Visitor things to do in SF? (Sioux Falls, Lead: appointed, hotel, construction)

[supreme21]

Hello - A friend and I are heading down to SF next weekend (3-22/3-24) for a mini vacation. We're from Fargo, so not a huge travel, but still new to us, and a good escape from here. Just wondering if there are any sights or events we should check out? Falls Park is my goal, when is it flowing?

Aside from that, we don't know much about the area. Anyone have any suggestions? We're both young, under 30. Evening events would be great (not looking to spend the night at the bar though). Friend is a photographer, loves old abandoned locations.. do those exist? Any unique restaurants the locals love?

Not looking for any shopping really. Unique shops are neat to check out, but not our goal.
Just looking for touristy ideas!

[irish1381]

I'm a big proponent of downtown (DTSF). For sure check out the Washington Pavilion. That place has a lot of fun stuff going on - they have a decent website with their events. Falls as you mentioned. DTSF has the sculpture walk which would be a good opportunity for your photographer friend. There are some cool buildings downtown that lend well to photography, especially on the north side.

Umm evening events... hmm. I guess Soul Asylum is going to be at the Vault Friday night - that can be nice and depressing. Also, in my opinion, the Vault can be a little sketchy...0_0 There's always the new Grand Falls Casino if you want to try your luck or eat out there. Otherwise, I would check the Argus Leader website, Keloland, check the Arena's site, Orpheum site, DTSF site, etc..

Food - local:
- Bob's - great breakfast if you like a greasy spoon - small spot - i think 8 chairs
- Jacky's - dinner/lunch - great Mexican/Latin American/Guatemalan food
- Mama's Ladas - personally not a fan but I know a lot of others love it
- Sushi Masa - Greatness!
- JL Beers
- Tea Steakhouse - not dtsf/not sf but not far and awesome breakfast/lunch/dinner
- Touch of Europe - dtsf - downstairs jazz club - south end of town - good evening spot - cool environment

There is another thread on the forum from a few days ago with a plethora of local spots.

HTH - Have fun!

[S.Breeman]

Old abandon locations in sioux falls are really hard to come by sadly, i adore taking pictures at them as well.
But one amazing place to check out if you don't quite mind the cold is our new state park! Good Earth state park (used to be called blood run nature area) is right outside of sioux falls and is beautiful place to go for a quick hike and take some pictures

also for food check out Oh My Cupcakes downtown...amazing

[supreme21]

Thanks for the info! We just got back home. One thing I was surprised about was the early closing of downtown. We got in late friday night. Up early Sat morning, went to Sertoma Park and the butterfly thing. It was great. Then went to the zoo. Spent a few hours there. Got dinner downtown at some irish pub, the hit up Falls Park. Left there and got back to the hotel to get some sweatshirts around 4. Ventured downtown a little after five and it was nearly shut down. Checked out one or two unique shops that were open, took a few pictures of the sculptures we liked, but that was about it. Kinda disappointed in that. Tried exploring around a few other areas of town but didn't find much.
All-in-all, loved what we saw. It was a busy, fun day. But we left early since we ran out of things to do. We will visit again im the summer, seems like thats when things come alive.
Overall, we were so impressed with the things Sioux Falls invests into the city.

[mrpress]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! It's true, downtown is way more lively in the summer. Come back for Hot Harley Nights or Hot Summer Nights if you're into motorcycles or Corvettes, respectively, and downtown will be crazy busy. Lots of residential and retail construction happening right now around town...exciting times for the city.