Top Tourist attractions in Sioux Falls, United States

Overall, great experience. There was plenty to do in the few hours we visited. However, we entered after 4PM as it said online that the tickets were cheaper only to be charged full price. We brushed it off and went in anyway. The only big issue we had was with everything closing before 8PM. We went swimming first and then went to other activities like mini golf, go karts, and batting cages. Unfortunately we were unable to experience any of these activities because they all closed between 7-7:30! I think if the park is open until 8, all activities should remain open. We were very disappointed to be turned down to mini golf at 6:50 because “the course closes in 10 minutes.” It is a great place, but we experienced too many rejections when doing any non-water activities.

My kids and I, love to come here to get out in nature, go for a hike, maybe bring the dog and really enjoy when they have Native American events out here.
I hope they continue to maintain and keep this park for future generations to enjoy.

Beautiful park. The falls are amazing, the trails are nice offering plenty of scenic overlooks, you can walk on the rocks to explore and get different views, the visitor center has a great gift shop with friendly staff, and the observation deck is awesome.

After the flooding, I asked the wife if she wanted to go stand close to the edge of a water fall and a river full of fast flowing water. She said "sure", so we went out to Falls Park.

It's a really nice park. Very spacious, lots of picnic area. It has a tower to get a birds eye view and concession areas. Plenty of parking. Just an overall beautiful park. It's only a short walk from the downtown which has several restaurants. I don't know how you can visit Sioux Falls without visiting Falls Park.

The place is Great, but the basketball court is really stiff and there’s no nets on the hoop and the balls are not very nice

It's definitely a site to visit if you are in the area. There is an observation tower to see it all, then go down and see the falls up close. You can go on the rocks or sit in the grass and take it in. There are souvenir shops plus quick snacks to get while there. There are many historical markers to read about the history of the area.
It is a short walk to downtown to other activities or restaurants.

Very good and well-maintained park in Sioux Falls. Big Sioux River runs through it creating some great waterfalls and rapids which in turn create some great views and sounds. During my visit the park was busy but there was enough space to where you did not feel crowded. The ruins of many old buildings remain in the park from when Sioux Falls was actually established. There are signs and plaques around that tell the stories of these buildings and Sioux Falls in general.

There are nice walking paths and you can even venture out on the rocks up to the river's edge away from those paths. There is a restaurant nearby and a gift store as well. There were a couple of boys fishing in the river too but I am not sure if that is actually allowed. The people we encountered were nice, there was plenty of parking the landscape made all the walking nice. I would call it a must visit if you are in the area.

Neat place to visit. You can get out on the rocks. Great location for engagement, wedding, family, and senior portrait photos.

If you are looking for awesome night shots you will have to pick your position carefully. The area is lit with both incandescent and bright LED lights for night safety and it’s hard if you are shooting wide to get them out of the shot. The white balance is also funky because of the different temp lights.

Kids said it's the best Sky Zone they have ever seen! ( They have been to several in different states)Hang gliding, huge slide, climbing wall, dodge ball, basketball , junior ninja course...wonderful!!

Definitely needs some updates, especially the bathrooms. The bathroom closest to the entrance had most of the bathrooms out of order. The one snack shop was out of at least half of everything on their menu but didn't have anything crossed off to indicate that. Another was out of a lot of food items but the bigger stand had all of those items in stock. Why wouldn't you share the inventory so no one was out of anything? Best part is definitely the wave pool.

No issues. Kids had a good time. Although there could be some improvements on their queue line with speedy service rather than holding the line up by calling out orders they should use a vacant window to help speed up queue line a bit better in service area for hot foods. The lazy river could had more donuts when about 10% of them were just idling over the lazy river bar and causing a backup in the line. Could been better regulated. Didn't see any issues with the slides outside normal queue time for waiting your turn can't really improve much on that outside of adding more water slides. But overall the service line is the one that could been improved on the most. If anything on menu is out or broken. It's understandable but should at least have a sign up that's 2 things we discovered they were either out of something or broken. Despite that it was overall a good experience for my daughter at the Waterpark. The bathrooms were disappointing clogged toliet badly. I opt to hold it till I got home. I see this place as a fun place to go but as the years have gone but it just feels like it's becoming a tad stale/or getting lack in appearances in some areas. Not saying it'd reduce business after all it is a fun place to be but it has vast growth potential to improve upon/update or even expand.

The place is very nice, the weather was not in our favor because it was raining and they closed the pools but they gave us a pass to return the next day. The same thing happened but at least my children were able to enjoy it more. It is beautiful. I recommend it. We paid $126 between 5 people. 3 adults and 2 children do not let you in drinks or food but inside you can buy for an affordable price

Such a cute little area! Some of the steps are a bit steep and it was interesting to explore the history of the area, you could 15 minutes to get in a quiet walk but it is run down and there are no japanse plants. The structures are loosely inspired by the japanse style is the only thing they did. Also there were some homeless sleeping inside the patios.

It was okay, no very much to do beside the few attractions they have. Also they do not care if kids are being bullied by other kids. My girls had to deal with racism and being called the b word by others and when they told the person watching, they did nothing. I paid an hour but i personally don’t think it was worth it. Will not be returning thats for sure.

So the water park was great. We all had fun. One of the best lazy rivers!!! Great place. Pink Flamingo's campground was ok. The staff was great. We had a tent but all lots have rocks everywhere. Lots of mosquito!! Long walk to bathroom.

Located directly across the street from the Orpheum Theater. 5 or 6 nice murals in a parking lot area.

Falls Park was GORGEOUS and so much fun to climb on the rocks. Definitely a fun place for kids of any age, young and old. The atmosphere of the people visiting the area was lovely. There wasn't a bunch of grumps. Lots of laughing, smiles, people helping each other to take groups pics. Was just a lovely change of pace.

Kids were disrespectful and swearing, calling everyone the N word, and other horrible things. None of the workers were doing their jobs while letting kids bully other kids. There were very young kids there who don’t need to be picked on or hear the foul words from those kids. I thought this was a family friendly place. That was absolutely ridiculous and NOT okay.

We had fun. We got in using discounted tickets that are available. It's especially a good deal if you go for $5 after 4PM. The park is small and somewhat worn, but everyone found something they liked. The food was surprisingly good and very reasonably priced. They offer typical snack-bar fare plus amazing cheese curds. A great way to cool off and have fun on a summer afternoon.
For the adults, the park offers a swim-up bar or you can take an adult beverage over and watch the kids frolic. There's plenty of seating and shade options available if you'd prefer to stay out of the sun.

Pretty scenic view. Rocks to climb on for the kids to be entertained. Lookout Tower is really cool to look at the waterfall from above. Does have elevators for those who are unable to use or don't want to use stairs. Decent amount of parking. Free attraction!

Tested out a waterproof purse at Wild West Water Park. Loved the season pass. Loves the wave pool, lazy river, and water slides! Everything you need is there. Great concessions. Rented a locker! Was awesome!

Way more hiking trails than you would think out of this relatively small park. I got 7 and a half miles when I did almost every trail in the park. Some of the hills at the south end of the park are very steep, so fair warning to anyone doing them. The observation decks had great views of the Big Sioux River and Northwest Iowa. Great park, will likely be back.

Beautiful park. Can easily view the waterfalls from every angle. Was able to learn a lot of the history by all the signage markers. If you like waterfalls and will be in the area, this is a must stop. There's a cafe on site as well with ice cream, soups, sandwiches and such. Seating inside and out. They also sell souvenirs.

Staff is friendly and nice but the park itself is filthy. 😳 it didn’t seem to always be this way but has really taken a turn and seems to get dirtier every time we go.

Quick picture to send to your friends.

Roadside attraction, this one being inside a parking lot with parked cars blocking the signs and murals.

For a zoo in South Dakota, it's much larger than I anticipated and it's still growing. Plenty of animals. Place is pretty awesome and the admission fee was very reasonable. $13-$15. Definitely will visit again in a few months.

We love this zoo! It's a great zoo if you have kids AND if you don't! Also, the best food I think I've ever had at a zoo and for a very reasonable price. I miss the museum of natural history in the building, but I look forward to seeing what they come up with instead...I hope it's awesome aquarium!

So fun!

The kids and I enjoyed this so much.

If you don't have "grippy" socks, prepare for an additional $8 per person to outfit your crew.

I don’t know why I have never taken the time to walk through the Japanese Gardens because it is wonderful! If you need a place to relax and calm yourself this is definitely the place to go.

We had lots of fun. It was cold when we went and had to find places to warm up a couple times but an overall good experience.

I loved this place! I was here walking around for over 2 hours just enjoying all the scenery! :)

We were visiting Sioux Falls in early March and decided to check out the zoo. There were some exhibits closed, but many others were open, and some were inside buildings. It was a nice little zoo, and we're looking forward to returning in the summer to see all of the exhibits, and some of the new features that were under construction!

Beautiful! Lots of seating areas. Steps are steep and some of the rocks are loose. Take care when climbing. Or park at the bottom of the hill and take the path along the water. Which Is also wheelchair assessable.

This was our first stop while in Sioux Falls on a trip. It was really unique and beautiful but I felt like it would be better to visit in a warmer month when there is more vegetation so in my opinion come in summertime. Unfortunately we saw some trash and random graffiti in a few places. It’s sad people do these things to such a cool spot. Hopefully in the warmer months they maintain this better and clean it up. It didn’t ruin the experience but was upsetting to see. This area is directly adjacent to a small lake and the terrace park making it easy to explore all of the area. The Japanese Gardens itself is a relatively small place and you could walk and see it all in about 15 minutes, however it would be a great place to relax and read a book or enjoy the lake. I’m only giving 3 stars because it seemed to not be well maintained over the winter and also due to the trash and graffiti. The beautiful setting and uniqueness earn it 3 stars for me. Please improve this park Sioux Falls! It has wonderful potential. Older photos of the park seemed much nicer than present day. I’m hoping it’s just left alone during the winter and that’s why it’s not looking great like other photos showed it.

Terrible customer service. First time here and it was a bit of a dumpter fire. We planned to have a small get together here for our 6 year old sons birthday and his friends. I called in an hour before we arrived (Tuesday evening) to check in and see if reservations were needed. I also asked them if we were allowed to bring our own food. They said it was no problem and I asked them if they had tables for us to sit down and eat at and they said they did. Once we arrived we started paying for entrance fees for all the kids and I asked the employee behind the counter that was ringing us up, once more if food is allowed, along with where we could sit. She again, said we could bring in our own food and pointed at tables on the ground floor and also tables on the second floor. I wanted to double-check one last time before we went in because my wife was behind us grabbing pizza and cake for the kids in a separate vehicle. Once my wife arrived, she calls me to come out and help her bring the food in. While we're walking in with food, we're immediately stopped by the manager and told we can't bring food inside. Obviously, I'm fairly surprised at this point since I've checked with two staff on two separate occasions within the hour who both gave me identical answers. Again, we've never been here before so I wanted to be 100% sure. I explained this all to the manager who stopped us. And unfortunately, he was very condescending and pretty much calling me a liar. He had me go into my call log and physically show him that I called the store an hour before we showed. I also had to walk with him to the front desk and awkwardly point out the employee who told us we could bring in our food. I mean, who puts there customers through this??? He never once confronted the main issue, which was his employees giving us false information, nor apologized to us for his staff misleading us. Instead, after we tried to do our best to explain to him the situation we've been placed in, he asked us to take the food and drinks back out to the car. I tried to plead with him and come up with other options since we had a whole group of people waiting for us and prepared to eat, along with the inconvenience of already buying all of this food. He (manager) wouldn't give an inch. Like I said before, very condescending, argueing with me saying his staff never told me that I could bring in food and essentially calling me a liar. Even after proving to him and showing him call logs and having to point out employees, he still kept the same attitude that he had from the get-go. Making us feel unwanted. I understand company policies but I made sure that he understood that we were told more than once that we were allowed to bring in food. Despite the inconvenience and waste of money on our end due to their lack of training with their staff, we were offered no help or remorse from the manager. They clearly don't hold their staff accountable, and didn't care what kind of impact their poor training had on their customers. We've had friends and family say this place was great, not sure if it was a bad manager on shift that night, bad staff, or all of the above. But we ended up splitting up all the pizza and giving our friends to go bags to take home since we were basically told to leave. As we were packing up and splitting up the food for everyone to take home, we were getting constant looks and glares from the employees. It was a very uncomfortable experience and they pretty much ruined our sons night with his friends.

A very nice visitors center in an unusual park. Almost totally empty on a weekday morning, but they started the video for me, I took a nice hike (and neither passed nor saw another person). Cool history, nice view of the river.

We enjoyed walking even though it was winter and the flowers aren't out yet bit there were many beautiful landscapes and plenty of places to just sit and watch the geese on the frozen lake

We took our kids and noticed a golden egg in the giraffe enclosure. We opened it to find a pin and a coupon for a free stuffed animal! We were lucky enough to find another before getting ready to leave. After turning in our 2 coupons we thought there may be another egg to find so we headed back inside to look around and ended up finding one egg for each of our children we brought to the zoo that day! Our kids were so excited and thought it was so cool they each got a fun animal to remember our zoo trip with. It was a fun surprise for us because what kid doesn't want a fun animal to bring home after spending half the day at the zoo?!

Ok so in my opinion the first pair of socks should be included and after that u buy new ones I understand the it takes alot to run a business but I'm pretty sure someone is making good money with this place.....all in all I have no other complaints it's a great place expensive icees lol(5 bucks, 2 bucks in gas station) but it was fun my daughter of 4 yrs old had a blast and I got a workout she was asleep two mins after leaving in car so I'm pretty sure she got her money's worth of bouncing

place is so beautiful especially during fall when the leaves turn orange and red food place for date and everytning

Was actually expecting something more it's still pretty

The wife and I took the kids here for the first time, and they were just floored by all the amazing animals. The exhibits are clean, well maintained, and really beautiful. The animals really felt at home and happy. Many of them seemed to perk up and put on a show for us as we visited them. The staff was really knowledgeable and shared some really fascinating information about the large cat exhibits. We had gone here as kids and just couldn't believe how well it was maintained and all the great improvements. The surprise hit with my daughter were the wolves! So thankful to have a zoo of this quality nearby, and we'll definitely be back!

For some reason it is only closed in Tuesdays.

It was about a five minute stop to look at these. It isn't obvious where you are going as these are just on what looks like a random wall in a business area.

Absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed the Japanese Gardens..the park, the paved pathway, the ducks and Canadians on the water, the stone work, just everything. Our 8 mo. old furbaby had an absolute blast. I wish we had something similar in our city. Enjoy Sioux falls goer's!

Nice little photo shoot area with free nearby parking

One of my fave places in SF... But needs more flowers + varieties...

Super cute little garden with waterfall and lovely flowers. Nice short trails! Great little nature area that is very well maintained.

Very nice easy to moderate hiking. Trails are well maintained, nice visitor center with bathrooms. 5k going on today and what looked like a kids fun run. Ample parking.

The zoo was fun, most the animals were running around. Some of the animals where gone and there is some work being done plus the train is shut down, but it was still fun to see what was there. We were able to walk the whole zoo in about 2 hours.

Great place to go hiking near Sioux Falls. Hiking trails are fantastic, and the scenery is spectacular. The visitor center is very educational.

Campground Review: AWESOME! We booked this place site unseen after having a not so great campsite about an hour an half away. BIG RIG FRIENDLY! This newly constructed campground was everything we needed to accommodate our 41’ rig, family and the staff was very friendly! The bathhouse rooms have a private toilet, shower and sink with coded entry- I loved this as a Mom with younger kids. The pond had some massive fish- but be sure to wear your tennis shoes or boots when fishing, there are a lot of prickly thistles around it. That didn’t stop us though! The kids made it onto the fishing hall of fame wall with their Northern Pike catch. Sites are water and electric, with dump station. Free water park passes for up to 4 people when you camp. Shuttle to and from the water park. If we ever return to SD from Illinois, we will be back here!

We went in just to see what it was and we spent over an hour there! Well laid out building full of pictures and history but the real draw for my family was the lower level where they have the farm to table exhibit. It's like a mini children's museum! Hands on, clean and so fun!

Beautiful nature. I and my son enjoyed an outside yoga class on the grassy area taught by Val from FORM yoga studio and then learned about the nature of South Dakota from Andrea's perspective as a naturalist pro, as well as the indigenous views offered from Mike O'Connor. Thank you to the Mary Jo Arboretum programming (Natalie) for helping Saturday start in an unique way being well-tuned to the Mother nature physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritally.

Great showcase of farm table agriculture including interactive displays. Loved seeing the history of the stockyards. Great stop!

A really cool path you can walk down that features interesting structures and flora

Nice hiking, great for birds, I don't think that I have been out there without seeing wildlife

Beautiful Park!! Peaceful place to have some quiet time. The grounds are very well kept.

The word of the evening was "lovely" because I said it over and over! You can reserve the different pavilion areas for events and it is such a beautiful place to do it. We enjoyed our walk through the park and I had a great time taking pictures and enjoying the tranquil atmosphere. I highly recommend stopping by and enjoying a picnic or a sweet date!

Definitely stop by for a brief visit to learn about local stockard history! They have nice displays, and families with preschool and elementary age children will enjoy the hands- on play and learning in the lower level.

Some really great detailed murals right downtown. Worth a peak. Also a lot of other mediums if art all around the downtown. Countless sculptures. I was just being a tourist and was pleasantly surprised at how much art is in this area.

This was an interesting experience to check out. It is a free museum but you can make a donation on site or online. The upstairs portion is much more information based while the downstairs is more hands on. Kids we saw there seemed to enjoy the downstairs as they can scan products to learn more about how they are made as well as where they come from.

This Place Is absolutely beautiful! So clean and well maintained. A lot of information that you can read while you're walking around.

What an experience! This is really a MUST SEE area to enjoy a sacred place for several Indian tribes. The Free admission and easy to navigate trails make this a very cost effective way to wear out the kids and the dog (allowed on trails with a leash). $8.00 per car load for a 24 hour day pass is a real bargain. Plan on spending several hours. With the Visitor center included with a video and cultural area and than the trails. A good time for all.

Great stop for photo ops!

Excellent formal garden... professional landscape...all plants, trees, native prairie grasses labeled with it's common name and botanical name. Wonderful collection of mature trees from Northern Plains to exotic species.

There was no line. You can get on top of the murals. There was super easy parking, as well. Cute spot to stop and take pictures

Fascinating place! Learned about the history of the Sioux Falls Stockyards (opened in 1917) over its 95 years. Then another floor had great exhibits telling about agriculture today. Well worth the time!

took a chance to visit knowing the main house was closed due to covid, but no worries outdoors is where you need to be! this place is fantastic. we will definitely be back to go on the quarry trail and the railbed trail - it was 100 degrees out when we went so had to cut our trip short. cant wait to go back!

We chose Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum as our wedding ceremony location. Absolutely beautiful!
Photo credits: Luke & Savannah Photography

I stumbled upon the place. What a surprise! It's beautifully restored inside and out. Two levels. From videos of people telling first hand how things were, to wonderful kid oriented ag displays that I enjoyed like a kid. It's vivid local color available on a visit to Falls Park. The closest parking is off Sioux Falls Park Dr. on the north side

The gardens were small, and there were no Japanese plants anywhere that I could see. The structures were nice but in need of much repair . The grounds themselves are beautiful, with a nice lake and a terraced park behind, that is lovely. It would depend on your taste as to whether or not you wanted to visit. It is a quick, easy walk, and if you like the quite setting you can sit on one of the many benches and look at the water! Was no a waste of our time!

If you haven’t yet visited the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum, it’s time you did!! Over the years I’ve come to appreciate being able to see mature plants in a landscape setting. I enjoy shopping at plant nurseries but it’s so difficult determining how a plant might look in say 5-10 years...

The arboretum is beautiful and immaculately cared for. That being said, I do think they could do a much better job being environmentally-conscious. Their parking lot drains to an area that’s supposed to be a wetland (to filter pollution and provide wildlife habitat). They even have a display with a photo of how it should look and function... For some reason they mow the entire area, completely ignoring their own educational sign!!

Also, their pond and waterfall are nice touches but are colored blue and treated with herbicides so that they look like something sterile and synthetic like you’d see at Disney World. Such a wasted opportunity for a naturally beautiful pond that could be beneficial to all sorts of wildlife...

Great educational find telling the story of the Sioux falls great stockyards.

Recently visited for the first time and not disappointed. Beautifully maintained arboretum. Really nice walking paths and plenty of family seating for picnics. This place is more than 140 acres in size and has lots of walking trails in woods. Big Sioux River can be seen through trails vistas.

A beautiful visitors center and wonderful trails. During our visit we we're lucky enough to see a bald eagle from observation deck number 2. Even though it is winter the terrain is such that I was able to bring my kids and pull them being me in our sled.

This zoo is such a great little place to visit. I have a membership and it is definitely worth the cost! It pays for itself after just a couple visits. It's not too busy during the week. The train and carousel don't operate during the week, but they are a fun treat for kids on the weekend.

The volunteers are the best! They are so kind and patient with children and do a great job helping people of all ages learn more about wildlife.

The Delbridge Museum is awesome.