Ready for the last summer road trip? We’ve got a plan for you

This paid piece is sponsored by Travel South Dakota .

Summer isn’t quite over yet, but it’s definitely winding down. While that means football and school starting and everything smelling and tasting like pumpkin spice, it also means you probably have a few weekends left to take a little trip before Christmas shopping starts.

With that in mind, we took a step back and tried to plan the perfect getaway if you have a few hours, an entire day or an entire weekend. It wasn’t easy – South Dakota has fan favorites as well as hidden gems. But here are a few different ways to spend the last little bit of summer.

Don’t forget to get your Peaks to Plains Passport stamped. A collaboration between Travel South Dakota and South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks, the Peaks to Plains Passport highlights state parks and outdoor attractions across the state. Many of the sites on these road trips will get you one stamp closer to winning prizes.

Your half-day road trip

Madison is a wonderful spot for day-tripping from Sioux Falls. First, it’s an easy 30-to-45-minute drive, depending on where you start in the metro.

The town itself sits in the middle of a chain of lakes — from Herman to Madison and Round to Brandt, with two passport stamps available.

We recommend spending the bulk of your time at Historic Prairie Village, 2 miles west of Madison. The 120 acres feature 40 antique-filled buildings that replicate and reflect early rural life in South Dakota. Buildings include an opera house, mercantile, church and school, among others.

“At our core, we are a living history museum,” said Faron Wahl, general manager at Prairie Village. The mission is to preserve the history of the prairie pioneers through education, displays, demonstrations and events.

“History is deeply important,” Wahl said. “If we understand who we are and where we came from, we do better as a society.”

Visitors can tour the buildings and see various artifacts – such as an actual jail from Winfred or a sod house – but also can experience a little bit of small-town magic by riding the train, which runs on 2 miles of track through the village.

“Small towns were largely started because the railroad came through, so to re-create an early 20th century village surrounded by a railroad is unique  because that’s how it would have been,” Wahl said. “When you marry those things together, it becomes a much broader opportunity to experience history and living history.”

Prairie Village holds a variety of events throughout the year, including a threshing jamboree that draws 15,000 people. “People say: ‘I don’t ever miss the jamboree. I’ve been coming since 1970,’” Wahl said.

In early October, families can come ride the train to the pumpkin patch.

Prairie Village also offers camping. “We have a wide-open space and lots of places to walk your dog or ride your bike,” Wahl said. “People say it’s so different from a traditional campground.”

But when asked what his favorite part of Prairie Village is, Wahl hesitated for only a moment before talking about the historic carousel.

“It is in many ways our crown jewel,” he said. The carousel was built between 1895 and 1905 and went through a major restoration five years ago. “It is an original wood carousel, with hand-carved wooden horses,” Wahl said. “It’s extremely old, and it’s fully restored, and you can buy tickets to ride it.”

The carousel originally ran on a steam engine. Now, it runs on an electric motor. But twice a year, Prairie Village builds a fire to create the steam and then uses the steam engine to run it. The engine, also from 1905, still works and is state inspected and certified.

Wahl remains amazed that the engine is in good repair. “We know of no others that you can ride powered by their original steam engine,” he said. The old engines were scrapped, and the ones that were saved weren’t maintained. “To have it saved and kept in a condition where we can power by it, that’s rare.”

The carousel has pairs of horses and two chariots. When the carousel was restored, some of the summer employees – college students – decided the horses needed to be named. “They put tremendous time and thought and care knowing these names would stick for generations,” Wahl said. But before they were all named, they asked Wahl to name a pair. So he did. He chose the two horses that were the first to be restored and named them after his grandmothers: Ella and Inez.

“When you are sitting on this 125-year-old carousel and you hear the engineer toot the whistle to signal the conductor to start and stop, it’s not just immersive. It drips with authenticity,” Wahl said. “It is the experience of 125 years ago.”

When you’re in Madison, don’t miss: You can get lunch or dinner on the lake at Madison or Brandt, or visit the Karl Mundt Library on the campus of Dakota State University. Stop by Interlakes Sports Center to see its amazing collection of vintage motorcycles.

Your full-day road trip

Have a full day to explore? Think Watertown.

Your outdoor passport adventure includes a bunch of recreation areas on lakes — from Cochrane and Thompson to Carthage and Sandy Shore.

Sandy Shore is on the banks of Lake Kampeska, and it includes hiking trails, campsites and cabins, as well as fishing.

This year, some of the campsites along the lakeshore have been remodeled, said Josh Cleveland, district park supervisor. “We lifted up the gravel camp pads, redid dirt work around them and planted new grass seed and trees to help provide the best campsites we can,” he said.

Sandy Shore features 1,800 feet of pure sandy beach, split between a swimming beach and a boater’s beach, where you can bring pontoons or other boats up to shore, Cleveland said.

“This has become very popular in recent years, where large groups of park visitors will picnic on the beach while part of their party will go out on the boat for tubing or pleasure boating.”

The park offers kayak and paddleboard rentals as well. If you need a break from the beach, there’s a walking trail through a prairie restoration area, Cleveland said.

If you decide a full day in Watertown isn’t enough, Cleveland recommends making a weekend out of it by renting one of the two camping cabins right on the beach.

“Each cabin even has its own dock,” he said. “This can make for the whole experience: fishing off the dock in the morning, swimming right in front of the cabin and enjoying a campfire on the lake’s edge to end the day.”

Don’t miss in Watertown: Pelican Lake Recreation Area is 5 miles from Sandy Shore and offers 5.5 miles of trails through a variety of prairie and wildflower landscapes, Cleveland said. “There’s also an archery range, plus a 14-target walking course that can be used to sight your bow or practice for an upcoming competition or hunting trip,” he said.

You have to see the Redlin Art Center, where you take in more wildlife and outdoor paintings than you can imagine and learn about the legacy of one of South Dakota’s best-known artists: Terry Redlin. There’s also the Bramble Park Zoo. And when you’re hungry, don’t forget Dempsey’s Brewery Pub & Restaurant, Minervas or head out to The Prop on Lake Kampeska.

Your weekend getaway

There are a lot of ways to explore the 2,300 miles of the Missouri River, but we’re going to start in Yankton at the Mead Museum.

The museum is in a renovated Sioux quartzite building on the historic Yankton State Hospital campus, said Crystal Nelson, executive director. It was built in 1909 as the women’s receiving ward of the mental health hospital.

“Its design is unique to the use of architecture as therapy prior to the availability of medications,” Nelson said. “It features a grand marble staircase and artwork originally requisitioned to hang in the Mead building.”

Two popular events include the Discover Heritage Park and the Hall of Trees. “The Hall of Trees event is great for any Christmas lover,” Nelson said. “The historic building and marble staircase are decorated with over 65 Christmas trees and counting and a unique foyer design each season.”

The museum features several permanent exhibits and temporary ones that change twice a year. The Children’s Transportation Museum features life-size modes of transportation throughout history.

“Another popular exhibit is ‘Yankton State Hospital: Minds, Methods and Medicine.’ This exhibit features the history of mental health in Dakota Territory and focuses on the history of the Yankton State Hospital years of 1890 to 1950,” Nelson said.

The museum takes about two to three hours to tour, and guided audio tours are available. It’s open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and then Monday through Saturday.

Don’t miss on the Missouri River: The Missouri River is an amazing place to spend the weekend exploring – and you can pick up nearly a dozen passport stops. The region offers some of the best fishing anywhere, of course. But even if you’re not into spending hours on the water, there are thousands of camping sites available up and down the river.

But one of the best ways to explore the river is an old-fashioned driving tour. You can take in the incredible vistas carved out of the valley hills. There are opportunities to learn more about the history and the geography from the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center in Chamberlain to LaFramboise Island in Pierre.

An easy way to plan your adventure is to find a hotel or resort around Pierre to use as a base and then work your way north one day and south the other, finishing back in the state capital for dinner at La Minestra or Mad Mary’s Steak House & Saloon. They’re next door to each other, so that’s easy.

Want a steak? Head to the Cattleman’s Club Steakhouse, just east of town on Highway 34.

Looking for still more gems to explore a quick drive away? Click below.

Road trip: Bring your bike, sip a wine slush, take on ‘survivor’s challenge’