Sioux Falls, South Dakota: A Waterfall, a Salad Bar, and Surprisingly Few Regrets

Welcome to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the biggest city in a state that has more cattle than opinions about big cities. It's South Dakota's largest city, and the 2020 census counted 192,517 residents. That's roughly the crowd at a mid-tier Taylor Swift tour stop, and here they all have a parking spot. We recently watched RoastMyTown.com take a flamethrower to this place. We're here to add context, a little affection, and a few more jokes.

Falls Park: The Waterfall That Built a Whole Personality

Let's start with the obvious. The city is named after a waterfall, so the marketing department had an easy job. Falls Park is a 123-acre urban oasis next to downtown, dotted with quartzite formations exposed by the Big Sioux River, which tumbles about 100 feet over a series of cascades. That's a series of cascades, not a single Niagara-style plunge, and the locals have never once apologized for it.

The pink rock is the real flex, though. The quartzite bedrock formed over 1.5 billion years ago. That's older than dinosaurs, older than Nebraska's tax code, and older than the "Live, Laugh, Love" sign in your aunt's kitchen. It's tough stuff, which explains why the old buildings downtown have outlasted every trend that tried to replace them.

Falls Park also has a ruined mill, because every Midwestern attraction needs a haunted-looking ruin. The Queen Bee Mill was built in 1881, with a seven-story main structure built of Sioux quartzite. It was gutted by a fire in 1956. Today you can wander the remains, climb the observation tower, and grab a bite at the Falls Overlook Café, housed inside the former Sioux Falls Light & Power Co. hydroelectric plant. It's a power plant turned lunch spot, which is peak Midwestern recycling.

Art, Sculptures, and a Steel Arc That Gets All the Selfies

If the waterfall is the city's personality, SculptureWalk is its creative side. More than 80 sculptures are scattered throughout downtown, and from May through September the public votes for a favorite, with the People's Choice winner purchased for the city's permanent collection. That's democracy at its finest: your neighbors deciding which giant bronze heron deserves a forever home.

The permanent star is the Arc of Dreams, a stainless steel sculpture over the Big Sioux River. It's the most photographed thing in town, mostly because the competition is a salad bar. There's also a bike path running through the park and along the river, and the Washington Pavilion offers a performing arts center, science museum, visual arts center, and a giant-screen cinema experience. Culture exists here, and it's well signposted.

Divorce Colony Past, Cincinnati Chili Present

Now for the roast card that stung the most: the Divorce Colony. In the 1800s, Sioux Falls drew unhappy couples looking for a quick exit, and the town was happy to sell them hotel rooms and dinners while they waited. Your first big industry was other people's heartbreak. Meatpacking came later, and the stockyard smell was the city's way of keeping things honest. These days the heartbreak industry has been replaced by downtown events and festivals. That's still Midwestern to the bone.

On the food front, we can't argue with the roast. Yes, there's Cincinnati-style chili in a city nowhere near Cincinnati. Yes, Minerva's salad bar is a legend. And yes, the Downtown Burger Battle exists, because a city with one waterfall needs a second hobby. But the food scene is quietly improving. One local restaurant, Pizza Cheeks, builds its menu around seasonal produce from nearby growers, like cherry tomatoes and arugula. Arugula in South Dakota. The Divorce Colony would be shocked.

East River, West River, and the Great Missouri Divide

Here's the cultural quirk visitors never see coming. South Dakota is split by the Missouri River into "East River" and "West River," and the two sides regard each other roughly the way cats regard bathtubs. Sioux Falls sits proudly East River, with the confidence of a city whose metro area is home to roughly a third of the state's population, give or take a few cows. West River has Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. East River has an interstate junction, a hospital system, and a sense of superiority.

And the city isn't sitting still. In the meantime, Experience Sioux Falls released an updated Visitor Guide that is bigger than ever, which the group says shows how much the city is growing. Even in a year when Mount Rushmore is hogging the America 250 spotlight, the city's tourism folks see Sioux Falls as the gateway to everything else going on, especially over the Fourth of July. That's how you spin being overshadowed by four giant presidents.

The Verdict

Is Sioux Falls, South Dakota a world-class destination? Honestly, no. Is it a clean, friendly, surprisingly cultured Midwestern city with a real waterfall, a billion-year-old rock collection, and a salad bar with a loyal following? Absolutely. Bring a jacket, bring an appetite, and don't mention West River unless you're ready for a twenty-minute debate.

Think we were too nice? See the full roast on RoastMyTown.com.