S.D. couple becomes tourists in their own backyard with popular passport program

This piece is sponsored by Travel South Dakota.

With a last name like Landmark, it’s no surprise this Sioux Falls couple loves to travel.

Tom and Sherri Landmark have two children. When the kids were growing up, Sherri would take every Friday off for “fun days.”

“She’d take them on adventures everywhere, and now that the kids are gone, we do our adventure days,” Tom said.

They both grew up in South Dakota and moved back five years ago before recently retiring from banking careers.

It has left plenty of time to rediscover their home state — and the Landmarks have found the perfect way to do it.

“It started two years ago when we had a physical ‘beer passport,’ and then somewhere we got a state park passport, so we’d go to places and collect physical stamps. And then two summers ago, we discovered the (Travel South Dakota) digital passport,” Sherri said.

“We’ve now used it a lot as we’ve planned adventure days and will pick a section of the state we haven’t been to yet and plot out our steps. I love driving off the beaten path and going through little towns and finding things that aren’t as obvious to tourists.”

Travel South Dakota’s digital passport program is designed to do just that.

Using mobile-friendly technology, it encourages visitors to explore and experience local businesses, locations and events.

In the spring of 2022, the first passport officially was launched: Great Finds. Since then, a second passport was launched in the summer of 2022: State of Create, two more in 2023: Peaks to Plains and Tribal Nations: Oceti Sakowin, plus four others in 2024: Head for the Hills, Family Fun Escapes, Northbound Family Adventures and Missouri River Getaway.

“The whole goal was to get people to all regions and corners of the state to discover those hidden gems,” Tourism Secretary Jim Hagen said. “We all know the iconic well-known landmarks, but this is a way to encourage people to visit our rural areas and smaller towns. We’ve been so happy with it.”

To date, the passport program has generated 43,190 business check-ins at passport destinations and 23,040 passport downloads. Visitors from all 50 states plus 28 countries have explored the state using the program since its launch.

“It’s a way to spotlight a state that I think has some of the best art and culture in the country,” Hagen said.

“The Tribal Nations: Oceti Sakowin passport has been a great way to highlight what’s happening with our Native communities, and we hear from people all the time telling us how many places they’ve visited,” Hagen said. “It’s been especially fun to see our many new South Dakota residents discovering our state through this program. They’re bringing a lot of passion for the state, and curiosity and desire to explore.”

The Landmarks have checked in at passport stops statewide, from Sherri’s hometown of Langford in northeast South Dakota to the Black Hills, where Tom’s role as state chairman for Ducks Unlimited recently took them to Belle Fourche and Custer.

“We plotted a route to take us through northeast South Dakota,” Sherri said. “We went up to Sisseton, we went to Pickerel Lake and just drove around, and there was a metal sculpture we never would have seen without the passport.”

“I’ve been known to say ‘There’s a passport stop 10 miles up this road, should we get it?’” Tom said. “And we have. We have gone off the beaten path just to get the passport.”

It pays off with more than just memorable experiences.

Participants can win prizes as they check in, from stickers and small souvenirs to top rewards such as a North Face South Dakota backpack and an ENO hammock.

“I love the travel mugs,” Sherri said. “And the SoDak T-shirt.”

They also “got one of the newer backpacks,” Tom added. “Last summer, we took a day, and we literally just drove all over the Hills collecting points.”

A new passport coming out in July will be called Stars and Stripes and is designed to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, with historic and patriotic stops designed to inspire a sense of Americana.

“We really enjoy feedback from the public — South Dakotans in particular — so if you see an attraction or town or business we may be missing, let us know,” Hagen said. “Businesses are welcome to reach out as well.”

The Landmarks are far from done checking in at passport destinations.

“I love to hunt and have never been in the northwest part of the state,” Tom said. “There are some passport places in Lemmon, and we’ve never been up there, so we’re planning this fall to go out there.”

They’ve also done their part to spread the word about a program that has allowed them to discover new ways to become tourists close to home.

“I was on a bus for an event recently. Someone said her hometown was Freeman, and I said how I love the museum there,” Tom said. “She asked how I knew about it, so I told her about the passport program, and we got to talking about it. Pretty soon, everyone on the bus wanted to know about it.”

For your complete guide to the Travel South Dakota passport program, visit here.