W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds

Date of stay: July 2014

Wide open grassy camping area at a fairground. Not much more to say than that, right? OK, I will add a bit more. :)

Water and electrical hookups with dump station on site. Zero privacy and zero shade. Basically a wide open grassy area with utilities.

Railroad line on one edge and they start up some sort of locomotives fairly early in the morning. Other than that I don't recall train noise to be obnoxious. No train noise at night.

Was there to pick up a friend at the airport. Can't see much other reason to be there. Oh, I guess you could check out the city, for what it is worth. Not the most glamorous part of South Dakota.

I did wander over to check out some activity in the barn, which was a bit interesting.

We paid the monthly rate - $600/month ($20/night) in 2019. Nightly rate is $30, and weekly is $180.

This is primarily a fair/event grounds, with a ton of first come first served camping offered in addition. Most of the sites have the option of full-hook-ups (H2O,30A/50A, Sewer) - but you are not guaranteed that your chosen site will have all of those functions, so make sure to test those amenities before setting your levelers down. If you arrive during a weekday, a park attendant is there to help you find a suitable spot with working utilities, and the office staff inside the fair office (the building to the left if you are looking head on at the back of the grand stands - which say "W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds") will help you pay. They will also remind you to get a receipt so you can use it for any legal stuff you may need to use it for if you're one of those 'residents'.

The fairgrounds also offers horse 'storage' (corrals) if you are bringing along your hooved friends. While we were here, the Budweiser horse team stabled here - and it was honestly one of the coolest things that we've experienced at a campground.

We arrived in late April and were directed to park in a 'trafficked' area on concrete so that we didn't sink into the grass in the main camping area. And by 'trafficked', I mean that is where folks can drive from one entrance to the other - it's not very busy. We did, however, find ourselves parked-in during several events held at the facility (i.e. HotRod Swap Meet, Dinosaur Extravaganza).

This isn't an overly quiet campground, but it's also not consistently loud. The worst noise pollutants are being in the flight path of the Air Guard, who fly inconsistently, but provide entertainment in the form of flying in formations, super zooms, and the occasional barrel roll. I'd estimate about 5 planes a day/night. Twice a week the local quarry explodes stuff and it shakes your rig and that's kind of fun. And there is a quarry train, but it's almost unnoticeable because it just parks near the camping area for loading.

We had investigated staying over at the Towers Campground, but were turned off by the consistent traffic noise (the highway runs directly behind the park) and the very tight confines of parking (BUTT-TO-BUTT). Fairgrounds is the 'cheapest' game in town, although I'm not about to argue it is 'cheap' for what you're getting.

There are bathroom facilities near the rear of the grandstands (where you will be directed to park if you're just overnighting or heavy and the ground is wet).

Dump station is in the grassy area of the campground, all the way to the right as your driving towards that area - didn't note a requirement to pay to dump.

There is something going on almost every weekend at the event grounds - horse shows, train shows, hot rod swaps, sales, running races, dinosaur exhibits, bands, renn fairs, etc. And you are within a short walk/run/bike ride to the 19mile loop bike path around the city.

During their fair week, the office staff reports that you can make reservations to camp (and also during their Harley week). Otherwise it's first come.

We would definitely stay here again - it's good access into the city, not too loud (usually), has built in entertainment, and is close to a lovely 19miles (+) of safe walking/running/biking.

First time camping at a fairgrounds, very interesting facility. Parked up against railroad tracks; one train early in AM and loved the sound, like in our bedroom. Fair was over several weeks earlier. Lots of sites, great hookups, close to interstate. Went into Sioux Falls and visited the falls, yes, there are waterfalls in Sioux Falls. Dinned at recommended restaurant, good food. Overall, great stay.

As far as campiing goes, it’s okay. I wasn’t going to write a review - but the showers!

The showers / restroom were great. The facility is large and very clean. This might be different during functions at the fairground. One big plus is the showers do not throttle back the hot water temperature like many places.

Get back on the road feeling really refreshed!

A huge section of full-time folks wedged in very tightly almost had us turn around at the gate. But we drove though and there are so many places to park.
We found a 50amp spot just off the pavement the suited us perfectly.
Mark is very helpful.
This location was so easy to get The Original House of Pancakes, Barbara’s Needlepoint, and Falls Park.

Very pleasant stay. Since it is a good sized city we were able to get a lot done.
Train track right behind sites. Fortunately wasn’t too noisy. Very close sites.

We have stopped here many times as a stopover. It’s always been a good deal. I guess it’s been awhile since we were here,though, as the rate has doubled and is now $40. Not much of a bargain anymore. Still a decent place for a stopover. Large space, easy to maneuver with our 34’ 5th wheel, electric and water, (some have sewer), paved roads, grassy sites. Train nearby but we never heard it.

Nice, central location in town. Not the most quiet spot, but good for visiting multiple places in the area. My kids love the ground squirrels.

Stayed here for a couple days to explore Sioux Falls. Downtown and stores less than 15 min drive. Sites are lumpy grass but leveling was easy anyway. Highway and railroad tracks right over the fence. But the real noise came from all the aircraft flying over us. No WiFi but many OTA channels. If you call the park number when you arrive someone will come get you checked in.

OK but not great. No pads, you park on grass or dirt. We paid $35 for electric only, no other hookups. The campground is located off the end of one of the nearby airport's runways so you might get the occasional noise from a departing jet, otherwise it's quiet. Check-in is a little confusing because you need to find the unmarked fairgrounds office in a building at the southeast corner of the camping area. Or, as we did, just wait and they'll find you. No reservations, first come first serve. May be full in August during the Sioux Empire Fair. Plan on driving if you need anything, no restaurants or stores nearby. (Note: For a city the size of Sioux Falls there are remarkably few places to camp and when we stayed in August, this was the only place we found with anything available.)