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So Much Fun in Sioux Falls, SD

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Spectacular waterfalls, wild waterskiing stunt shows, a high-tech dairy farm, live entertainment, museums and the Fortress of the Bears... Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a fantastic family getaway.

At five-and-a-half hours away, Sioux Falls is a great getaway for Kansas City families. With nature, history, live entertainment, agri-tourism and affordable options for families there's something for everyone. In addition to many fantastic attractions for the entire family to enjoy, we were impressed with the hospitality of the staff and volunteers at every site we visited.

Lodging: The Residence Inn (4509 W Empire Pl, Sioux Falls, SD. 605.361.2202)

We loved staying at The Residence Inn in Sioux Falls with a family suite ideal for six people. The suite included two bedrooms and a living room with a pullout sofa and kitchen. The indoor pool and hot tub were great for a chance to relax each evening. Each morning hot breakfast was served in the spacious dining room with waffles, hot eggs, breakfast meat, fruit, cheese, baked goods, cereals, juice, coffee, and yogurt. The hospitality of the hotel team was top-notch, making this a perfect place to stay with kids in Sioux Falls.

Favorite Sioux Falls Attractions for Families:

TOP PICK! Falls Park (located at North Phillips Avenue and Falls Park Drive)

The city's namesake falls are the centerpiece of this beautiful free 123-acre park. This is a must-see on a visit to Sioux Falls. An average of 7,400 gallons of water drops 100 feet throughout the Falls each second. The falls are just one highlight of a visit to the park. Visitors will also see many historic buildings from the region, a visitors center and observation tower, museum, and cafe. Historic sites include the remains of the seven-story Queen Bee Mill (originally opened in 1881), the Light and Power Company Building, now home to the Falls Overlook Cafe where visitors enjoy ice cream treats from Stensland Family Farms and delicious foods, the Dam, Seney Island, and a horse barn. The Visitor Information Center was our favorite with its five-story, 50-foot observation tower. Admission is free and there is an elevator to the top of the tower. We boarded the Sioux Falls trolley from Falls Park and took a tour of the city as we rode to The Levitt Pavilion for a free concert.

The Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History (805 S. Kiwanis Ave., Sioux Falls, SD. 605.367.7003).

Tip: Kansas City Zoo FOTZ members enjoy discounted admission to this zoo.

The Great Plains Zoo is a perfect stop for an afternoon or half-day visit. This 45-acre zoo is home to over 1,000 animals from around the world.  The Fortress of the Bears is the zoo's newest exhibit. Home to four brown bear cubs, native to southeast Alaska, as well as other bears this was our favorite exhibit. Make sure to check the calendar and attend a free keeper chat to learn more about the animals. The Fortress of the Bears exhibit is themed around Alaskan art with totem poles and playgrounds for children and spacious bear-friendly habitats for the cubs. 

In addition to the bears, we enjoyed feeding giraffes, seeing tigers, rhinos and other animals. The HyVee Farm exhibit with play areas and opportunities to feed goats was a favorite. After exploring the outdoor animal exhibits, we concluded our visit with a walk through the indoor Delbridge Museum of Natural History, an exhibit featuring a collection of 150 mounted animals including 38 vanishing species.

Visitors to the zoo may bring a picnic to enjoy or purchase concessions. 

The Levitt Pavilion (504 N Phillips Ave., Sioux Falls, SD).

Tip: Take the trolley to the pavilion and bring water.

The Levitt Pavilion was a stop on the Sioux Falls Trolley. This beautiful outdoor venue hosts free concerts throughout the summer. We took a ride on the trolley through the historic district learning about the area and seeing an overview of the area. Bring a blanket and lawn chairs to enjoy the show. There are food trucks with a variety of options for dinner and snacks as well. This beautiful family-friendly venue in historic downtown Sioux Falls offered a soft play area for little ones, a variety of food trucks, and a great lawn to enjoy live music. For a complete schedule visit https://www.levittsiouxfalls.org/. 

TOP PICK! Tour of Stensland Family Farms (1664 Ashley Ave. Larchwood, IA. 712.477.2527). Hour-long tours are $10/person (including a dish of ice cream). Reservations recommended.

Tip: Bring a cooler for cheese, milk or ice cream you purchase in their gift shop.

The tour of the Stensland Family Farms was one of our TOP PICKS on our Sioux Falls getaway. The entire family thoroughly enjoyed this educational and interactive tour. Although the farm is in Iowa, it's just over the state line. 

This dairy farm tour was extremely interesting and educational and unlike any dairy farm tour, we'd experienced before (including farms local to the Kansas City area). 

Four generations of Stenslands have worked this family-owned farm since 1915. The farm started with six-eight hand-milked cows, and now, over a century later, is a farm with 165-190 cows (plus young stock) robotically milked. The property includes 150-acres of cropland and 250-acres of pasture. Calves are born nearly every other day year-round at the farm.

The dairy produces and sells freshly bottled milk, ice cream, aged cheese, and cheese curds.

Doug Stensland, who grew up on the farm and is now father and grandfather to many of the current team members, took us on a 90-minute tour. We started in the warehouse where we heard the family's vision to run an all non-GMO sourced dairy with no artificial colorings or preservatives to produce the most nutritious product available for customers. Accomplishing this has a lot to do with technology. 

This high-tech farm utilizes robotics for much of its operations. Each cow wears a "necklace" that reminded me of a human Fitbit. The device tracks the health and needs of the cow and provides reports for the farmer. It also carefully tracks the cow's eating and milking. Cows love consistency and comfort and the Stensland family has created an oasis of comfort for their cows. The goal is healthy, happy cows producing the healthiest high-quality milk. To achieve this the barn is cleaned by robots that sweep it regularly (much like a gigantic robot vacuum), robots scrape and filter the manure to be used for fertilizer, fans run throughout the barn, there is a robotic feeding system, and the cows have "waterbeds" to rest and relax throughout the day. When a cow is ready to milk, it voluntarily goes to the milking station where the robots scan their ID necklace to verify that it is time for milking. If it is the robot cleans the cow, milks it, scans and sorts the milk, and provides a molasses treat for the cow to enjoy during the process. If the milk does not meet the highest standards, it's sorted to another bin for milk that is acceptable for animals (feeding the calves), but not for humans. This system is ideal for cows who love consistency and can be milked any time day or night according to their needs.  On average a cow produces 9 gallons of milk a day.  The system produces reports for the farmer tracking the cows as well as the milk production.

We also saw the cheese-making process where the cheese is produced and made on site. However, the favorite part of the tour for my girls was the chance to bottle feed a calf and taste cheese and ice cream samples at the end of the tour.

On the tour we learned the history of dairy farming in the region, starting with small operations and hand-milking to the modern dairy farm with hundreds of cows robotically milked and farms producing products and operating cafes and restaurants. We thoroughly enjoyed Doug's tour and highly recommend this site on your Sioux Falls getaway.

Good Earth State Park (26924 480th Ave, Sioux Falls, SD. 605.213.1036). State Park Entrance Sticker required --- $ 6-day pass may be purchased at the Visitor Center. 

Tip: Wear comfortable shoes for the trails and remember sunscreen and bug spray.

This beautiful state park is home to an 11,000-square-foot visitors center with exhibits telling the history of the region and specifically, the local significance of the Blood Run Site. The stories of the Omaha, Ioway, Oto, and Yankton Sioux tribes are told in the exhibits. This stop is a terrific place to learn the early history of the Sioux Falls region, understand the culture of the Native Americans who inhabit and inhabited the area, and the nature of the region.

Outside, the site is home to many nature trails and overlooks with beautiful views of the prairie.

TOP PICK! USGS Eros Data Center (47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD. 605.594.2976). Hour-long tours are free to the public Mon-Fri. Call to schedule. Visitors may also take self-guided tours.

Tip: They offer free hand-outs and educational materials for students. Ask at the information desk.

One of the most educational sites we visited was the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. On a tour of the site, we learned how the US government collects data using the LANDSAT (satellite) photographs to track the changes of the earth. "The Landsat program was created in the United States in the heady scientific and exploratory times associated with taming the atom and going to the Moon,” explains Dr. John Barker.  Thor-Delta rocket prepared to launch Landsat 1, 1972. The concept was the use of a remote satellite program to gather data tracking the natural history of Earth. The satellites would take photographs tracking changes in the Earth's terrain, or land. Other satellite programs track weather and water changes, but LANDSAT specifically records the Earth's land. At EROS, visitors learn about the history of the program and see photographs taken by LANDSAT showing changes over time.

LANDSAT orbits fourteen times a day covering the entire globe every sixteen days. Currently, there are two operating LANDSAT systems taking photos of the entire globe in eight days. The program started in 1972 and now citizens may view the images online any time at https://earthnow.usgs.gov/observer/.

Hanging over the welcome desk at the visitors' center is a 1/3 scale model fo LANDSAT 8. Opening the in the 1970s with one of the largest mainframe computers in South Dakota, the state now houses one of the largest computer complexes in the entire Department of the Interior. Exhibits included interactive components where visitors may explore the images from LANDSAT, learn the history of the program and its place in South Dakota's history, and see Earth Is Art displays with free artwork produced from LANDSAT images.

The Washington Pavilion  (301 S Main Ave., Sioux Falls, SD. 605.367.7397)

Tip: If you have a membership to Kansas City's Science City, you'll enjoy FREE admission for two adults and all children under 18 living at the same address.

Under one roof, Sioux Falls' Washington Pavilion is home to the Husby Performing Arts Center, Kirby Science Discovery Center, Visual Arts Center and the Community Learning Center. The Visual Arts Center offers rotating exhibits. While we were there, many of the modern art exhibits were especially creative and whimsical.

Our family especially enjoyed the interactive Kirby Science Discovery Center. You can easily spend several hours exploring the hands-on exhibits at this site. The interactive exhibits included lessons on space, dinosaurs, the human body, exercise, sound, energy, and more. The exhibits were all quite well done and engaging.

TOP PICK! Catfish Bay GREATest Show on H20!  (5500 Show Pl, Sioux Falls, SD. 605.339.0911)

Tip: This is an outdoor show... remember sunscreen! And, tickets are $2 cheaper when purchased online in advance!

This was one of the highlights of our trip! We highly recommend Catfish Bay's Greatest Show on H2O! This waterski show is a Sioux Falls tradition of over 20 years. Shows are performed on weekends throughout the summer and it is a BLAST for all ages. Featuring performers of all ages (from children to their parents) the all-volunteer cast puts on an incredible high-energy stunt show - perfect for a summer vacation! 

The show features a wide variety of water-skiing tricks including barefoot skiing, 20-person 4-level pyramids, jumps, backward skiing, and more. We also enjoyed a variety of stunts including a snowmobile on water, waterjet-propelled stunts, and boat tricks. With comedy skits in between stunt acts, this show held the attention of all ages in the audience. We were impressed with the skill and talent of the performers, including many from the same family and multiple generations. This family-friendly show is a MUST for your Sioux Falls summer itinerary.

Butterfly House and Aquarium (4320 South Oxbow Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD. 605.334.9466),  Admission:  Adults: $10, Senior (60+): $9

Tip: For an additional fee they offer the chance to feed the butterflies. This is a fun experience for the kids and provides many great photo ops! Also, strollers are not allowed in the butterfly habitat to follow USDA guidelines for the insects.

The Butterfly House and Aquarium is a smaller attraction perfect for an hour or so. With over 800 free-flying butterflies from all around the world, the indoor tropical garden is lush and beautiful. The indoor butterfly conservatory is beautiful with many places to enjoy the butterflies. Feeding the butterflies was the hands-down highlight of this attraction. The kids also enjoyed the aquarium with a touch tank and a variety of fish. The pop-up dome aquarium is a fun experience for little ones, the touch pool is always an educational experience, and the saltwater exhibits were home to marine life from the Indo-Pacific region as well as the Caribbean.  

Other stops to explore:

Food & Dining:

After Sioux Falls, we headed to Rapid City to see Mount Rushmore and other terrific South Dakota sites. 

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