A brief stop allowed us to explore downtown Sioux Falls and it did not disappoint. First impression, it felt vibrant and friendly with a bustling city-like vibe with a river running through it. Population at just about 200,000 the main economy is centered around finance and healthcare. In 1992 Money Magazine named it “the best place to live in America”.

We cruised through town we followed the signage for “Falls Park” which is beautifully maintained and plenty of tourist parking. There is great history attached to this area which was first occupied by the Sioux, Lakota and Dakota Indian tribes then later settled in the 1850’s as a village.

The falls are just breathtaking. It’s hard to imagine that they built the city around this. With beautiful walking paths completed on both sides for viewing not only the water but art and sculptures. You can also walk right down to the water on the wide area of rocks. Calli of course loved that part. The stone ruins up on the ridge are the remains of the “Queen Bee Mill” which produced milled flour, so much that the majority of the flour was loaded onto trains and transported throughout the country. From the later 1800’s into the 1900’s the main economy was agriculture and in 1909 Smithfield Foods opened a meat packing plant.

We would highly recommend visiting this area. Stop into the many microbreweries like Remedy Brewing, restaurants or simply park and walk the city.