The Best Summer Family Activities in Sioux Falls

Road tripping this summer? From the crack of the bat at a ballgame to laughter at the zoo, summer in Sioux Falls is made for family fun. Cherish these long, sunshine-filled days on vacation with your little ones. Create more moments in South Dakota to hold onto for a lifetime. Find a weekend’s worth of adventures to fill your digital photo albums!

Day One

Breakfast: Phillips Avenue Diner

Ready for classic breakfasts, fresh salads, and a long list of unique milkshakes? This diner has everything you could want (including great coffee!). We love the belgian waffles with chicken tenders, omelets, and the battered french toast options. Special menus for junior appetites come with fun activities!

Activity Idea: Butterfly House & Aquarium

Get up close and personal with more than 800 free-flying butterflies from around the world in this beautiful tropical conservatory. You’ll also find a marine cove, featuring 13 fresh and saltwater aquariums, and the region’s only shark and stingray touch pool!

Lunch: B&G Milky Way

Original to Sioux Falls, this ice cream stand is like a flashback to the days of diners and drive-ins. They are only open during the summer months, so locals cherish those days. The always-popular, homemade strawberry ice cream sells by the gallon. You’ll have a hard time choosing from slushies, dipped cones, malts, sundaes, and hot eats. With four locations throughout town, it’s a convenient (and tasty!) way to break up the hustle and bustle of the day.

Activity Idea: Kirby Science Discovery Center at the Washington Pavilion

With more than 100 exciting hands-on science exhibits, live science demos, music, movies, and a touchable tornado, kids of all ages will be entertained for hours! Admission includes unlimited films in the Wells Fargo CineDome—the perfect indoor solution for a sweltering summer day.

Activity Idea: Wild Water West Waterpark

Bumper boats, crazy slides, a lazy river, wave pool, and the Tornado Alley (a 55-foot water slide with a bowl that funnels riders in circles) make this place a kid’s paradise. Take swimming breaks and visit the batting cages, go-karts, or mini-golf, too!

Dinner Activity: Sioux Falls Canaries Baseball

Visit the Birdcage. The Canaries team is a part of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Cheer on the players with great food in one hand and a cold beer (or pop, if you’re under 21) in the other. Theme nights ensure fun for the whole family!

Day Two

Breakfast: All Day Cafe

One of the best spots for brunch in town, All Day Cafe makes everything from scratch, and the atmosphere is hip and relaxed. They even have a patio for beautiful summer days. For mom and dad, they serve a superb Bloody Mary.

Activity Idea: Scheels

Besides a vast inventory, this hometown sporting goods store also has a child-smile-guaranteeing 45-foot-tall ferris wheel with 12 cars. And rides are only $1. Try your hand at sports simulators together, or grab a bite to eat at the in-store deli and fudge shop.

Lunch: Look's Marketplace

This marketplace has several different kitchens serving up a variety of different food such as sausage, pizza, sandwiches, and much, much more. Enjoy some of their homemade bread, pastries, ice cream, and beer, Yes, that's right. Look's even makes their own beer.

Activity Idea: Thunder Road or Great Plains Zoo

Put the pedal to the metal in one of Thunder Road Family Fun Park’s E85 go-karts and zip around the track at lightning-fast speeds. Try mini-golf, the Tilt-a-Whirl, bumper boats, water wars, human foosball, batting cages, and laser-tag, too. Fun times will be had by all.

Visit the Great Plains Zoo—and the kids can even take a ride on a camel in the Hy-Vee Face-to-Face farm! If the kids get too hot strolling through the 45-acre zoo, just stop inside the Delbridge Museum of Natural History and cool off with a tour of 150 stuffed and mounted animals.

Dinner Activity: Picnic at a Park

Pack a picnic with your family’s favorites and claim a spot on the lawn at one of Sioux Falls’ parks. No time to pack a picnic? The Falls Overlook Café located in Falls Park, has a patio that sits right above the river.