where to go + what to see in south dakota

This post has been sponsored by South Dakota Tourism. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own!

A couple of weeks ago, after we returned from our trip, I wrote a post on 5 Reasons You Should Visit South Dakota in the Fall, to better answer the why of our trip. Today, I wanted to follow up with a bit more detail on some of our family’s personal favorites and recommendations from our time spent in and around the Sioux Falls area. So you can start planning your own trip with where to go + what to see in South Dakota!

Let’s start with the most important thing, food. All of these restaurants were recommended to us by locals, and these were our faves of what we tried. As many of you know, our family is mostly dairy and gluten free, and I am a vegetarian. But when we travel, we aren’t quite so strict about our dietary restrictions. Most of these restaurants did have options that could accommodate our picky diets though!

breakfast

• Josiah’s Coffee House – SO many people recommended this and I was dying to try it! Unfortunately on the morning we went, it was closed due to the Native American holiday and parade in downtown.
• M.B. Haskett – this was where we ended up watching the Native American Day Parade from! Right on Phillips Avenue, where the parade ran. Smaller menu, but perfect lattes and everything we had was so tasty!

lunch

• Bread & Circus Sandwich Kitchen – we came here after a busy morning exploring. Perfect order + sit place for a quick meal, with lots of tasty comfort food.

dinner

• Parker’s Bistro – this is a total foodie paradise and a bit on the fancier side. No kids menu, but I was honestly impressed how well our kids did there when we went for dinner. And the staff was so lovely and accommodating for us!
• Mama’s Ladas – a small little place that seriously only has like, three enchiladas on the menu and small wine list wine. But so good and so cute!
• CH Patisserie – the cutest little sweets shop in downtown Sioux Falls with the best macaroons!

In my last post, I already mentioned some of the fun fall and harvest festivals and activities there are to do around specifically in the fall. So for this post, I wanted to focus more on some of the other family friendly things we found. These options can be explored most, if not all, year long!

what to do

• Falls Park – I mentioned this place in my last post, and because it was so magical, I had to mention it again! A huge park with lots to do and see!
• Falls Park Farmer’s Market (Satudays) – the cutest market with everything from flowers to vegan baked goods!

• Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History – since it was raining the day we planned to go here, we didn’t actually make it. But I’ve heard it’s on the smaller side, so totally manageable for a half day activity with kids.
• Butterfly House & Aquarium – we went here to escape the rain! Again on the smaller side, but so much fun for the kids to get to see both sea life and butterflies in one place. They could have stayed in here for hours!
• Kirby Science Discovery Center at Washington Pavilion – we tried to go here, but it was closed on Monday (for the fall/winter season). Our quick peek inside looked like a great place to spend a day with the kids. So just plan to go on a different day if you go this time of year!

Closing out here with a few more of my favorite pics from our fall activities. For more info on these seasonal activities, make sure you check out my last post from South Dakota. And please let me know if you go, if you’re from there, and/or what you love about South Dakota! I hope we get the chance to go back one day!

Thanks again to South Dakota Tourism for sponsoring this trip and post! I am always happy to share with you guys my honest experiences.