This is a hidden gem located less than an hours drive from Sioux Falls. Lake Herman is located in…read moreMadison close to Lake Madison and Lake Brant. This is a spring fed glacial lake. The park is on the south east corner of the lake. This state park has hiking trails, beaches, canoe rental, boat launch and camping. The park itself is large and features mature shade trees and areas of natural prairie. With all the outdoor things to do and being so close to Sioux Falls, this place is a must visit.

A lovely state park campground! The lots were huge and level, with wide gravel parking pads. The…read moregrass around the sites was well groomed and a fire ring was included. The bathrooms were clean, with large separate shower rooms. The shower was best part, as it had a residential adjustable temperature controller instead of the push-button that many campgrounds do. The water flow was stronger than my house. Its also a dog-friendly park. Inside the campground, leashes are required, but in the rest of the park off-leash is permissible. Tie-outs on your site are also allowed. Canoes were available for rent for $15/3 hours or $30/day. There's also a boat ramp as its a large 1350 acre lake.

We went here with an 8-year-old Laura fan and her 3-year-old little sister. The Homestead is on a…read more10-acre section of the original Ingalls' Homestead. Several buildings have been moved here (e.g., a claim shanty, two schools, and a church) and a few are replicas such as the Ingalls' shanty and the hat-roof barn. Everything was very hands on and kid friendly. Kids could do laundry in a wash tub and hang it on a line to dry, play a pump organ, work a treadle sewing machine, braid cloth for a rug, make a jump rope, make a corn cob doll, attend school at a one-room school house, drive a covered wagon, drive a pony cart, ride a pony, etc. We got there at 10 am on a very hot day (temps in the 90s) and we stayed for a little over 2 hours. We didn't walk to the church because it seemed like a long walk in the hot sun, but we did everything else. We could have stayed a bit longer but we were hot and hungry so we left. We went they last weekend in June before the Pageant Days so it wasn't very busy and we never had to stand in line to do any activities. Refrigerators with bottled water were scattered around the 10 acres. The bottles were 75 cents each and you pay in the gift shop when you leave. Nice gift shop.

I am still in awe of all that is here on the homestead! So much to see and beautiful prairie…read moresetting! Lots of hands on for everyone. We adults even made the rope and corn cob dolls! Everyone who works/volunteers there is so friendly and fun. Didn't even notice how hot it was out that day! Only drawback is it is not wheelchair friendly in spots, but that didn't put a damper on my visit! I would definitely go back!

The setting and surroundings of Olson Park are absolutely fantastic!…read more I tell ya...for just quickly visiting and hanging out here for a couple of hours, this Olson Park was so well maintained! I'll say it again, lol, very well maintained!! The park is flush with green grass and is situated right by a scenic lake. Too bad I wasn't spending the night here because they offer camping. And...I am a camping enthusiast! I was here at Olson Park back at the end of June 2021 and the conditions were truly pleasant. I honestly felt like taking a blanket out of my car and having a midday nap underneath a tree, lol. I really can't say enough good things about this park. Before I do...I'll just provide some insight and details about where Olson Park is located and some of the worthwhile benefits it offers that make it such a worthwhile destination for enjoying nature and the outdoors. Olson Park is located in the town of Worthington, Minnesota. Worthington sits about 175 miles southwest of Minneapolis and only 10 miles north from the border with Iowa. It's situated about 3 miles outside downtown Worthington. I was traveling down through Minnesota along my 2021 cross country road trip. Eventually I was heading into Sioux Falls, South Dakota and further west towards Badlands National Park and the Mount Rushmore area. Along my driving for half the day, I was just a little fatigued and pulled off Interstate 90 and figured why not take some time to relax at a park and rest up before continuing on my journey. I discovered Olson Park through the wonderful app on my phone called Campendium. Upon arriving here, I was surprised they offered camping. I just figured this place was a quiet town park where you could come play some ball, have a picnic or just simply go fishing by the lake. Well cool...this Olson Park was perfect and ideal for camping! The best part being that you can set up your tent along all the fluffy and lush green grass which definitely make a for comfortable night sleep. Plus...I can't tell you enough how clean this park was! Seriously it was like out of a fresh springtime catalogue for a photo album! Lol, just reflecting back on my pictures invoke warm memories. Too bad...I should have just camped out for the night. But instead, I took it easy for a few hours before returning back to Interstate 90. Also...there wasn't a cloud in the sky during my time here. The sun reflected down on the lake's waters making for a wonderful ambiance. The campsites located next to the lake were efficiently set up. Just taking pictures of the park with the lake in the background was beautiful. For camping... - Campsites 1 - 12 w/ electric hook-up was $33 for the night. - Campsites 13 - 63 w/ electric hook-up was $28 per night. - Campsites 64 - 68 without electric hook-up was only $22 per night. All these sites were very reasonable and fairly priced for camping out at such a well-maintained park! You can book a reservation by calling 507-372-8600 Monday thru Friday. If there isn't a campsite occupied, then it's first come, first served. For spontaneous campers coming here on a whim, once you find an unoccupied site, simply claim it and then drop the fee into the courtesy box on the east side of the office if no attendant is around. And that's it, you're good to go! Here are some other terrific amenities about Olson Park... - They have a shower house with flush toilets, so no vault toilets are always a good thing, lol. - Cell phone reception worked perfectly here. - You can bring swimming apparel to enjoy the waters of the lake. - There were picnic tables situated all around. During my visit here on June 30, the park was empty. It was so quiet for such a picturesque park. And btw, it's always a benefit not having too many campers occupying the grounds. Overall...having tons of green grass, trees situated all around, good shade and a calm setting made this Olson Park to be an absolute winner in my book. I can't remember finding a better campground along my entire 5-month journey across the United States! For those who happen to be driving Interstate 90 and or making their way through the southern portion of Minnesota during their travels, I can't recommend Olson Park enough, so refreshing to discover this hidden gem of a park and campground.

Beautiful park and very nice for camping. Stayed here on our way out to South Dakota. Will…read moredefinitely stay again.

A terrific spot to relax with plenty of shade & space. The sites are well manicured and the…read moreservices are in good shape. This is a peaceful campground, with plenty of opportunity for outdoor enjoyment. Highly recommended.

Nice dog park medium size. Off season and they did accommodate and we did have water and power. We…read morewere the only RV in the park. I would not of secured my spot with an extra 20.00 I thought it would come off of total but was an additional charge. There appears to be a sewage treatment area fenced off but visible and bubbling. it is winter and it smell awful. Thinking summer time would be a no go.

Pretty park and city run campground. The sites are right next to each other but I'm guessing the…read morecampground doesn't get much use? No one else was here while we were here anyway, but that could just be the time of year. It's right next to the road, so it's noisy during the day. Electrical hookups for only $10 (pay down the street). Oh, and no restrooms on site (again, down the street). Sounds like a bunch of negatives but for a one night layover, it's a nice spot next to a calm pond with ducks. Take a walk to the island and enjoy the peacefulness.

Pretty small state park. The two mile hike brings you around the outer edge. The main attraction is…read morethe beach but we weren't swimming. It was a combo of woods and open field hiking. Bugs were a bit annoying.

In the summer of 2018, my husband and I stopped at this park for the Passport stamp and to do the…read moreHiking club trail. Nice pretty park. The historic WPA bridge is made with local stones. There are other WPA era buildings at the park also. This was a fun park for a quick day trip.

Okay, so I have to say I was very unsure of this place before we got there. Because there is…read moreliterally nothing for miles, and then suddenly you're in a small town that doesn't seem like it would have a camping spot. But then you hang a corner and boom, adorable campground by a scenic river with lots of open space and a pretty nice shower house. We only stayed one night, and there are two solid reasons I'm not going for five stars: 1. The owner was not there when we arrived, everything was locked up, and for a moment we were at a loss. We decided to just pick a spot since there were only two other campers on site, and if we were wrong then we'd happily move. It turns out the owner was on vacation, and another one of the campers was there to manage while she was out. We found this out when one of their kids was wandering around saying hi and petting the pups and told us all about his cool week of camping. It wasn't a huge deal, but it wouldn't been comforting to get an email or a phone call, or even have it left on the voicemail (we tried to call several times and there was no voicemail set up). 2. The wild life around the area takes shifts, so there is constant noise going around the clock. From my memory while trying to catch some zz's, it begins with dogs barking until dark, then the owls take over, followed by coyotes (or some sort of group howling animal), then around 4am the cows take over for moo-fest, followed by the roosters at daybreak. This probably doesn't bother those sleeping in campers, but the tent walls are paper thin (see what I did there?). Would I stay here again? That's a solid maybe. It is quite out of the way, the nearest grocery store/gas station/sign of life is at least 10 miles/20 minutes away, so be sure to come completely prepared. It is as bad as I was fearing when we pulled up? Not at all. Color me pleasantly surprised.

It may just be the time of the summer that I visited, but overall I have to rate my stay as just…read moreokay. It seems to be a long term summer hang out spot for some locals and you can hear cussing and yelling from people drinking late into the night, like after two am. However, if you're looking for a place where you can have fun without strict rules, this would be the place. As a newcomer, some people were friendly and some were not, but I won't go further in explaining that. The river is pretty, although it's not anywhere near full right now because of drought, so the kayaking is somewhat limited. As I said though, it was a really pretty site to camp on. They have a couple of private shower rooms that are nice. For a one night stay it's okay, especially as a lot of other campsites that are in a less isolated area seem to fill up more quickly. The nearest grocery store is 11 miles away, so I would plan out food before you go into camp. Dell Rapids has a great coffee shop called Ladelle and Fourth Coffeehouse (if you need wifi or to get out) that is fifteen minutes away, which I was surprised to find.