Things to do in Mitchell
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Mitchell
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring shoulder: golf opens around mid April, rates are low, weather is windy and changeable, the lake is cold.
Summer family season: live digs in June, aquatic center and lake swimming, heat and thunderstorms, festival in late August.
Quiet and golden, with the Corn Palace murals mid changeover until about October 1.
New murals complete, pheasant season opens in mid October and Mitchell fills with hunters.
Coldest and cheapest: seasonal sights closed or frozen, basketball at the Corn Palace, blizzards can close the interstate.
What's on
- Corn Palace Festival late August
A week of carnival rides, food and craft stalls on Main Street and headline concerts at the Corn Palace.
- South Dakota pheasant season opener Third Saturday in October
Traditional season opens statewide, running through January 31, and Mitchell hotels and restaurants fill.
Best things to do in Mitchell
The World's Only Corn Palace
A working arena covered in murals made from hundreds of thousands of ears of corn, redecorated every year since 1892.
Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village
A thousand year old earth lodge village above Lake Mitchell, with a dome built over a live archaeological dig.
Dakota Discovery Museum
Prairie history downstairs and Harvey Dunn and Oscar Howe art upstairs, plus a small historic village outside.
Carnegie Resource Center
The old Carnegie library holds the Corn Palace archive and a 1940 Oscar Howe mural under its dome.
McGovern Legacy Museum
A campus museum following George and Eleanor McGovern from a Mitchell childhood to the Senate and anti hunger work.
Cabela's
The outfitter store that anchors Mitchell pheasant culture, with mounts and an aquarium beyond the gear.
Downtown Main Street
A brick Main Street stroll of local shops, antiques, coffee houses and pubs running south from the Corn Palace.
Mitchell Aquatic Center
The city outdoor pool complex in Hitchcock Park, with slides, a zero depth play area and a 50 metre pool.
Where to stay in Mitchell
I-90 / Highway 37 interchange
best rooms, easiest base
The cluster of the city's best hotels on Highland Way, Spruce Street and Cabela Drive, walkable to Cabela's and restaurants.
South Burr Street
budget motels
The older motel row south from the interchange, with the city's budget chains and independents.
In town and Lake Mitchell
non-hotel stays
The bed and breakfast in a residential street and the city campground overlooking the lake.
Think twice about
- Cheapest end of the South Burr Street motel row
Quality warning, not a safety warning: the lowest priced motels here have poor review records for cleanliness, staffing and upkeep. Pick the well reviewed budget properties instead.
Best restaurants in Mitchell
Cattleman's Club Steakhouse
A casual western steakhouse with sawdust floors, serving prime rib, big ribeyes and chislic at dinner only.
Depot Pub & Grill
Pub food and 48 taps inside the historic 1908 train depot, with a deck along the tracks.
Corona Village
A big, lively family Mexican restaurant on Burr Street, the default group dinner in Mitchell.
El Columpio
The Spruce Street Mexican favourite in the hotel cluster, praised for food, margaritas and service.
Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill
Wood fired steaks and ribs on Spruce Street, the best walkable dinner from the top hotels.
Twin Dragon
Mitchell long running Chinese restaurant, the welcome change of pace on a steak heavy trip.
Marlins Family Restaurant
The highway truck stop diner, a big American menu at diner prices, with a mixed but well used record.
Best bars in Mitchell
Palace City Brewing
Mitchell own small brewery downtown, pouring its own beers with flatbread pizzas in a local taproom.
Best coffee in Mitchell
Elixir Roasterie
Downtown speciality coffee house with serious roasting, a quirky room and a quick bites menu.
Cornerstone Coffee House & Deli
The second downtown coffee house, with good espresso and a deli menu that makes it a lunch stop.
Outdoor things to do in Mitchell
Guided pheasant hunting in the Mitchell fields
Guided rooster pheasant hunting in the fields around Mitchell during the October to January season.
Lake Mitchell
The town lake for fishing, swimming, picnics and evenings by the water, just above the Indian Village.
Lake Mitchell Hiking and Biking Trails
Shoreline paths around Lake Mitchell, best paired with the Indian Village for a half outdoors visit.
Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course
A free disc golf course and walking corridor along Dry Run Creek on the south side of town.
Lakeview Municipal Golf Course
The city run golf course by Lake Mitchell, a full municipal round at municipal prices.
Wild Oak Golf Club
Mitchell club course east of town, a full par 72 with a river second nine, range and rentals.
Dignity of Earth and Sky
A fifty foot stainless steel Dakota woman with a star quilt on a bluff above the Missouri River at Chamberlain.
Hitchcock Park
Mitchell home park, with the aquatic center, courts and green space where local families spend afternoons.
Best hotels in Mitchell
Hampton Inn Mitchell
The top rated hotel in Mitchell, a consistent Hampton with indoor pool and hot breakfast by the interstate.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mitchell
The Hampton close rival in the interchange cluster, walkable to Cabela's, with pool, hot tub and hot breakfast.
Comfort Inn & Suites Mitchell I-90
The value pick beside the Hampton on Highland Way, same cluster and breakfast formula for usually less.
Thunderbird Lodge
A classic independent motel with a loyal following and the strongest budget record in Mitchell.
Quality Inn Mitchell I-90
The reliable budget chain on South Burr Street, a brand, a breakfast and a low rate for a road night.
My Place Hotel-Mitchell, SD
Extended stay rooms with kitchens and laundry in the hotel cluster, notably welcoming to dogs.
Der Platz Bed & Breakfast
Mitchell small bed and breakfast in a residential street, the in town alternative to the highway cluster.
Lake Mitchell Campground
The city campground overlooking Lake Mitchell, with fishing, swimming, boats and a playground at hand.
Is Mitchell expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $130 a person |
| Splurge | $220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Guided pheasant hunting in the Mitchell fields: months ahead
- Lakeview Municipal Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Wild Oak Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Hampton Inn Mitchell: weeks ahead
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mitchell: weeks ahead
- Depot Pub & Grill: a few days ahead
- No sight needs advance tickets, but hotels sell out for Corn Palace Festival week in late August and the pheasant opener in mid October.
- Book the Depot for weekend and season evenings, arrive early at Cattleman's, and book guided hunts and opener hotels far ahead.
- Book weekend golf tee times at Wild Oak or Lakeview by phone a few days ahead in season.
Is Mitchell safe?
- No neighbourhood here needs avoiding on safety grounds; downtown is quiet after hours, not threatening.
- In October, walkers on fields and trails should wear orange, as the state recommends.
- Summer storms and winter blizzards are the real hazards, and deer at dawn and dusk are the year round driving risk.
Mitchell travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Judging the Corn Palace from the car park, when the visit is inside.
- Visiting during the late summer mural changeover, when the building can be partly bare until about October 1.
- Booking the cheapest Burr Street motel blind, and expecting a late night in a city whose kitchens close early.
Getting around Mitchell: public transport and more
- Mitchell is a driving city: sights sit in a five minute drive triangle between downtown, Dakota Wesleyan and the lake, parking is free, and rideshare is thin.
- Walk Main Street, the lake trails and the campus, and drive between the clusters.
- Sioux Falls is about 75 miles east and Chamberlain and the Missouri River about 70 miles west.
Who Mitchell suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Mitchell your trip
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