, the courtyard is packed gravel and grass, and wet weather can create muddy conditions. This listing therefore presents Fort Union as partially accessible with good official detail, not as universally step-free.

Accessibility

NPS physical-mobility information lists three designated ADA parking spaces in the upper close lot, a route to the fort with cement and packed-gravel sections, summer cart rides to the fort site, a manual wheelchair available at the Bourgeois House Visitor Center, and visitor-center access using a permanent ramp plus a staff-deployed portable ramp.

The visitor center main floor, museum, park videos, store, and restrooms are described by NPS as allowing access for manual or motorized wheelchairs or mobility devices. NPS also provides door-width details for several areas and notes seating in the visitor center and around the fort.

Access is not uniform: the courtyard is packed gravel and grass, wet weather can create mud, the Trade House has steps, the southwest bastion requires stairs, and some trails include large crushed rock, sand, dirt, grass, or cattle gates. Call ahead for current cart-ride availability and surface conditions.

More accessible places in North Dakota

• Fargo Air Museum (Fargo)
• Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (Stanton)
• Bonanzaville USA (West Fargo)
• Chateau de Mores State Historic Site (Medora)
• North Dakota Museum of Art (Grand Forks)
• Pembina State Museum (Pembina)

Photo credits

• Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site official/source website image: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)