The Moorhead area adds a touch of big-city life to the valley. It is home to two colleges, a symphony orchestra, opera company, community theater and an art museum. Especially interesting is the Heritage Hjemkomst Center, home of a replica Viking ship built by a local teacher and sailed from Duluth to Norway.

East Grand Forks offers great fishing and is noted for its catfish - 15-20 pound fish are not uncommon. Catch a glimpse of a moose in the wild, as well as beaver, deer and a wide variety of birds.

When the snow flies, the sport of choice is snowmobiling, and Thief River Falls is the center of action amid a network of hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails. The machines are even manufactured here and Arctic Cat offers tours of its plant. There’s also a system of Riverwalk paths linking five parks and a "pioneer village" of shops and log houses built by early settlers of the area.