Escape into nature and disconnect from daily life with glamping near Brookings. The Dyrt lets you enjoy a unique, rustic Brookings experience while glamping. You're sure to find glamping for your South Dakota camping adventure.
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.
$24 - $45 / night
Open: Year-round. Between Oct. 1 and April 30, showers, flush toilets and other water systems may be closed. Please contact the park directly for current status. Vault toilets usually remain open.
Park Size: 103 campsites, 5 camping cabins, and group lodge
Directions: 6 miles southwest of Lake Preston off US Hwy 14
Nearest Town: Lake Preston
Ranger
There’s a fair size staff working; you could see 3-5 people at any given time. Good selection in store open 8am to 9pm in July. Nice size pool and laundry room. Store seemed well stocked with a variety of items. The mini golf was the only thing run down but the kids played it 3 times and didn’t care.
There were 2 bathroom/shower houses both nice. The one by the laundry and game room seemed newer.
Laundry and bathrooms open 24 hours. Game room closed at 9pm.
Everyone was extremely nice and customer oriented there.
We upgraded to a patio so as not to drag everything out for one night. Very nice. I can’t comment on the grill as we “glamped” on our 5th night from PA and ordered Uber Eats. A friendly worker escorted the driver to our site via golf cart. There are also trees throughout and fences to give you a feeling of privacy. We pulled through the space and used risers to level it.
I used the laundry room and shower. Both were nice. They even had a full length mirror in the shower area. We’d stay there again and recommend.
Edit: My grandsons loved this because there was enough to do but “peaceful” too. Their words so we stopped on our return back from Yellowstone.
Legend
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.
Legend
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.
Legend
A very utilitarian campground in Arlington, SD. Best feature aside from the shade is there is a laundrymat in the same lot! Electric, shade and a shrub row separates you from the road. This would be an ideal spot to stop overnight or stay at to attend a local event or visit relatives in the area. Stop by the Municipal Bldg\ Firehall at 202 W Elm St to pay your fee , after hours use the drop box.
TravelerElectric and water hookups. Spots are very close together. Luckily several people cancelled for the weekend and we were allowed to pick any spot. Shower houses are nice. I'd stay again, although a lady in town said the hole in the mound county park nearby is much quieter. The ice cream man made a loop through the grounds.
Guide
This campground has both electric standard sites for campers and tent sites. Two shower houses and multiple vault toilets throughout the campground for accessibility. Walking trails in grass or gravel. Three walkways down to the water’s edge with one being a large swimming area. Boating is permitted as well. Be sure to use bug spray as mosquitoes were all over- maybe due to wet weather. This is a natural lake formed by farmland that flooded in the 1980s.
TravelerLove 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.
TravelerWe 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!
GuideWe 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&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.
LegendA 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.
ScoutFriendly folks and simple camping. Lots of things for the kids to do and play just like its 1880.
GuideGreat 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.
Guide
We visit this place for a quick getaway a few times a year. Great hiking and biking trails, swimming pond and right on the redwood river. The Camden Regional trail is 14 miles of paved trails between Camden State Park and Marshall, MN.
GuidePros: lotsa trees. Cons: Go to the lower park, more to do, more to see. Upper camp, not much to see, plus our site was really steep
ScoutNice, secluded and wooded sites.
ScoutGreat trout stream, swimming, tubing, camping, horse trails, hiking... my kids loved it
GuideThere are two campgrounds in this park - the upper one is on the prairie while the lower one is situated among trees along the river. We stayed in the lower campground in site 30. The lower campground is close to the playground and swimming pond but it rained the whole time we camped so we didn't use either.
Sites in the lower campground are fairly close together and we didn't have cell service (Verizon), which wasn't a big deal.
I brought my fat bike and bike the Bluebird and Dakota Valley trails. Both are mowed paths that go through prairie and wooded areas. The actual mountain bike trail was disappointing, it was overgrown, narrow, and hugged a high ridge.
Our site, 30, sloped away from the parking pad. You wouldn't be able to set up.chairs under your awning at this site and the picnic table sat in a low spot that got muddy after 2 straight days of rain. There is a river that runs behind the sites in this loop. Our boys played on the rocks and had a great time.
There are nearby train tracks and trains ran by several times a day, though luckily they don't blow the horn so we didn't notice them much.
GuideWe 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.
ScoutPretty spacious seperated by lots trees, good place for camping with kida as well. has a swimming pond and beach. Clean restrooms.
LegendMy family does a annual family reunion camping once a year! We stayed here and it was beautiful! Perfect for all the kids off all ages, adults, grandparents...we had a really good time ☺
TravelerWe stayed there for only 1 night in a tent. It was very nice, a lot of people. We stayed there towards the end of October so they had heaters in the bathrooms. Nice, clean and big showers. The staff was very helpful and friendly. You can hear the train yes, but its not too bed. Would stay there again. For tent site 10 is really nice and big.
GuideWe stopped here for one night, site 29E. Really nice area except there was a bunch of wasps invading our space as there is some sort of fruit tree above. Nice space, so clean, lots of amenities. Park rangers stopped by to say hi. There is a train you can hear during the night. Almost all the sites were full, mostly RVs.
GuideThis was a wonderful spot. Lots of really nice short hikes down by the water which was really beautiful with the cliffs on the water. Sites were very nice and clean. We were able to get a site on a Friday night last minute by calling ahead.
GuideWe 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!
TravelerWe 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!
GuideHad a great time here with our kids! The park is beautiful, clean, and easy to navigate. And you’re close enough to Sioux Falls to explore that area too.
If you can choose, get site 14E! Felt like we had a backyard and our own private woods. Haha. Hope we get to go back!
LegendWe happened upon this park during the 50th anniversary of the park so there were lots of park events happening. This is a very clean and well maintained park. We tent camp so much of my observations are geared for the tent camper. We stayed at site 34E, a long but narrow and slanted site. We were lucky to find some awkward somewhat flat place for our two tents. This site would be just fine for RV camping but I’d steer clear for tent camping. I’d estimate that 50% of the sites are flat and suitable for tents.
Here are some key take aways from our 3 night stay in late July 2022.
-clean and well maintained park
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Brookings, SD is Palisades State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 27 reviews.
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