Icelandic State Park is a public recreation area on the north shore of Lake Renwick, west of

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

in Akra Township, Pembina County,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

encompasses more than , two hundred of which are wooded. The park features a beach, museum, historic buildings, the Pioneer Heritage Center, and the Gunlogson State Nature Preserve.

History

The park was established in 1964 to preserve evidence of North Dakota's Icelandic heritage after G. B. Gunlogson (1887-1983) donated of his family's lands to the state in 1963. The land had been in the Gunlogson family for over 80 years when it was donated to North Dakota.

Activities

The park offers camping, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and boating. The nature preserve has three miles of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. The 6-mile-long Cavlandic Trail connects the park and the city of Cavalier. The park sits adjacent to the Cavalier Country Club, a 9-hole public golf course.

Nature preserve

The Gunlogson State Nature Preserve is an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

and

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

dominated by mature

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

and

basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

that lies along both banks of the Tongue River. The preserve's many rare species include plants such as the ladyfern, water arum, and two-seeded sedge and animals that include the piliated woodpecker,

western wood pewee The western wood pewee (''Contopus sordidulus'') is a small tyrant flycatcher. Adults are gray-olive on the upperparts with light underparts, washed with olive on the breast. They have two wing bars and a dark bill with yellow at the base of the ...

, and the

finescale dace The finescale dace (''Chrosomus neogaeus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is native to the northern portions of Minnesota, with relatively smaller populations in northern New York, Vermont, Ne ...

The preserve's woody plants include species of maple ('' Acer negundo''), birch (''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

papyrifera''), dogwood (''

Cornus ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

stolonifera''), hazel (''

Corylus The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

cornuta''), hawthorn (''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

rotundifolia''), silverberry (''

Elaeagnus angustifolia ''Elaeagnus angustifolia'', commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of ''Elaeagnus'', native to western and central Asia, Iran, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey, parts of Pakistan and parts of ...

''), ash (''

Fraxinus pennsylvanica ''Fraxinus pennsylvanica'', the green ash or red ash, is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to Oklahoma and e ...

''), quaking aspen (''

Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

''), balsam poplar (''

Populus balsamifera ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, '' Populus.'' The genus name ''Populu ...

''), chokecherry (''

Prunus virginiana ''Prunus virginiana'', commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, Virginia bird cherry, and western chokecherry (also black chokecherry for ''P. virginiana'' var. ''demissa''), is a species of bird cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Padus'') nat ...

''), willow (''

Salix amygdaloides ''Salix amygdaloides'', the peachleaf willow, is a species of willow native to central North America east of the Cascade Range. It can be found in southern Canada and the United States—from western British Columbia to Quebec, Idaho, Montana a ...

'', ''

Salix bebbiana ''Salix bebbiana'' is a species of willow indigenous to Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska and Yukon south to California and Arizona and northeast to Newfoundland and New England. Common names include beaked willow, long-beaked w ...

''), American linden (''

Tilia americana ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

''), and elm (''

Ulmus americana ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Flor ...

'', ''

Ulmus pumila ''Ulmus pumila'', the Siberian elm, is a tree native to Asia. It is also known as the Asiatic elm and dwarf elm, but sometimes miscalled the 'Chinese Elm' (''Ulmus parvifolia''). ''U. pumila'' has been widely cultivated throughout Asia, Nor ...

''). About a hundred other species are represented on the site.

References

External links

Icelandic State Park
North Dakota Parks and Recreation
Icelandic State Park Map
North Dakota Parks and Recreation {{authority control Arboreta in North Dakota Icelandic-American culture in North Dakota State parks of North Dakota Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in North Dakota Protected areas of Pembina County, North Dakota Museums in Pembina County, North Dakota