Fort Thompson's principal draw is its landscape: the Missouri River backed up behind Big Bend Dam to form Lake Sharpe, the hills above the water, and the flat reservation land stretching out in every direction. The Fort Thompson Mounds are the most historically significant site — a complex of ancient burial mounds that survived the flooding of the original Fort Thompson townsite. Big Bend Dam itself is worth a stop to understand what was lost when the Missouri was tamed, and Lake Sharpe draws anglers and boaters from across the region.