Best Glamping near Aurora, SD

We stayed here for one night on the way to the Black Hills in South Dakota. The campground is in the far south western corner of Minnesota about 30 minutes for Sioux Falls South Dakota. The site is in the middle of grasslands and cornfields. They have very organized park staff that have an efficient check in process. The campground has some nice ponds and bike routes. It’s located next to a bison range and tours are available. Unfortunately the camp sites are packed in on top of each other with no privacy. You have a lot of local large RV users using loud generators and playing music until after midnight. They have good facilities with showers and dump stations. During our stay, the water in the camp tested positive for bacteria and the camp was giving out free drinking water. Since you don’t have many options in the area, this may be a good choice. The overcrowding was our main issue.

South Dakota State Park, Brandon SD. Great stop. We spent 2 days. Very nice campground with lots to do and see. Big spacious sites ours backed up to the bike path and river. New bathhouse entire park was very clean. About half hour to Sioux Falls. Worth the trip to see the Falls and the bike/hike trail around the city.

We passed through Palisades State Park earlier this year and spent some time in the day-use area so we knew it was a good place to camp as we passed through South Dakota on another trip. One main (clean) bathhouse with two showers plus two pit toilets for those camping farther away on the loop. A mix of cabins, tent, and electric sites. Lots of trees. LONG driveways and some sites (such as 34E) are very large. The website allows you to view sites, so you know in advance what to expect. Nice walking trails and picnic areas.

Beautiful campground! Sites are well spaced. Lots of trees for great shade in the hot summer. Very nice bathroom and shower house. Easy drive in to Sioux Falls. Several trails around the park. This was our final stop on our South Dakota trip. It was a wonderful and restful campground for us. After we arrived, Park staff came around and shared maps and info on things to do in the area. The first night a storm rolled through and the host drove thru and knocked on doors to check on people and let them know where shelter was just in case. Definitely will keep this campground on our list for future trips.

Such a nice campground. Nice big shady trees and manicured lawns. They sell campfire wood for 6$ a bundle on site so we had some great campfires going. They have nice long paved trails for walking and biking. We got to walk our dogs on it to avoid tick contact from the grassy trails. There was a cool suspension bridge that was fun to walk on. The showers were very nice and hot without a lot of traffic. 

There is no sewage hookup or water hook ups. They do that 50/30 amp sites available. There is a dump station right at the entrance to dump when you leave and it also has a separate fresh water station if you want to fill up right when you get there so youre not traveling with a bunch of water in your tank. 

It was a great campground and the falls were close by and palisades state park was also in the area with a nice hike. 

There is an extra $8 car fee per night that you have to pay on top of any camping fees. If you are staying longer than 5 days it better to just get the annual parking pass for $32, which would cover parking for all state parks and recreation areas in SD. 

They have great discounts if you are a veteran and south dakota resident.

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.

We rented kayaks and went up river, then floated to our camp site. Half way we ran out of beer - AND THEY BROUGHT US SOME!!! Love, love, love this place! Will be coming every chance I get!

Nice, secluded and wooded sites.

We stayed in the lower campground. It is very opened. The campsites are medium size and close together. The bathroom was well taken care of. There are train tracks really close to the campground. The trains didn't seem long nor did they blow the horns. The swimming area looked nice, but it was too cold to use.

Pretty spacious seperated by lots trees, good place for camping with kida as well. has a swimming pond and beach. Clean restrooms.

visited here with my sister and our families. lots of fun places to swim and beautiful rock scenery!

This is a sweet little tucked away oasis near Sioux Falls featuring trails, bluffs and climbing options. Great views and clean camp sites.

Beautiful stone pillars. Great area to camp in.

We were at camp spot 12E it was very nice! The bathrooms and showers were okay and the people were very nice. It was my first time ever pulling and backing up a camper and I was struggling and one of the park rangers came and helped me. It has very pretty views and I definitely recommend going there for a weekend!

We stayed here on our way out to Yellowstone from Chicago and again on our way back. It’s quiet and well-kept, very clean. The sites are well-spaced and very wooded. Lots of nice short hikes for the kids. Beautiful rock formations to explore. I highly recommend this place!

This was a one night stop over before we continued on. We were sad to only be there for 12 or so hours. The park is very well kept. The bathroom and shower house was remarkably clean and updated. The park does seem to offer handicap accessible sites and bathroom/shower facilities. The playground was very updated and entertained my 7 year old. The hiking paths looked amazing, but sadly we didn't have time to hike much. We will be planning a trip to go back and fully experience all that they have. A local told us at the gas station the many historical things they have in town, specifically sites that are related to Jesse James.

Palisades is a great state park! Everyone there was so friendly and informative-- you can tell they really enjoy where they work. The park itself is beautiful! The only downside was how close the tent campsites were to each other. I would have liked a little more privacy and better views, but the sites were well kept!

Stayed here for an overnight on a cross country trip. It's a beautiful park that was only about half full. We had a big campsite and the entire tent area mostly to ourselves. They was one other party six sites up from us.

Our site wasn't the most level but it worked. I would probably pick a slightly higher number or one with electric even if we didn't need it because they're more level.

Being from out of the region, we were surprised by the number of earwigs, but that's nature, right?

We definitely want to make our way back here for a longer stay.