Ingalls Homestead

As we travel (see our website) we always try to visit museums to educate and understand more about the local area & history.  Ingalls Homestead is not only a great story, bur Laura Ingalls touched millions of lives with her Little House On Prairie books.  The grounds have several buildings including the house, barn & church and each building plenty of educational material & interactive activities for the kids.  Kristys Mom read all her books as a child and even wrote Laura which Laura wrote Kristy's Mom back.  Kristy has the original letter.  Plan at least 3 hours or more to see it all.  If you plan on camping, it's not designed for big rigs.  Enjoy!

We stayed two nights at one of their RV sites. Our family has a ton of fun here! The different locations around the homestead with examples from 150 years ago were excellent. Very educational and interactive. At every stop there was something to touch or an activity to do that the early settlers did. The camping was great. Water and electric at the site. Convenient and clean bathrooms. Simple showers but they got the job done. Firewood on site for easy purchase for a campfire. All the employees were very helpful and friendly. We had a wonderful time seeing Laura's books come to life. Be sure to bring your bug spray! The mosquitoes are thick this year!

he homestead was well worth the visit! It was incredible to see where the homestead is in relationship to the town, Silver Lake and the railroad. It certainly makes the books come even more alive. Once there, they have so much to do. My girls made corn husk dolls and all of my kids made rope, used that rope to lasso a metal horse, did old fashioned laundry, sewing, made a button toy, used a hand pump well, used an old fashioned lawnmower and played a pipe organ. We all took a wagon ride and the kids took pony rides. There were baby chicks , a calf and kittens. We were in very real danger of acquiring another pet. 🤣 You can also attend a prairie pioneer style school and church. My kids got the chance to participate in an old school recitation from the McGuffey readers as well as math and spelling. It was incredible. 🥰 All in all the people that work here and run this place are incredible and truly helped to enhance our love for the books and to give an appreciation of what pioneer life was like. During the week in early August there was no need to buy a ticket in advance. We spent a good chunk of the day here, about 5 hours to see and do all of the things. My kids are 6, 8 and 9 and it was absolutely perfect for them.

We spent 2 nights here as part of our Laura Ingalls Wilder road trip. This was hands-down the best location. The staff was friendly and helpful and clearly love what they do. The wagons we stayed in were remarkably comfortable and made it through a deluge the one night. The whole place was very clean and well thought out and accurate! The activities and setting and learning were spot on and very interactive and hands-on and kid friendly. We all loved it and were sad to leave. My nearly 12 year old wants to move there now (so do several others of my kids). Don't miss this one! I'm so glad we stayed over too - we needed more time to really soak it all in.

If you enjoy the Little House books, the Homestead is a must-see! We’ve been here twice and the whole family really enjoyed it both times! Plenty for the children to do, including a covered wagon ride, pony cart rides, corn cob doll making, rope making, and more. Plan to spend a few hours here to check everything out.

Beautiful views. Really nice store with friendly staff. $20 for an adult ticket to experience the Homestead life. Worth it. Great experience for the whole family.

Absolutely beautiful and serene, an absolute must visit place. Lots of fun hands-on activities and fun to be had. Baby animals all to be held or pet like kittens, chicks, calf, and a colt. Kids rode ponies and even drove a small pony drawn cart, as well as a nice long wagon ride for our entire family to the old schoolhouse where they spoke about school in the late 1800's. Plenty of crafts as well to interest everyone, cornhust dolls, rope making, hat twists, lasso practicing, and plenty more. We stayed two nights, one in a cabin and one in a covered wagon to truly experience a piece of their life. Most beautiful campsites for sunrises and sunsets all from one spot. Overall excellent experience and we will surely come again to stay the night.

It's pricey $20 per person when we visited. But well worth it if you have kids. My 2 boys (age 8 and 11) who knew nothing about Little House still loved it, and my neice (age 7) who did know it was practically in heaven. The staff was absolutely amazing going above and beyond to create a rich and fun experience. There are so many fun things to do. Even I (being a history buff) had fun. We went "quick" and took 2 hours but you could easily take a half day or more. It is mostly outside, so be aware of the weather. Definitely check it out if you have kids (or just love history).

We went here with an 8-year-old Laura fan and her 3-year-old little sister. The Homestead is on a 10-acre section of the original Ingalls' Homestead. Several buildings have been moved here (e.g., a claim shanty, two schools, and a church) and a few are replicas such as the Ingalls' shanty and the hat-roof barn. Everything was very hands on and kid friendly. Kids could do laundry in a wash tub and hang it on a line to dry, play a pump organ, work a treadle sewing machine, braid cloth for a rug, make a jump rope, make a corn cob doll, attend school at a one-room school house, drive a covered wagon, drive a pony cart, ride a pony, etc. We got there at 10 am on a very hot day (temps in the 90s) and we stayed for a little over 2 hours. We didn't walk to the church because it seemed like a long walk in the hot sun, but we did everything else. We could have stayed a bit longer but we were hot and hungry so we left. We went they last weekend in June before the Pageant Days so it wasn't very busy and we never had to stand in line to do any activities. Refrigerators with bottled water were scattered around the 10 acres. The bottles were 75 cents each and you pay in the gift shop when you leave. Nice gift shop.

You must visit this site if you are a Laura fan. We have been to every Laura Ingalls Wilder site except Burr Oak, and my child says this is the best one yet! I really enjoyed it, too. This site is excellent for children. It really immerses them in prairie life. My child got to drive a team of horses pulling a covered wagon. We rode in the covered wagon to the one room school where we were taught a school lesson typical of Laura's time period. We then rode in the covered wagon to a beautiful old Lutheran church located on the property. My child also got to drive a pony cart, make a corncob doll, a jump rope, wash clothes with lye soap and a washboard, pet a calf, and twist hay like Laura and Pa did to keep from freezing to death in The Long Winter. The five cottonwoods that Pa planted (one for each of his girls and Ma) are still there! This was one of the most exciting things for me. There is also an exact replica of the Ingalls claim shanty that sits in the exact spot the original one did. One of the employees at the homestead said that, after Laura started writing the Little House series, someone (I can't remember who) had Laura and Almanzo come out to the homestead site and point out exactly where things were. Laura also verified the cottonwoods were indeed the ones Pa planted. This person obviously realized the historical significance of preserving this information. We love Laura and the Ingalls Homestead was a joy to visit!

I am still in awe of all that is here on the homestead! So much to see and beautiful prairie setting! Lots of hands on for everyone. We adults even made the rope and corn cob dolls! Everyone who works/volunteers there is so friendly and fun. Didn't even notice how hot it was out that day! Only drawback is it is not wheelchair friendly in spots, but that didn't put a damper on my visit! I would definitely go back!

Wonderful time with the kids! Definitely a place to stop if you are passing through. Kids will learn how the farmers lived in that time period. Bought the book "farmer boy" and have been reading it to the kids as past time on our road trip and they love it.

When you were little did you ever have a fantasy place in your head, a place so fabulous you knew you would probably never actually go there? I am here to tell you that you CAN visit that fantasy place and yesterday I did just that. I have loved the Little House Books all of my life. I was motivated to learn how to ride a two wheeler so I could take myself over to the library and check the books out more often. I bought the series in paperback as an adult and purchased them yesterday in hardback in a crate. They are books I have read over and over, read them to my second grade class (proudest day of 2nd grade) and read them to my own children. The Ingalls Homestead has the dug out, the shanty, the school house, the house, a covered wagon and it just goes on and on. Children can run freely, pump water, feed animals and take wagon rides. The gift shop is terrific and the introductory DVD is great. You can even camp here, in a covered wagon and no, I am NOT that big of a fan. Ha! But I just absolutely loved the whole experience! My second grade self was happily pretending to be Laura Ingalls and you know, so was my 59 year old self! I know De Smet, SD is not exactly close to your house but if you are a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan you have to make the pilgrimage. Ma and Pa would want it.

I was surprised to have enjoyed this place very much. I haven't even read the Little House on the Prairie books. All I knew was that I had two days to spend in South Dakota, and we pretty much did everything we wanted to do in Sioux Falls, so we decided to drive the two hours to De Smet to visit what was named a "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" site (though, it should be noted that they were listed in the USA version, not the original world version). The Ingalls Homestead is actually pretty amazing. We were lucky to visit on a beautiful sunny day---I could see this place being horrible if it was raining. You first watch a short video about the homestead, then you're given a map to start the tour on your own. The plantation is massive, of course, and you walk from little house to little house, learning about how the Ingalls family lived. Even if you're not a fan of the books, it's still interesting to hear about the history and what it was like living on a prairie. I got a kick out of the kittens that were free to roam around the homestead and the small horses that little kids could ride. Later on, we rode a covered wagon (all the kids got a chance to steer) to the schoolhouse, where we were lectured (in a good way) about schools in the late 1800s. The whole tour, if you take your time looking at everything, takes about 1.5-2 hours total. There's a gift shop where you can buy all the books, of course. Since I figured I might as well get started (and we had a 2 hour drive back to Sioux Falls), I bought the audio version of "Little House in the Big Woods." This is a great place for kids, fans of the books, and anyone who enjoys a good history lesson.

I was a big fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books when I was growing up but hadn't really thought about them in many years. I was driving through South Dakota in my RV though, and so decided to visit this area to take a look. (It's a little less than an hour from I-90 and so definitely a detour.) What a great place! Between visiting the spots in town (including the house that the rest of the family lived soon after Laura got married, the schoolhouse, the surveyors' house where the family lived their first winter there, etc.) and the homestead property, this was all really interesting and gave me a really good sense of what life was like for Laura and her family. I stayed overnight in my RV on the homestead, which was really a treat. Since then, I re-read all the books, as well as some biographies of Laura and the "Pioneer Girl" book. It all seems much more real now that I have actually visited the area. Even though I saw all the commercial stuff, I absolutely want to go back here. I'd like to see the land where Laura and Almanzo lived right after they were married, for instance. The main problem is that there are not any good restaurants in the area. So be prepared for that. Otherwise, for those who ever were fans of the books (and maybe for others), this is a really terrific place. Well worth taking the time to visit.

This is a really cool place to stop to learn about life on the prairie. There is a lot to see and do, especially for kids. The staff are wonderful and really work to ensure that you have a fun and educational experience.

A great place for the history of laura Ingall's wilder. the employees love there jobs ,and are very polite,and the landscape is beautiful ,and they have Laura's actual house she lived in.they also have animals and they give rides on wagons,and ponies,I recommend this place to everyone passing through.

I did not grow up with the Ingalls family - the TV show's syndicated reruns meant I was in the dark time between "Bewitched" and "The Price Is Right", and I was such uncultured swine that I didn't even know there was a book series, non-fiction at that. It took my 8-year-old's interest in the books to make me aware, and when I saw this place was not that far away on our roadtrip I thought I'd get some much-needed "good dad" points. I came out with a good bit more. We arrived at the homestead in the early afternoon, and my kids had a blast. You see a healthy mix of LIW stuff (the reconstructed cabin, info on the whole book series, etc) alongside general cultural reference points of the homestead era (housing structures, the old schoolhouse, church, etc). Lots of kids activities - pumping water, cleaning clothes, making corncob dolls, steering horses, playing pump organs, etc. My kids ate all this stuff up. I planned 2.5 hours, but we were here for 4 when all was said and done. And my kids were up for even more, though after 35 seconds in the car they were asleep from a good day's play. A highlight of our trip, and it looks from other reviews that we're not the only ones. Epilogue: I am now a training LIW scholar - I was motivated to start reading the stories, and one month after visiting I'm all ready to start the first of the De Smet series, "By The Shores Of Silver Lake." The place made a believer out of me!

What a fantastic place. I traveled here with two other adults and three children 10-3 years of age. Aside from parent taking photos no one was stuck on their phone. The kids even loved learning to wash clothing. Staff was great. Horse rides, school session, hands on activities and baby animals. We all learned things and I will never forget the sound of all of the visiting children's laughter across the prairie.

We loved our visit. It was beautiful, the people were knowledgable and friendly. The kids loved the animals & all the great hands-on activities!

My children had a blast! Wagon ride, horseback ride, the original Laura homestead. Tons of history from knowledgeable, kind staff. We have an eight, 10, and 12-year-old and they loved the crafts and activities.

We go every year, wish we never had to leave! Most beautiful place with so much history and hands on learning for kids. Stay overnight and camp so you can wake up on Laura's homestead, peaceful and beautiful. Restored and preserved by the most wonderful family. And make sure to see the pageant in July!

The first impression of Ingalls Homestead wasn't great but the experience improved *mightily* over the course of our stay. I'm glad we didn't bail! What I'd read of the place led me to believe we'd be invited to watch a video and/or get some kind of orientation to the property but that did not happen. We were issued a basic map of the property and keys to our covered wagons. The couple of times one of us went to ask questions of the woman who seemed to be running the welcome area and gift shop were frustrating. She talked very loudly and rapidly about lots of things, few of which were relevant to our questions. I'm not knocking her as a human being but think maybe she was detrimental to the experience for customers. At first, I thought maybe we'd just caught her at an off time but I was nearly driven from the gift shop before leaving due to her (shouting level) monologue foisted at a poor father who was just looking for a restaurant recommendation for his family of 8 children. If that guy was tired before he asked, he was *exhausted* upon leaving. He left without a solid answer from her but got a 10-minute history of the area's Meals on Wheels program run out of one area restaurant. Strangeness. I found the welcome to be disappointing as we planned to spend the evening exploring. While we took brief walks, we weren't sure what we were and weren't allowed to do/explore and so we ended up going to bed early. The prairie sky at night is incomparable. Spending the night in a covered wagon is an experience I'll never forget, truly! It's a beautiful place. Bathrooms were clean-- perhaps the cleanest campground bathrooms ever. Showers were cold-- perhaps the coldest campground showers ever. Bed comfort varied. I slept soundly in our wagon whereas the couple in the 2nd wagon had trouble. The man of average height couldn't fit on the bed area and so slept on the floor of the wagon (There is a roll out mat, so that's good.) The 2nd person in that party had a hard time sleeping and didn't find the bed area to be at all comfortable. I felt almost guilty at how comfortable wagon #1 was by comparison! The first wagon assigned to one couple in our party (wagon #3) was not useable due to its proximity to the burning firepit from the bunkhouse, which blew smoke directly into the wagon. At their request, they were moved to a different wagon. The second wagon was a smaller wagon and was issued at the same cost. Understandable but mildly disappointing. Cost of admission to everything on the property is $10 per person extra (beyond the camping fee). I was informed that there are no discounts for veterans, senior citizens, etc. Turns out, it was well worth the cost. The wagon ride to the school house, short lesson, barn tour, domestic crafts instruction, and pony rides were lots of fun and were educational. It wasn't a matter of "this is a mule" but "here's how a mule is bred, here is why she's sterile, etc. etc."-- good, detailed answers to questions asked by kids and adults, alike. The employee or part-owner who tends her own horses on the property was extremely knowledgable and good with all ages. She even taught us about various kinds of farming (they still plant and harvest the corn (check planting) and oats on the property the way Pa did when he worked the land). The woman who taught at the little school used a primer from the period and taught the children a Christina Rossetti poem that Laura and her sisters likely learned. We were pleased with these experiences and definitely recommend them. You can repeat experiences, by the way. If, say, one person loves the wagon ride and school experience, s/he can go for multiple rides. The gift shop has every Little House and related book imaginable as well as some handcrafted items amidst the typical souvenir fare. I found much to be reasonably priced and our child left with a calico bonnet and a trove of good memories. Recommended! Tip: We arrived later in the afternoon. If you arrive earlier and do the activities we did the second day on your first day, then spend the night, you'll likely have a more favorable first impression and truly enjoy it all. Tip: The wagon that is downwind from the bunk house fire pit is wagon #3. Ask for #1. I repeat, ask for #1. :) Have a great time!

This was absolutely worth the trip. We were driving out to Sioux Falls for a family reunion, and since my daughter has been reading the books (and I loved them as a child), we decided to stop. We were not disappointed. We ended up staying four hours, and it did not feel like it. There were so many great activities to keep us occupied, and they've done a wonderful job of preserving the Ingalls legacy. The staff were so knowledgeable and friendly. I wish I'd gotten their names, but the ladies who did our covered wagon ride and then the lesson at the school house were especially wonderful. Fun tip: We did a couple of audio books of the Little House series on the drive out (it was about ten hours in the car), and that made it even better, because the world of the Ingalls family was still fresh in our head when we visited. If you get the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it. I don't do a lot of Yelp reviews, but so enjoyed this visit, I wanted to give them a great review.

Awesome place that brought back fond memories of my childhood reading the books and watching the tv series! Well worth the visit... Has water and electric hookups for RV. Loved it!

This place is the perfect hands on place for kids...for adults I would probably recommend the in town historic houses tour- they even have the last home the Ingalls lived in. (I have not done that tour because we were there for a short time with the kids but I suspect that is better for adults.). Here kids are encouraged to climb on, touch, and try out EVERYTHING! Any parent of young kids reading this is probably breathing a sigh of relief! You'll see a dugout, a shanty, a coue of covered wagons, farm animals, a hay covered barn, a school house, and the actual land that the Ingalls family homesteaded! the kids get to do laundry on a scrub board and ringer and then hang it out to dry. Make toys like jump ropes, button spinners, and corncob dolls. Our little girls (3 & 6) ran through the prairie to each exhibit. Their older brother (8) loved pumping water from an actual pump and then dumping out the bucket of water. The best part by far was the school time. A covered wagon takes u to the school house - as u get close, the bell starts ringing. Inside the teacher helps the children put on prairie clothes and get seated. The lady while we were there was an actual high school English teacher. She was fabulous with the kids. My children had so much fun- they didn't ask once for something to eat even though we missed lunch by a few hours while playing here. They all walked away learning something about pioneers and our history. Great place to have a lot of fun and learn something, too. Another mention for kids learning space...there is a free exhibit for kids where the town tour for the Ingalls starts. It is by a playground and is called the Childrens Discovery Center. It is small- a one room schoolhouse with prairie dress up, coloring pages, Braille paper making and more. Small but worth stopping at if u don't have time or money for the homestead experience. :)

My wife and daughter were fans of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books about homesteading and survival. ("Little House on the Prairie", et al) I really had no huge interest -initially- in detouring to De Smet, SD to see this attraction, but was going along because they wanted to see it. Boy, was I surprised! It was very interesting to learn from the staff about life on the prairie, and what people with little means and sparse technology were able to do back then. As I understand it now, the LIW books are as much a part of American history as are our school textbooks; They have much to share about making do with what you have, and what homesteading really means. Prior to visiting this place, I had zero interest in reading the books, but now I will read the whole series. Truly an unexpected and pleasant surprise! The best part of the experience was the teacher in the one-room school. ;-)

My wife is a "little house" book fan. Me, not so much. So I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the visit. The staff demonstrates, and invites hands on, especially for kids. I felt like I learned quite a bit.

Very nice, good camping. Nice folks. Good info on LIW.

The Ingalls Homestead is a little known gem. It is a fantastic place for families to visit. I can not recall my daughters having as much fun anywhere else. If you have daughters who have read the Little House on the Prairie series, and you are within 250 miles, you should bring them here. They will be in heaven. If they have not read the books, they will want to after visiting. While here, they can make corncob dolls, attend a one room schoolhouse, dress up in period clothes, etc...

We loved this place!!! I've been reading the little house books to my four kids and we've been working our way through the DVDs. It was very educational to see the styles of houses Laura lived in and wrote about. Kids loved washing the clothes, driving the wagon and riding the horses, but their favorite part was snuggling with the kittens. The school lesson was a little long for my 4 year old, but was interesting. Definitely worth the visit!