A guide to Fargo-Moorhead for college students

Every fall, over 25,000 students arrive in Fargo-Moorhead to start a new year of college. 

Whether you're off to North Dakota State University (NDSU), Moorhead State University Moorhead (MSUM), or Concordia College, sometimes it's nice to get off-campus and explore the city.

This guide is designed to help everyone from incoming first-year students new to town to seasoned students who want the best student discounts and tips.

OFF-CAMPUS COLLEGE HANGOUTS

Each university has its own favorite off-campus student hangouts. Here's where to find fellow scholars.

NDSU student hangouts

Bars: Students decked in green and gold hang out at The Bison Turf or Herd & Horns.

Coffee Shops: In the Memorial Union, students sit and grab a coffee from Memorial Union Caribou Coffee to get them through long study sessions or to meet up with friends.

If you're headed further off campus into Downtown Fargo, you'll find students hanging out at Atomic Coffee and Youngblood Coffee Co.

MSUM student hangouts

Bar: The unofficially official MSUM hangout is JC Chumley's in Moorhead. It offers karaoke on Fridays and usually has a local band on Saturdays.

Coffee Shops: Most MSUM students relax at the on-campus coffee shops, but a few also hang out at Third Drop Coffee.

Concordia student hangouts

Bar: Also in Moorhead, Concordia College students have their turf at Mick's Office (which also serves delicious burgers).

Coffee Shops: Many students are sitting around Twenty Below Coffee Co. just north of campus.

COLLEGE DISCOUNTS

Show your college I.D. at any of these places to receive a discount.

Coffee & treats discounts

Babb's Coffee House: 5% off
Kroll's Diner: Shakey Mondays two-for-one shakes
Third Drop Coffee: 10% off

Food discounts

Applebee's: Half-off appetizers after 9 pm.
Arby's: 10% discount on meal
Blackbird: $10 pizza Tuesdays and Wednesdays 6 p.m.-close. Half-price apps Tuesday-Wednesday 4–6 pm.
Buffalo Wild Wings College Night: 9 pm to close on Sundays; receive 50% off food with the purchase of a drink (Moorhead location)
Dempsey's: $1 taco Wednesdays (must be 21)
Boiler Room: 15% off the late-night menu every night after 10 pm or the breakfast menu on Saturday/Sunday (must be 21)
Brew Bird: $5 sandwiches daily from 7 pm to close with college I.D. BOGO taps every day from 7 pm to close.
Herd & Horns: College Special Menu
India Palace: 10% off with I.D.
Mick's Office: $1.50 burgers (sides & toppings additional) from 5–8 pm.
Qdoba: $1 off a chicken entree
Rhombus Guys: Monday-Friday 3–6 pm half-off appetizers.
Rustica: Half-price starters and pizza 5–6 pm and 9–11 pm Tuesday-Saturday
Spicy Pie: 10% off any regular-priced item with student ID. $3 pizza of the month slices on Wednesdays. $1.59 tacos and tostadas on Thursdays.
Panchero's Mexican Grill: Free beverage with student ID
Perkins: 10% off with student I.D.
Osaka Sushi: 10% off
India Palace: 10% off
Fryn' Pan: 10% off

DISCOUNTS ON THINGS TO DO

Sports, active fun, and exercise

The Bowler: Free bowling 9-midnight Monday-Thursday
Fargo Force hockey games at the Scheels Arena: $10 ticket college nights (check website)
Kingpinz Social: Arcade Happy Hour Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.: 50% off arcade games and $18 Hyperbowling Lanes.
Skate City: $4 admission 6 – 8 p.m. on Wednesdays
Skyzone Trampoline Park: $10 per hour discounted rate on Thursdays from 8 -10 p.m. with I.D.
Spirit Room: $35 unlimited discounted monthly dance/yoga classes
Suite Shots: Enjoy half-price golf, $12 pizzas, $3 Busch Light & Coors Light pounders, and $5 off 100oz Par-Tee Towers all day on Mondays.
Sunset Lanes: $5 all-you-can bowl with college I.D. starting Thursday at 10 p.m.
YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties: discounted youth rate of $35 a month

Entertainment & performing arts

Marcus Theatres: $7.50 movies at any Marcus Theatres on Thursdays (if you show your college I.D.)
Theatre B: $5 discount on tickets with I.D. or $5 student tickets on Thursday
Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre: $8 student tickets on Thursday
The Cellar: $5 off any comedy show with your I.D.
The Rourke Art Museum: Free Admission
Plains Art Museum: Free admission
Bonanzaville: $10 entry with Student ID
Fargo Air Museum: $7 student tickets
Historical and Cultural Society of Cass/Clay County: $9 discounted tickets with Student ID

Miscellaneous

MATBus: free rides with college I.D.

Don't tell your mom, but Almost Famous in West Acres Mall does buy-one-get-one piercings, and Addictions Piercings & Tattoos run specials often; check out their Facebook page.

21+ INFO

 Downtown college bars

A classic bar crawl weaves through Downtown Fargo, and it goes a little like this:

• Start at Sports Bar or NoBull.
• Cross the street to the Old Broadway and Sports Zone and dance to the Top 100's for a while.
• Drop into Fort Noks before heading up the road to...
• Pounds and Rooters before finishing at
• Cowboy Jack's

Trivia nights & open mics

You can find trivia or open mic nights literally every night of the week.

Check out the official Fargo-Moorhead events calendar to find all of them, but take a glance at the top places below.

Top places to find open mic nights

Front Street Taproom
Dempsey's Public House
The Cellar - for open mic comedy

Top places to find pub trivia

Red River Trivia's Facebook page
Frank's Lounge
Front Street Taproom
Rhombus Guys
One of Fargo-Moorhead's six breweries

DRINK SPECIALS & COLLEGE NIGHTS

Once you're 21, finding cheap drinks becomes a top priority.

Mug nights

The college hangouts mentioned earlier usually have a "Mug Night," during which you bring in a reusable mug (you buy this on your first visit), and they top it up with tap beer for less than $5.

The Bison Turf's mug nights are Wednesdays and Saturdays ($3.75 for mug refills).

Herd & Horn's mug night is Wednesday from 7 pm to close ($3.75 for a refill).

Chub's Pub near NDSU fills with college students for their $0.50 small mugs of beer on Thursdays.

JC Chumley's offers mug nights on Mondays and Wednesdays. The cost is $4 for Busch Light fills and $5 for all other domestic beers.

Mick's Office college mug night is Thursday from 8 pm to close. There will be $4 domestic mug fills, and $3 Busch Light or Old Style mug fills.

Bar drink specials & happy hours

Another event we can't forget is Ladies' Night at The Windbreak. On Thursdays, ladies drink free from 9 pm to midnight, while guys can get $2 U-Call-Its from 9 pm to 11 pm.

The Windbreak is pretty far south, just off of I-29, so make sure you have a sober driver or plan to call an Uber or Lyft to get home.

For a complete list of bar specials, check out our guide to happy hours.

UNDER 21 HANGOUTS

We have a whole blog on places to go and things to do if you're not quite of age, but here's the gist.

Bars (yes, you read that right)

Many bars allow people under 21 to hang out until a certain time in the evening. Here's a list from A-Z of some of the popular nightlife spots.

The Bison Turf - all ages until 8 p.m.
The Boiler Room - all ages until 10 p.m.
Brewtus Brickhouse - all ages until 9 p.m.
Frank's Lounge - all ages until 3:30 p.m.
Herd & Horns - all ages until 12 a.m.
JC Chumley's Bar - all ages until 9 p.m.
Labby's Bar & Grill - all ages until 8 p.m.
Mick's Office - all ages until 9 p.m.
NoBull Smokehouse - all ages until 9:30 p.m.
Old Broadway Grill - all ages until 9 p.m.
Pounds - all ages until 6 p.m.
Rhombus Guys - all ages until 12 a.m.
Sickies Garage - all ages until 12 a.m.
Tailgators Sports Cafe - all ages until 9 p.m.
Toasted Frog - all ages until 3:30 p.m.
Wurst Bier Hall - all ages until 9 p.m.

Late-night hotspots for food

24-hour diner options: Denny's, Fryn' Pan, and Kroll's Diner
Insomnia Cookies: Closes at 3 a.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday
Bar Down: Closes at 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and midnight Sunday-Wednesday.
Boss' Pizza & Chicken: Closes at 4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday.
Deek's Pizza: Closes at 3 a.m. every day
Pizza Patrol: Closes at 4 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays
SouthTown PourHouse: Closes at 2 a.m. every night.
Twin Peaks: Open until midnight Thursday, 1 a.m. Friday-Saturday, and 11 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday.

Things to do off-campus

Check out our post on free things to do in Fargo.

Bowling: Check out the discounts section for places to bowl cheaply. Plus, Kingpinz hyperbowling.

Clay Your Way: Pick a ceramic piece to paint, choose your paint colors, and spend a few hours painting whatever design you want. They'll fire it in the kiln for you to pick up after a few days.

Disc golf: Tons of parks in Fargo and Moorhead have excellent disc golf courses (most are within biking distance of the three campuses).

Hunt for murals: Downtown Fargo is close to all three college campuses and full of fun murals for a picture-taking outing.

Skateboarding: Head downtown for the city's best skate park.

Suite Shots: This Top Golf-like facility has 60 climate-controlled suites powered by Toptracer Ranger software and five indoor simulation rooms where you can hang out, hit some balls, or play games.

Thunder Road is an excellent option for early fall. Here, you can ride go-karts, play mini-golf, and use the batting cages.

MAJOR EVENTS NOT TO MISS

You can attend these events while you're here for the school year. For a complete list, check out the events calendar.

*Deals are subject to change without notice.