The Midwest is full of fun places to go for family vacations, and I'm excited to share them with you! Check out my Midwest destinations page for more ideas to plan your next family trip, and read on to hear more about my hosted visit to De Smet South Dakota:
As a little girl growing up in southern California, the prairie described in
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie book series seemed
like almost an imaginary place and far, far, away. But I was captivated by the
descriptive stories of American history told from the perspective of an ordinary little girl. And
while as an adult I understand more of the nuance, more of what was
fictionalized and real, more of what of was good and bad in frontier life and
attitudes, I still have a special place in my heart for the books. So I was pretty excited to discover that Charles Ingalls' Homestead is a
real place in a real life little town on the prairie, you can visit it, and it's
less than 3 hours from Sioux City!! Here's what you should know about visiting the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota with your family:
Where is the Ingalls Homestead
The Ingalls Homestead is in De Smet, South Dakota, about a half hour west of Brookings, SD. There is ample free parking at the Homestead.
What is the Ingalls Homestead?
The Ingalls Homestead calls itself "Laura's Living Prairie" and is actually
the homestead that the real-life Laura's pa, Charles Ingalls, successfully
tamed and claimed under the Homestead Act in the late 19th century. Today, it's family-owned attraction open to the public,
full of hands-on fun where people of all ages can learn about pioneer life and
the Ingalls family! It's also adjacent to the pageant grounds, where a Little House inspired production is put on every year for the last 50 years!
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| Charles Ingalls original claim deed is visible at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in DeSmet! |
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead Visitors Center
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When you first drive up to the homestead, you park at the visitor's center.
This building is the place to get your tickets for the fun around the
homestead, and it also houses the gift shop and some restrooms. Admission is $15 per person ages 5+, and free for babies and toddlers younger than that. There is also an observation tower just outside the visitors center. Climbing it gives you an amazing view of the whole homestead!
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| Dolls at the Ingalls Homestead gift shop! |
Historic Buildings at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead
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| Time for school! |
Because the homestead was a working farm for many years even after the books
became famous, many of the original buildings were moved or torn down. But the
homestead has a few antique buildings from Laura's days, and several
impressive replicas. For example, there is a small house that was built on a nearby homestead contemporaneous to the Ingalls that was recently moved to the Ingalls Homestead, while the dugout sod house in the hillside was built much more recently, but with painstaking attention to the building techniques, dimensions, materials, etc that were used by the Ingalls family in their sod homes in Minnesota and Kansas. All of the buildings provide a fascinating look at why life was like on the prairie in the late 1800s.
One that particularly shines is an old one-room schoolhouse brought from a nearby homestead. Inside, visitors can experience a short school lesson like the ones Laura and her sisters would've experienced. It was definitely a highlight of our visit for our tween!
Animals at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead
By far my kids' favorite thing about the Ingalls Homestead was the animals! The Ingalls Homestead is home today to a small flock of adorable farm animals, and visitors get to see them up close. In a little dugout barn like the one the Ingalls family would have had built into the hillside, visitors find chickens, kittens, and more. My kids thought they were so cute.
But the real stars of the show are the horses and ponies. Majestic horses pull wagons for visitors around the homestead, and you and your kids can even drive the wagon (the homestead staff hold on to the long reins behind the guest driver, so there's very low risk even if you've never been near a horse before.) There are also small carts pulled by ponies that guests can drive themselves, and ponies kids can ride! My kids have never seen horses or ponies before, except my oldest at a church picnic, and it was so fun to see their eyes light up when they got to actually touch an adorable pony. They were so amazed and proud to drive the huge wagon too.
I think any kid would enjoy seeing their adorable animals, but it was especially neat to see my kids, who are used to city life and don't get to spend much time with animals, get to know the animals. We discovered my oldest is actually a natural with horses!
Hands-on Fun at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead
The Ingalls Homestead has a variety of activities available to make your visit fun. At different buildings around the homestead, kids can make button toys, corn cob dolls (and corn cob superheroes), and jump ropes using historic techniques, as well as twisting hay the way Laura and her family had to during the cold winter.
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| Making our own jump ropes! |
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| testing the ropes out! |
They can also wash clothes with an old fashioned washboard, which sounds a little boring, but is a surprising kid favorite. My preschooler especially enjoyed it and would've spent much longer doing it than we had time for that day!
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| even laundry is more fun on the prairie |
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in De Smet
Since 1971, the prairie right next to the Ingalls Homestead has been home to a very special live theater production based on the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder! The show varies by year, and in 2021, the 50th anniversary show is called "Prairie Patchwork," focusing on the adventures the Ingalls family had when they first came to De Smet!
The 2021 pageant dates are
- July 9th, 10th, and 11th
- July 16th, 17th, and 18th
- July 23rd, 24th, and 25th
Each of these nights, the grounds open at 6pm and the show starts at 8pm. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $10 for kids 6-12, and are FREE for kids 5 & under!
What to bring with you
If you're visiting the Ingalls Homestead with your kids, I recommend packing:
- Your usual diaper change supplies, but maybe even pack a little extra because there are no big box stores in De Smet.
- Sunscreen & bug spray
- Hats and/or sun bonnets (they have some adorable bonnets in the gift shop if you need a new one!)
- A camera--you'll want to remember this fun adventure!
- Sturdy shoes: this is the real prairie with bugs and mud and animal droppings! Our shoes stayed pretty clean, but depending how adventurous your kids are and how much rain there has been, I would definitely assume that your shoes could get pretty messy.
- Comfy clothes to spend a day outdoors in (but that could totally include a prairie dress!)
Stay at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead
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| how cute are these camping wagons?? |
With so much to see at the Ingalls homestead, it's definitely worth spending the night, and there are several different ways to stay at the Laura Ingalls Wilder
Homestead!
- Covered wagons:
- The most fun way to stay at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead is definitely in a covered wagon camping cabin! The cabins weren't open yet for the season when we visited, but we got to take a peek inside, and they are so cute! The largest can sleep about 5 people. There are no bathrooms in the wagons, but shared bathrooms are nearby. If we get to go back to the homestead someday, I definitely will make it a priority to schedule the trip for a time when I can get a wagon cabin!
- Camping cabins:
- There are currently two cabins available to rent during the camping season, and they're really cute! One is brand new for summer 2021.
- RVs & tents:
- The homestead also has several RV hookup spots, and allows tent camping in the designated camping area.
For More Information
To find out more about the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead, visit their website, or connect with them on Facebook or Instagram. There is also a website dedicated specifically to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant.
You can also check out my article about the history of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family in De Smet in the summer 2021 issue of Living Here: Midwest magazine
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