Crookston (pop. 8,192), 25 miles east of the North Dakota border, has a series of bridges over the meandering and tree-lined Red Lake River, which winds along the south side of the compact downtown business district. There’s a statue of pioneer Joe Roulette in front of the community center on US-2, and a small Polk County Museum (daily May–Sept.; donations), containing the usual slew of 19th-century stuff with the addition of the world’s largest ox-cart, but that’s about it as far as sights go.
There are also two rather big festivals in Crookston: August’s Ox-Cart Days, and Red River Valley Winter Shows and Rodeo. The latter draws up to 40,000 visitors from the United States and Canada.
