The Mysterious Hidden Gem Attraction In North Dakota You Never Even Knew Existed
North Dakota is full of wondrous secret places that you’ve likely never heard of. Sure, there are the badlands, the bigger cities, and lots of fun attractions to visit that everyone knows about. But what about those special places that deserve more attention but practically no one knows about? There are hidden gems to be discovered all over the Peace Garden State, and this one in particular takes that term to a literal level:
We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
Out on a hill in the prairie stands a structure made of huge stones and granite walls - all built by one man who felt his prized collection of gems and artwork needed a proper acropolis to stay in.
This is the Paul Broste Rock Museum, located in Parshall, North Dakota. Though many people might hear the term "rock museum" and either think music or be turned off by the idea of looking at rocks, this place is way more than you think it is. It contains thousands of the most mesmerizing rocks, minerals, and art pieces you may ever see - some of which are incredibly rare and interesting.
Paul Broste was a rock enthusiast through and through, especially those shaped into enormous spheres in a practice called lapidary.
Over 700 of these spheres are on display at the museum made up of hundreds of different kinds of stones and mineral. From small, perfectly smooth balls of granite to the huge crystal ball-like sphere made of rutilated quartz crystal that is one of the museum's prized possessions, it truly has it all.
You'll be absolutely mesmerized by the amazing art that Broste turned his collection into.
Along with a simply massive collection of these samples, Broste was also an artist and used this museum to showcase his work. One of the most notable features is this metal sculpture with many different sizes and types of spheres seeming to balance precariously on it. There are many more, and all are gorgeous.
Whether you are a mineral enthusiast yourself or not, you'll be able to appreciate the sheer size of the collection and some of the pieces within it.
The collection includes tiny agate slices all the way to massive cuts of unique and interesting stones. Some of the pieces look like they were directly cut out of a deep cave, and that is probably because some of them literally were!
There is even a room with a black light that will entrance you with glowing stones and minerals.
The Paul Broste Rock Museum is located at 508 Main Street N, Parshall, ND 58770. If you’d like a tour of the place, you must call ahead of time at 701-862-3264. It is open Wednesday-Saturday from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
If you are actual a geology enthusiast or simply love history and this state, we’ve got another awesome spot for you to check out: North Dakota’s petrified forest.
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
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