Saw the sign for the auto tour on the way to Big Stone Lake State Park. Looked it up on Google and…read moreit is a MUST SEE!!! 5 mile paved loop through the wilderness with views of wetlands full of birds, rock outcroppings you can walk on, and a path along trees and a stream... Only saw one other car on a Saturday morning. Three bikes were doing the loop. Now that would be fun... If this place was closer to a big city it would be overrun with people. It is in the middle of nowhere. The perfect place to be for a wild life. :) I can say, if you are in the area, visit. But if you are in the area, you do. I can tell everyone else, IT IS WORTH A DRIVE FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!

I like bowling, and not to brag, but I'm good at it (with a last name like Monson, you better…read morebelieve the King Pin force is strong within me.). When I'm back visiting my fam, I almost always hit up Top Hat Lanes. Sure, there isn't much for entertainment 'round these parts, but even if this place was in the middle of Las Vegas, I'd still probably go (I've obviously never been to Vegas). The owner is incredibly nice and hospitable, and if you go in the middle of the day, which I normally do, you can have the place to yourself. It's not the cheapest entertainment you'll find in town (cow tipping, exploring abandoned farm houses and drinking in corn fields are all free!!!!)... in fact, it seems kinda spendy (in comparison), but hey, your options are limited, and it's a clean, well maintained alley all to yourself. Mark it.

There are two areas in this park to hike meadowbrook and bonanza. We hiked short trails in both…read more Meadowbrook was mostly a trail cut into a field. It had some nice wildflowers and butterflies to check out along the way. As it was only a mile, it was a nice way to stretch the legs. The hiking club trail is at the bonanza area which is about 11 miles from Meadowbrook. It's a walk along the lake which takes you to a small waterfall which is colored red from the iron in the water. We saw several deer, a turkey family, and a few frogs along the path. Nice hike. The gentleman in the visitor center was very helpful and knowledgeable about the area.

We are prairie fans!!! Loved the hikes. (If you like the prairie setting visit Blue Mound.) Loved…read morethat they are restoring the land to the original habitat with wild native grasses and flowers. We saw deer right when we turned into the long drive into the park. We had one of the few electrical sites. Park wasn't busy. This place is a secret?! There was a boat landing and parking lot adjacent to the campground. This is a fishing lake. Didn't see any water sports or even any swimming. As big as the lake is, it has a pond feel near the edge with algae and weeds. We still went in at the little beach area. Call us HOT and desperate. We found there was a big spring area in the water where it was literally freezing. I have felt cold spots in lakes before, but this was a big area where you could walk or stand on sand that was as cold as ice. ReFreshing! The staff comes by a couple times a day if you have questions. Otherwise there is a building with some tshirts and smore sticks where he hangs out.

Love the prairie setting! There is something calming about tall waves of grass in all directions…read more We stayed three nights in the upper campground at site 7 with full hook ups. TONS of room. These campsites are big with lots of prairie in between. Loved that there was mowed grass throughout the site. (Instead of the dirt sites you get in forests.) The camper spots are gravel. The pit toilet by us was spotless and checked every morning by ranger staff. The shower building was also clean. There are prairie trails with epic views of the lake right from the campground. They were all recently mowed which we greatly appreciated! I would also recommend walking to the state record cottonwood tree. As big as you think... We did drive to the beach twice and had a fabulous time. The water seems to be much better than what the previous reviewer said 9 years ago. Maybe all the rain we got this season helped? We didn't see any issues. We will be back to this park!

After the recent rains, the hiking club trail was a bit squishy in some places. Field and woods…read morewalking. Not a lot of features to see. Some of the highlights included the visitor center. The woman working there was so nice and helpful. There is also a room full of stuffed birds and furs so you can get up close and personal with the animals of our region. The wild flowers around the center were stunning. You must stop and see the giant cottonwood tree. It's ginormous. It's amazing how big a tree can get. So cool. The pelicans that hang out at the dam were interesting to see as well. Huge beautiful birds.

The Grand is a small, two screen movie theater. Tickets are very affordable ($6 for adults, $5 on…read moreMondays). So are concessions (Popcorn for $3-$5, candy at $2-$4). While the theaters aren't super "state of the art" or anything, the seats are very comfortable and the projection quality is good. The building seems pretty clean for a movie theater, and a little of the fun historic theater vibe carries through today. The service was friendly. Overall, this is a pretty great place for an outing to the movies.