These 11 Towns In South Dakota Were Ranked Among US Favorites In 2024
South Dakota, often celebrated for its natural wonders like the Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore, is also home to charming towns that earned national recognition in 2024 for their unique blend of history, culture, and scenic beauty. Known for its jagged mountain peaks, vast plains, and serene lakes, the state offers visitors and residents a chance to experience its rich heritage and breathtaking landscapes. From the lively festivals of Brandon to the historic allure of Deadwood, these 11 towns have captured the hearts of visitors and earned their spot among the nation's favorites.
Brandon
Located 20 minutes northeast of Sioux Falls, past Falls Park, and around Great Bear Park, the pastoral town of Brandon also boasts several venues for activity. These include the Brandon Farmers Market, Huset’s Speedway, and Aspen Park. There are also many excellent festivals and events happening in Brandon, some of them every year. Brandon Valley Performing Arts presents everything from high-school plays to a variety of concerts to their own rendition of A Christmas Carol by writer Charles Dickens. At the same time, the Freedom Festival, occurring annually at Huset’s Speedway, celebrates the beauty of autumn at its best. Moreover, several great activities are available daily in Aspen Park, including volleyball, swimming, a remote-controlled race car track, and several regular sports like baseball, basketball, tennis, and softball.
Watertown
Watertown, home to Lake Kampeska and Pelican Lake, is most famous for several great activities that are perfect for the outdoor enthusiast. From swimming, waterskiing, fishing, and sail boating to hiking several different scenic trails, like the Sandy Prairie Trail, there is something that welcomes even the harshest critic of nature. Downtown Watertown is worth visiting as well. Featuring the Redlin Art Center and the Goss Opera House, this town has a great cultural aspect of around 22,000 people. Outdoor enthusiasts in town adore the Sandy Shore Recreation Area, which has two scenic beaches, and the Bramble Park Zoo, which features everything from tigers and leopards to spider monkeys and ring-tailed lemurs.
Chamberlain
Along the eastern bank of the Missouri River, the quaint town of Chamberlain is best known for historic attributes like the “Dignity of Earth & Sky” statue, which honors the brave women of the Lakota and Dakota tribes, Akta Lakota Museum, and the Chamberlain Lewis & Clark Welcome Center, which provides some excellent scenic views of the Missouri. Several other great amenities and venues are located in downtown Chamberlain, including the South Dakota Hall of Fame where one can witness success stories of the inductees. There is also the Native American National & State Scenic Byway to visit. It offers a plethora of great historical heritage of the Sioux people and their trials throughout the years.
Spearfish
A tranquil town located in the Black Hills, quaint Spearfish is an oasis of beauty and charm. Home to Spearfish Canyon and the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, a 20-mile-long trip through the canyon with excellent views of the majestic Black Hills, climbing nearly two thousand feet in elevation before reaching Cheyenne Crossing. Other great attractions in downtown Spearfish include the D.C. Booth National Fish Hatchery, the High Plains Western Heritage Center Museum, and Spearfish Rec. & Aquatic Center. Plus, if you are interested in cultural venues, the Matthews Opera House, built in 1906, features Festival in the Park every July, offering live music, art & craft vendors, and some of the tastiest food in all of South Dakota.
Keystone
The picturesque town of Keystone, with a population of less than 500 people, is most famous for being the home of Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore Tramway provides scenic trips up and down the mountain, while the hiking trail scaling the mountain offers a more strenuous journey. Either option provides some captivating views of the four former presidents, Washington, T. Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Lincoln. There are also several great attributes in downtown Keystone, some of which involve Mount Rushmore, while others provide a more comprehensive view of the historic value of Keystone itself. The National Presidential Wax Museum features presidential history through some awe-inspiring exhibits, including presidents G. W. Bush, Trump, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt.
Vermillion
Located in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, approximately 60 miles south of Sioux Falls, the town of Vermillion is home to a plethora of historic and cultural amenities and attributes. From the National Music Museum, which has collections of rare and common musical instruments, such as the accordion, the bagpipes, and the harpsichord, to the Farmers’ Daughters’ Sewing Museum, Vermillion expresses the importance of history in a variety of ways. There are also a plethora of natural attractions in and around Vermillion, including the Missouri River, the Spirit Mound, which is a part of the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804, and hiking trails like the Vermillion River Trail. This trail follows alongside the river, providing excellent scenic views of the countryside.
Madison
Home to Lake Herman and Lake Herman State Park, which offers boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, and even camping opportunities, the quaint town of Madison is an oasis of natural attributes. A vein of community-oriented culture also runs through this town of barely six thousand residents. Historic Prairie Village, located just two miles west of town and offering camping options as well, provides a plethora of festivities, including a steam threshing jamboree that lasts for three plus days in August. It also offers a city-wide parade, demonstrations on a variety of different pieces of threshing machinery, and possibly the largest flea market in the area. There is also the Lake County Museum, located downtown, which presents exhibits of many artifacts relating to the town's history, as well as all of Lake County.
Brookings
Approximately 60 miles north of the city of Sioux Falls, the town of Brookings, with around 25,000 residents, features the Children’s Museum of South Dakota, featuring several instrumental learning activities, like Under the Hood, Whiskers & Tails, and Cafe Oscar. A plethora of natural attractions are located in and around Brookings as well, including McCrory Gardens, which is an integral part of South Dakota State University and features a stunning botanical garden, as well as a majestic arboretum, the Splash Zone Waterpark, which offers many magnificent pools and three impressive waterslides. For those visiting in July, be sure to attend the Brookings Summer Arts Festival, which draws thousands of visitors to Pioneer Park every year with various unique craft & art and food vendors.
De Smet
Nicknamed “delightfully different,” the quaint town of De Smet, with just over a thousand residents, hosts the fictional Ingalls Homestead. This venue offers a taste of living on the prairie during the latter part of the 19th century through various activities designed for children of all ages, such as driving a covered wagon, washing clothes on an old-fashioned washboard, and even visiting the replica of a one-room schoolhouse. The historic homes of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the “Little House on the Prairie” books, and the De Smet Cemetery are also located in the town of De Smet. The cemetery has a variety of gravestones, including ones for several different characters within the “Little House on the Prairie” books, including Charles & Caroline Ingalls.
Deadwood
Having obtained the name Deadwood through prospectors discovering a valley of dead trees and a gurgling stream loaded with gold, the small town of Deadwood is now as much a part of the untamed world as ever. Yet this tiny town of just over a thousand people has several great attributes that encourage visitors to return over and over again. From the Historic Adams House, built in 1892 and displaying antique artifacts from infamous characters like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, to Mount Moriah Cemetery, where one can pay respects to the fallen, history is still alive in Deadwood. One can also peek into local mining history at the Broken Boot Gold Mine. Other historic aspects that make Deadwood worth visiting include the Mt. Roosevelt Monument, which honors Teddy Roosevelt, and the Days of ‘76 Museum, which includes original cowboys and rodeo exhibits.
Pierre
Home of the Flaming Fountain, a Veteran’s Monument Site that was dedicated to the men and women from South Dakota who bravely fought for their country, the picturesque town of Pierre is a historian’s dream come true. Along with some other historic attributes, like the State Capitol, first completed in 1910, the South Dakota National Guard Museum, and the Fighting Stallions Memorial, honoring eight people from the state who died in a plane crash in 1993, several cultural venues in Pierre possess a historic vein. These include the Trail of Governors, which honors governors of South Dakota, past and present, and the South Dakota Discovery Center. This rustic landmark showcases a wealth of knowledge through items like an anti-gravity mirror and a harmonograph, a mechanical apparatus that utilizes pendulums to make fascinating images.
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, majestic South Dakota, home to more than just Mount Rushmore, Sioux Falls, and the Badlands, has a variety of awesome towns scattered across its almost 80,000 square miles of landscape. From McCrory Gardens in Brookings to the Farmers’ Daughters’ Sewing Museum in Vermillion to the Freedom Festival in Brandon, the towns of South Dakota possess a plethora of natural, historical, and cultural attributes that cater to everyone in the family no matter what you are interested in.
