Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes

My kids have wanted to stop here since we read through all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. We arrived close to closing time so we didn’t have the opportunity to go in the tour and opted to drive to the Homestead about 2 miles away to spend more time there since they were open later. Cute gift shop with handmade items. My daughter picked out a doll just like Laura had. Employees were very friendly and helpful! Would highly recommend this stop if you’re in South Dakota.

Very interesting Tour. Loved to see where the books were inspired. Was one of my favorite growing up and the TV show as well. If you’re a fan you will love this tour. The staff is so knowledgeable and Kind.

Well worth the $18 to access the exhibits and inside of the first school and surveyor house. Our guide Zoey shared lots of information with the 2:30 tour group over 90+ minutes that included 6 family groups spanning 3 generations. We considered just walking the grounds rather than paying admission, but the visit was greatly enriched the experience. Recommend visiting the exhibit room for 30-50 minutes prior to the tour to refresh memories and provide more context about the lives of 3 generations of Ingalls.

This was an awesome tour of where Laura's family lived. The first house, the one Pa built later, the school Laura and Carrie attended, and a replica schoolhouse that Laura would have taught school in. Well worth the $18 for a very well detailed tour.

Our tour was led by Zoe and she was an absolute delight. She was smart, knowledgeable and had a lovely personality. She actually taught 2 Laura super fans some stuff we did not know! This is a great tour with lots of interaction and hands on learning. It is definitely worth the price.

We had a fantastic tour of the historic homes. Our guide did an amazing job and really knew everything about the Ingalls family and how they lived and told me things I didn’t know. Thanks for a wonderful experience. Thanks Maria and Tim from Michigan

We've been taking back roads & came upon this attraction . Very cool place. Lots of old history

Very interesting small museum section in the first building. They offer a guided tour that is very informative. $16 adults $8 children for the guided tour. Tour lasts 1.5 hours.

We came into town not knowing what to expect. But what a lovely tour and town! We were short on time so we did the half tour. Our guide Nivea was wonderful and very informative. My daughters and I have read the books and were so excited to see the things we read so many times come to life. My husband who had no idea what any of this was about really enjoyed it too. After the tour we went on our own to the cemetery to pay our respects and finally to the cottonwood trees Pa had planted and still exist on the original homestead. I highly recommend seeing the trees as well... what a beautiful place!

I can't say that I'm a huge Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, either of the books or of the television series, but I was interested in seeing this interesting tidbit of history that is located quite simply in the middle of nowhere. My stop here was completely fortuitous and was unplanned. Thankfully, I arrived just before the last tour of the day! It was the sign on US Highway 14 pointing the way caught my eye. As I mentioned, Laura Ingalls Wilder is mostly known for the series of childrens books that were turned into a television series in the 1970s and 1980s, "Little House on the Prairie" that starred Melissa Gilbert as Laura and Michael Landon as her father. They spent a significant amount of time here in De Smet and these are the original structures, which have either been restored or moved to the site from their initial locations. I was able to join a half-tour with a helpful and excited docent who does have a script but also has a good depth of knowledge about Wilder and her history. It was quite interesting and I learned a lot about life on the South Dakota prairie in the 1880s. It was not a pleasant time to be here but now that it's 2022, it's sure better! [Review 17848 overall - 54 in South Dakota - 1369 of 2022.]

We got there just after a tour started and didn't wanna wait. 45 minutes so Kendra one of the guides was kind enough to take my wife on a personal tour as we followed her in her pick up truck to different locations. This type of customer service is rare and extremely exceptional. I had asked my wife after the tour if she had personally tipped Kendra and she said no she only left a donation in the box so hopefully if Kendra or someone who knows her will have her reach out to me, I would be glad to make sure she gets a tip for her exceptional customer service.

Great place to visit, My mother in law and wife are both big Little House fans. They thoroughly enjoyed it

Cute tour and informational. Tours are an hour at $14 but if you are early you can learn more in the little exhibit in the back. Take a trip back in time and learn about the book series in real life.

De Smet is a super small town with lots of history. Laura Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie series author, grew up in this quaint home that's now a museum. $12 got me an awesome tour with a fantastic tour guide named Stuart. His knowledge and enthusiasm should be acknowledged! There are a couple parts of this memorial society, one of the segments was about 1/2 a mile away, but all are wonderfully maintained. You can choose to leave after the first segment, but the admission price is for everything, no pro-rated prices. One of my favorite parts is that there are a lot of interactive arts and crafts station for all ages. Some stations included projects you can take home! The Ingalls family included many children and back in the days, people were creative to pass the time. I recommend this tour if you're passing through De Smet, South Dakota!

This place is absolutely amazing! So much history about the Ingalls and Wilder family. I highly recommend doing the entire tour, either with a guide or just on your own. Some places are easy to get to walking, others you will need to drive. Only draw back was that a lot of the buildings are not handicapped accessible, however that did not deter me from going. I totally understand that to preserve the history of the buildings and sites, you can't expect to have them remodel and/or update it all. Just bring along someone who can walk through the exhibits and take LOTS of photos for you!!

I fulfilled a life Long dream by visiting during a cross country trip. $12 for a tour with docent of the surveyor's house, schoolhouse and Pa's house. Sorry interesting and a great treat for little house fans. Warning: de smet's really small so the only dining option on a Sunday night was the subway or Dairy Queen!

We were very pumped to continue the cool experience we had had at the Laura Ingalls Homestead but while the price was the same, ten dollars, the tour was vastly different. There are four buildings in town you can only see with a guide so they gathered us all in the Surveyors' house and the guide talked/lectured us in a monotone for forty minutes. It was shades of the teacher from Ferris, "They lived below a saloon. Anyone know what that is? Anyone? Bueller?" She told the story of the first five books with a map, a steely gaze and built in boredom. The small child was crying and fussing after about 3.5 seconds and five minutes in I wanted to join him. The ten year old girls hung in there and tried to answer her questions but never quite passed muster. We bailed the moment she stopped her first forty minute lecture that required us to stand in one spot the entire time. This should be put on a DVD and offered as an introductory video while you sit and watch. Then take us through the houses in like ten minutes each. Your volunteer guide might like talking to her captive audience but NO ONE was enjoying her. What a disappointment. Don't bring your kids here even if they do adore the books until this format is completely changed. Bring them to the Homestead and merely drive by the outside of the houses. Done!

Was extremely excited to visit this place. When we pulled up there were no signs saying there were guided tours, just a bunch of neat buildings with descriptive signs everywhere so we started looking around. Then we noticed a tour group so we walked over and started following the group. The lady tour guide snappily told us we had to sign up in the gift shop. She treated us like we were stealing in front of a large group of people. It made us feel terrible so we left. I would have happily paid for a tour but I was too embarrassed and uncomfortable at that point.

Just like the Ingalls Homestead, this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Our tour guide (I think his name was Andrew?), was fantastic. He was super knowledgeable, so nice, and really tried to make the experience fun. He also was really personable and made an effort to get to know a little about everyone on the tour. This is absolutely a must do if you get the chance.

Amazing tour, and not just for kids! I'm so glad I made this a stop on my road trip. I arrived late in the day after many hours of driving. I had called ahead because I knew I would barely make it before the museum was to close. When I arrived, Stuart the tour guide met me and gave me a full-length personal tour of the buildings at the site on Olivet Avenue and the residence that Charles Ingalls built in town. He was a wonderful, engaging, and enthusiastic tour guide, and the tour made the books come alive for me in new ways. I hadn't read them since I was 14, and I found that I have a very different perspective on it now as an adult. If you've ever read the Little House books, or if you're interested in history - I would definitely recommend stopping by!

Have to strongly disagree with the previous reviewer. We took this tour with a 7 year old, and she was rapt the entire time. She spent over an hour just in the main exhibit room, reading every caption. We had an excellent guide who was engaging and answered all our questions. This little historical society has done a terrific job of preserving and restoring the artifacts and buildings related to the books. Just like everywhere else we went in this little town, the people we encountered were friendly to a fault.

This is by far one of the best tours I have ever been on!! The knowledge the tour guides have is interesting and endless. I could ask anything and they really knew their stuff!! The Society in the town of DeSmet has the original buildings and archives of Laura's history. The Homestead has nothing original pertaining to Laura or the family. If you want to experience true Laura Ingalls Wilder history stick with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in DeSmet, South Dakota!!!