ND 1806 and ND 1804 were named to reflect the years of Lewis and Clark's travels through the area, and run along the southwest and northeast sides of the Missouri River, respectively.

[1] ND 1806 consists of four separate segments, running along Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River in McKenzie, Dunn, Mercer, Oliver, Morton, and Sioux Counties.

The next segment of ND 1806 begins a few miles east-southeast of Tobacco Gardens and heads east before turning south and passing through Charlson.

The highway intersects Interstate 94 and passes through downtown Mandan before following the Missouri River south through Morton County and onto the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

In October 2016, protest activity on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation related to the Dakota Access Pipeline caused the highway to be shut down indefinitely between ND 24 and Fort Rice by the Morton County Sheriff's Department.