Ingalls Homestead, near De Smet, South Dakota, is a unique campground that immerses you in the charm of the prairie and the history of the Ingalls family. With just a handful of sites, it offers a cozy atmosphere where you can truly unwind and connect with nature.

The campground features clean bathrooms, hot showers, and picnic tables scattered throughout the grassy areas, making it easy to set up for a comfortable stay. Visitors rave about the friendly staff and the opportunity to explore the homestead, which includes a one-room schoolhouse, barn animals, and even covered wagon rides. As one camper put it, “This is a truly magical place,” especially for fans of the Little House on the Prairie series.

For those who want to dive deeper into the experience, the homestead offers hands-on activities that let you step back in time. You can learn to make a corn doll or twist hay, giving kids a taste of life in the 1880s. The sunsets here are stunning, and the open prairie provides a beautiful backdrop for a night under the stars. Whether you’re camping in a tent, RV, or even a covered wagon, Ingalls Homestead is a memorable destination for families and history buffs alike.

Camp on the Open Prairie Camping at Ingalls Homestead is a unique way to experience the prairie. All sights are located on the land Charles Ingalls homesteaded. With just a handful of sites - 4 covered wagons, 1 bunkhouse, 4 RV sites, and tent camping - the prairie doesn't feel crowded.

Ingalls Homestead

Lake Preston is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that South Dakota camping has to offer. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Lake Preston and user-submitted reviews.

Lake Preston

The Best Camping Near Lake Preston, South Dakota

Friendly folks and simple camping.  Lots of things for the kids to do and play just like its 1880. 

Put down those ipads and play like 1880

This is a truly magical place, and if you’ve ever read any of the Little House on the Prairie books and are anywhere near De Smet South Dakota, do yourself a favor and swing by.

**The Campground**

The Ingalls Homestead consists of two main parts. First is the "campground," which is a basically a large grassy slope where you can set up your tent for just $10\. It includes hot showers, flush toilets, and a few picnic tables and fire-pits throughout the field. There's also fairly basic RV parking for $30 with electric and water hookups and a dump site as well as some basic but cool covered wagons for $60\. We arrived just as the sun was setting, found a lovely spot for our tent, and then paid in the shop the next morning. The bathrooms were clean, the showers were a little strange but also clean and hot (basically a large room cordoned off by several shower curtains).

**The Homestead**

De Smet is where the Ingalls family lived during the "Long Winter" of 1880-1881, and the Ingalls Homestead is a "family run business" that brings to life many activities from the 1880s such as visiting a one-room schoolhouse, making a corn on the cob doll, going on a covered wagon ride, etc. It's truly hands-on and some of our favorite time was spent hanging out in "Pa's" lean-to barn with the barn kitties and riding horses and ponies. My oldest son also learned how to drive the covered wagon to the schoolhouse down the road (another treat). Each station on the self-guided tour has an activity with incredibly nice and informed hosts. Most of the buildings are based on the original plans and descriptions from the Ingalls family, though no original buildings remain on the site. Visiting the homestead is an additional $15 per person over the age of five, and while you could camp without visiting the homestead, it was definitely worth a half or full-day visit.

Magical Must-See for Kids & All Little House on the Prairie Fans

A very cool and unique campsite on the grounds of the Laura Ingalls Homestead near De Smet, SD. Unique in that you can camp right on the open prairie and for only $10 a night. Just pick a spot of grass and you’re good to go. There are some picnic tables you can choose to be near or just head out on the frontier. There are also options to camp in a covered wagon as well as a bunkhouse. RV spots are available and include water and electric hookups. Well appointed and clean bathrooms (electricity and flush toilets) are on site with showers.

The other really cool thing about this spot—especially for families—are all of the fun activities at the homestead itself. There’s a one-room school house with tours, a barn with animals, a covered wagon ride where you (or your kids) can lead the horse-drawn wagon, opportunities to learn how to make a jump rope, twist hay, wash clothes—all things the Ingalls family had to do on a farm from long ago.

A night or two in the summer is great though with no shade for the campsites field, it can get warm but evenings on the prairie are gorgeous. All in all, a great spot to set up that is cheap but with nice facilities and staff.

Very Cool and Unique Campsite on the Grounds of the Laura Ingalls Homestead

We have traveled in a RV for 6 years and been to 48 states (3 or 4 times each), visited 300 plus small towns and I can say this was one of my favorite camp spots. There are only 4 RV lots, and they are pretty close together, but we stayed before season, so we had the place practically to ourselves. For $30, we had W&amp;E, fire pit (firewood not sold), picnic table and free access to the homestead. Bathrooms were so clean and smelled like cedar wood.  There is a dump station but be fore warned it's on a slope, so emptying your tanks completely will be a challenge. Also a sign says grey water only, this is not true, you can dump your black water too. Since we were off season, during the day, they had school trips daily, so there were a lot of children, having fun playing right behind our rig. But it was only for a short period of time during the afternoon. There's a museum right next to the sites, which is always open. There's also is a tower you can climb to get some really great views. Several houses and buildings are on the property you can explore and hay rides are available. They also have a nice country store where you can by your souvenirs. If your a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, like me, this is a must stop, if only for a night! I also want to mention that the camp hosts and gal that ran the store, couldn't have been nicer.

Laura would be honored

Great place to spend the night. Only a few campsites. Workers are great. Dirt road going to it. 

Only “issue” is the Grey water dump is on a slight hill, with the ground washed away, and people sometimes park around it. 


Awesome

We had a wonderful experience dry camping here.  There are only a few sites with water and electric.   There are no dedicated sites and they asked us to park our pop-up at the far end/bottom of the parking lot next to the grass. It was quite level and the tent campers next to us were very nice. A few other tents were further out in the field. 
The bathrooms are simple, but very clean. 
Little Horse on the Prairie fans, you MUST stay here!

We'll be back!

Love that there are only 4 sites. We stayed here with family and had 3 of the sites. Beautiful land! Our suggestion if you stay here is, pull in the parking lot and back up the driveway to the camp sites. Unless you have a small vehicle and camper, it is tricky to get turned around if it is full. 
$20pp to tour the property for the whole time you are staying. Check out the dugout, house, barn, schoolhouse, church and garage. 

Photos of Ingalls Homestead

Real photos from real campers