Blog · September 24, 2026 · North Dakota
Ward County, North Dakota GIS Parcel Map Guide
Minot, Burlington, Kenmare, Berthold, Carpio, Des Lacs, Donnybrook, Makoti, Ryder, Sawyer and Surrey are all covered by Ward County’s free Parcel Viewer.
Main page: Ward County, ND GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Ward County facts and neighboring maps).
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Ward County is Minot and the prairie around it. Its Parcel Viewer gives a map and table of every parcel.
The Ward County Parcel Viewer
Ward County’s viewer is built with Esri’s Web AppBuilder and pairs a map with an attribute table of parcel records. Click a parcel for owner, acreage and legal description. The county frames it as a tool for broad, regional evaluation rather than site-specific decisions, and it prohibits reselling the data. That makes it good for browsing and quick lookups, but not for planning a fence line.
It is one click from Ward County on our North Dakota page, or from the nationwide viewer map.
How to find property lines in Ward County
- Select the tract and jot down which quarter, section, township and range it occupies.
- Ask the Ward County Recorder’s office in Minot for the vesting deed and any recorded plat.
- Farm fields usually follow quarter-section lines; in town, lots follow recorded plats.
- Hire a North Dakota licensed land surveyor before fencing or building near a line.
Our section-township-range primer explains legal descriptions.
The 2011 Souris River flood
In June 2011, record releases from upstream reservoirs and heavy rain pushed the Souris far over its banks. Roughly four thousand homes in Minot were damaged, and whole neighborhoods sat underwater for weeks. The disaster reshaped the valley and still shapes property decisions there today.
Minot Air Force Base
Minot Air Force Base, north of the city, is the region’s largest employer. Service members and contractors create steady demand for rentals and starter homes, and turnover at transfer season keeps the market active.
Working with the attribute table
The attribute table lists parcel records below the map. Selecting a row highlights the parcel, and filtering by owner name or township narrows the list quickly. It helps when you want to see every tract a family owns or all parcels in a section. Widgets for layers, legend and measuring sit along the edges of the map, though measurements are approximate.
Section lines as public roads
North Dakota law treats section lines outside cities as open to public travel, with a strip on each side, unless formally closed. A tract may have a gravel road or trail along its edge that the public can use. Fences or crops placed across a section line can cause disputes. Check with the township before blocking one.
The flood protection project
After the 2011 flood, local and state agencies launched a long-term flood protection project on the Souris, called the Mouse River locally. Levees, floodwalls and diversions are being built in phases through Minot and Burlington. Hundreds of homes in the path were bought out and removed, leaving open land. If you are buying near the river, check whether a lot is slated for acquisition or protected by a completed phase.
Base zones and development
Minot Air Force Base hosts B-52 bombers and Minuteman missiles. Noise and safety zones around the runway can limit housing and development nearby. Rentals near the base stay in demand.
Oil money and mineral rights
The Bakken oil boom to the west brought a wave of workers and new housing to Minot in the early 2010s. In North Dakota, mineral rights are often severed from surface land, so a buyer may not get them. Ask a title examiner about minerals.
Burlington, Kenmare and the small towns
Burlington lies west of Minot where the Des Lacs River meets the Souris. Kenmare, near the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, is a small farm town with a historic windmill. Rural towns have cheap lots but limited services.
Prairie potholes and easements
Ward County sits in prairie pothole country. Many farms have federal wetland or grassland easements that bar draining or plowing. They transfer with the land.
Assessments and taxes
North Dakota values property as of February 1. City and township assessors set values, and the county tax director oversees them. Taxes paid in full by February 15 get a discount.
Building for winter
Deep frost and snowdrifts shape how homes are built. Footings go deep, and many homes have full basements.
Minot as a regional hub
Minot hosts the North Dakota State Fair each July and is home to Minot State University and Trinity Health’s regional medical center. The city draws shoppers and patients from a wide area of northern North Dakota and even Canada. That keeps demand steady for commercial land along Broadway and the bypass, while older neighborhoods near downtown have smaller lots and alleys. Neighborhoods up on the valley walls generally sit above the mapped flood zone. When comparing homes, note whether a parcel is in the valley or on the hill, as flood insurance costs can differ sharply.
Is the Ward County GIS map accurate?
Ward County frames the viewer for regional evaluation only. Section-based lines tend to be close, while river lots and older town plats may be off. Rely on the deed and a surveyor’s pins. Read tax maps versus surveys versus surveys.
Other guides
See our Pennington County guide. The North Dakota hub has the other 52 counties.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Ward County Parcel Viewer for?
Regional evaluation, not site-specific use.
Can I resell Ward County map data?
No.
Did the 2011 flood change land ownership in Minot?
Yes, buyouts moved many riverside lots into public ownership.
Who records deeds in Ward County?
The County Recorder.
Open the official Ward County GIS viewer Ward County in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey — especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.