Sport & Outdoor
FreeFalls Park
FreeWatch the Big Sioux River drop over the falls from viewing platforms and a five-story tower with an outdoor deck.
Photo: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureLocal Gem
Palisades State Park
48422 256th St · Garretson, SD
Why you should go…
Palisades State Park protects pink Sioux quartzite cliffs, about 1.2 billion years old, that rise up to 50 feet along Split Rock Creek. You can follow four hiking trails, rock climb, fish, or paddle a kayak or canoe beneath the formations. A 1908 steel truss bridge in the park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the park offers campsites, camper cabins and a welcome center.
- #state park
- #rock climbing
- #hiking
- #quartzite cliffs
- #camping
Good to know
General sport & outdoor guidance
Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.
Weather calls the shots
Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.
Shoes, water, sun cover
The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.
Parking and launches fill early
On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.
Daylight shrinks in shoulder season
Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.
What's around here?
The closest stops to Palisades State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
14 mi awayMore like this
- MuseumsHistory Buff
Siouxland Heritage Museums
FreeTwo free Sioux Falls history museums: the Old Courthouse Museum and the Pettigrew Home and Museum.
14 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- MuseumsFree Entry
Old Courthouse Museum
FreeFree regional history museum in an 1890s quartzite courthouse in downtown Sioux Falls, with three floors of exhibits, a restored courtroom and 16 early-1900s murals.
14 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- MuseumsFree Entry
Pettigrew Home & Museum
FreeFree guided tours of the 1889 Queen Anne home of South Dakota's first U.S. senator in Sioux Falls' Cathedral district, with his own artifact museum attached at the back.
15 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- AttractionsFamily Favorite
Thunder Road Family Fun Park
Under $25A Sioux Falls family entertainment park with go-karts, mini golf, bumper boats and an arcade.
16 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
- Sport & OutdoorFamily Favorite
Wild Water West Waterpark
Under $25South Dakota's largest waterpark, with a wave pool, lazy river and a six-story waterslide.
23 mi awayMore like this
