EDMOND — Sioux Falls really does have falls — beautiful, impressive falls that tumble over pink quartzite boulders. Even with the drought — and they’re suffering, too — the falls are still a beautiful sight.

Sioux Falls citizens spend a lot of time outside, particularly in the summer.  During cold months, there are many attractions and events to keep the blahs and blues away. But hardy residents know how to dress for the weather, and with lots of opportunities of outdoor activities, they take full advantage of the town’s amenities.

The premier spot for the arts in the city is the Washington Pavilion. Sioux Falls’ old high school has been remodeled and repurposed into a hub for arts and education. The facility houses an art center, a science discovery center, CineDome and two theaters. The larger of the two, the elegant Summervold, seats 1,800 people, has great acoustics and hosts Broadway shows and artists like Yo Yo Ma.

The town itself has an extensive sculpture walk and interesting stores and eateries downtown. Restaurants tend heavily to more traditional dishes — steaks, burgers, meat loaf and pizza. This is corn and soybean country and the cuisine reflects the hearty farm food heritage.

There are some local chefs who are gently pushing the eating envelope — Executive Chef Daniel Myers has added some interesting twists to the menu at Crawford’s. He’s also trying to source locally. He hand-makes his own ravioli and stuffs them with locally grown mushrooms when they’re available. His take on an old favorite, meatloaf, stacks slices of homemade meatloaf with layers of mashed potatoes, spicy chipotle sauce and mixed vegetables.

For an unusual outing, take a tour of the Concrete Materials quarry. OK, it may sound like as much excitement as watching paint dry, but trust me, it was fascinating. It didn’t hurt that our guide, Tony Dinges, could have had his own calendar page, but his forte was explaining the process of blasting huge chunks of quartzite, crushing them into smaller bits and turning them into materials used for road-building and other types of construction. It was fun descending into the “pit” and watching the huge dozers, dump trucks and other pieces of gargantuan equipment — kind of a Bob the Builder thrill.

Battleship Memorial Park, one of the city’s smaller parks, is dedicated to the U.S.S. South Dakota, the most decorated battleship in World War II. Launched in 1941, she took out 64 enemy planes, participated in nine shore bombardments and received 13 Battle Stars for her participation in every major naval battle in the Pacific.

When in 1962 it was announced that the gallant ship would be scrapped, a number of South Dakotans banded together to save parts of the ship. These relics are kept in a small museum vaguely resembling the bridge area of the ship. A concrete footprint of the South Dakota surrounds the museum, stretching 680 feet. The 13-ton anchor lies on the ground in the fore-section and the 18-ton propeller is mounted in the rear.

One of the city’s coolest facilities is the Outdoor Campus — this is the east campus; there’s another Outdoor Campus on the west side of the state.  Funded by the state’s hunting and fishing license fees, this facility is a place where anyone can go to learn outdoor skills ranging from recognizing and appreciating the state’s flora and fauna to learning to kayak, canoe, fish and hunt.

Both history and nature combine about 10 miles east of Sioux Falls in the Blood Run National Historic Landmark, potentially South Dakota’s newest state park. Of major archeological importance, the area contains evidence of habitation going back 8,000 years.

Between 1300 and 1700, it was the site of the Oneota culture, which, at its peak, consisted of 10,000 people. On the surface, little remains. There are some small burial mounds but it takes a trained eye to point them out. What does remain is a remnant of the natural landscape — patches of native grasses intruding into forests of centuries-old bur oaks.

The Blood Run site is bisected by the Big Sioux River with South Dakota on one side, Iowa on the other. The part being developed on the South Dakota side now features a 2-mile-long hiking trail that runs down into ravines and along a bluff above the river. A solitary and silent walker may be lucky enough to spot deer or, near the river, bald eagles.

Perhaps no other spot is so dear to the locals’ heart than Falls Park, the center for industry and recreation since the city’s inception in 1856. Of course the falls are the big feature but the 123-acre park also has some of the town’s oldest structures including the ruins of the 1880 Queen Bee Mill, the millrace and dam and an 1880-vintage horse barn.

In summer there’s a sound and light show featuring Sioux Falls history and in winter, a holiday lights display. Hiking and biking paths connect to the 25-mile long Big Sioux River Recreation Trail. The park is also a prime picnic spot. A Visitor Information Center and five-story viewing tower will give you a good overview — in all senses of the word.

Western South Dakota with the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore get a lot more tourist traffic, but eastern South Dakota has its own attractions. And Sioux Falls is the place to start discovering them.



ELAINE WARNER is an Edmond resident.