Things to do in Pierre
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Pierre
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Legislative session fills near Capitol rooms, while tailrace fishing and eagle watching carry the outdoors.
Shoulder season value, spring walleye, and free prairie chicken viewing blinds on the grassland.
Peak summer: best Oahe fishing early in the period, Farm Island swimming, golf, dam tours and the Verendrye Museum open.
The connoisseur month: warm days, crankbait walleye and quiet trails, but seasonal museums close after Labor Day.
Pheasant season runs from the October opener through 31 January, filling rooms with hunters, most sharply at the start.
The quietest, coldest stretch outside pheasant peak and session, fine for a Capitol and museums overnight.
What's on
- South Dakota Legislative Session January to March
About 38 legislative days when Pierre becomes a political town and near Capitol rooms price at their peak.
- Sharpe Showdown Walleye Tournament Late April each year
A Lake Sharpe walleye tournament drawing anglers from across the Midwest to the Pierre area.
- Oahe Days Music & Arts Festival Usually a Friday and Saturday in mid June
Free live concerts, vendors, food and carnival fun at Steamboat Park on the Missouri River.
- South Dakota Pheasant Season Opener Third Saturday of October, season to 31 January
The traditional statewide opener, a de facto state holiday that fills Pierre with hunters.
Best things to do in Pierre
South Dakota State Capitol
A restored 1910 capitol with marble, murals and a hidden blue stone in the terrazzo floors to hunt for.
South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center
South Dakota history in one sweep, from Lakota culture and a sod house to the 1743 Verendrye Plate.
Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center
Two floors on nine time world champion Casey Tibbs and South Dakota rodeo, on a bluff over the river.
South Dakota Discovery Center
A hands on science center in the old power plant, with 60 plus exhibits and a town for small children to play in.
Verendrye Museum
A free, volunteer loved storehouse of Fort Pierre frontier history, open only from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Oahe Dam
One of the largest rolled earth dams in the world, holding back a lake that runs 231 miles north to Bismarck.
Capitol Lake
The Capitol front yard lake, carrying the Flaming Fountain and ringed by the state war memorials.
LaFramboise Island Nature Area
A cottonwood island five minutes from the Capitol, with shaded trails, beaches and river views.
Where to stay in Pierre
West Sioux Avenue riverfront corridor
default base for anglers, families and first trips
Pierre best hotels line Sioux Avenue by the river, walkable to dining and minutes from the Capitol.
Downtown and the Capitol area
legislative session, museums and walking mornings
A quiet leafy grid by the Capitol, Capitol Lake and Pierre Street, with the town historic house stay.
Fort Pierre
museums, grassland access and riverfront dining
The older twin town across the bridge, in Mountain time, handy for Casey Tibbs, the Verendrye sites and Drifters.
Best restaurants in Pierre
Cattleman's Club Steakhouse
Pierre splurge steakhouse east of town, the celebration table for session dinners and hunting trips.
La Minestra
Family run downtown Italian making its own pastas and pizzas, with dinner only on selected evenings.
RedRossa Italian Grille
House made pastas and wood fired pizzas in the ClubHouse Hotel, Pierre most dependable upscale dinner.
Mad Mary's Steakhouse & Saloon
A downtown steakhouse saloon for ribeye, prime rib and chislic, with real country music and a local bar.
Drifters Bar & Grille
A riverfront Fort Pierre kitchen known for walleye tacos and chislic, best at sunset on the patio.
Richie Z's Brickhouse BBQ & Grill
Pierre barbecue room for two meat platters and pulled pork, the change of pace after steak and Italian.
The LB
A full menu bar and grill that becomes Pierre liveliest night out, with karaoke and a weekend downstairs DJ.
Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant
A family Mexican restaurant with fresh salsa, weekday lunch specials and the gentlest prices in town.
Outdoor things to do in Pierre
Lake Oahe
A 231 mile reservoir and a signature walleye fishery, best fished first with a Pierre guide who knows its structure.
Oahe Downstream Recreation Area
Cold tailrace water below the dam that fishes for walleye all year and draws bald eagles in winter.
Farm Island Recreation Area
Pierre family island on Lake Sharpe, with trails, a beach, paddling rentals and waterside camping.
Hillsview Golf Club
An 18 hole, par 72 championship public course in the river bluffs east of Pierre.
Dunes Golf Complex
A short, fast, cheap 18 hole course in Fort Pierre, ideal for beginners and a spare two hours.
Fort Pierre National Grassland
116,000 free acres of prairie famed for pheasant, sharptail and prairie chicken, plus spring viewing blinds.
Oahe West Shore Trails
Dirt singletrack in the hills beside Oahe Dam, strenuous riding and hiking with a lake view on every climb.
Best hotels in Pierre
ClubHouse Hotel & Suites
Pierre top rated stay, a suite hotel on Sioux Avenue with RedRossa Italian Grille in the building.
The Historic Farr House
Pierre only historic house stay, a small period property in the quiet grid near the Capitol.
Ramkota Hotel
The big riverfront conference hotel, with a pool, cafe and a kitchen that will cook your catch.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Pierre-Fort Pierre
A modern, well reviewed chain hotel in Fort Pierre, handy for the museums and the grassland road.
Governor's Inn Hotel
A friendly budget inn by the river and convention center, with a hot breakfast rated above its price.
Is Pierre expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $75 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $140 a person |
| Splurge | $260 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Lake Oahe: weeks ahead
- Hillsview Golf Club: a few days ahead
- ClubHouse Hotel & Suites: weeks ahead
- The Historic Farr House: weeks ahead
- Ramkota Hotel: weeks ahead
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Pierre-Fort Pierre: a few days ahead
- Cattleman's Club Steakhouse: weeks ahead
- La Minestra: a few days ahead
- Legislative session, January to March: book near Capitol rooms and top tables weeks ahead.
- Pheasant season from mid October: guided hunts, lodges and hunter rooms book months ahead for opening week.
- June and July fishing: book Oahe guides weeks ahead and confirm the day before, as wind cancels boats.
- Verendrye Museum and Oahe Dam tours are seasonal, roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. Verify hours first.
Is Pierre safe?
- The real hazards are environmental: winter wind chill, highway blizzards, summer heat and reservoir wind.
- Download maps before the grassland or upper lake, as cell coverage thins quickly.
- In hunting season, wear orange off trail on public land whether you are hunting or not.
Pierre travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Photographing the Capitol and leaving. Go inside, it is free and excellent.
- Eating at a national chain when five strong local kitchens sit in a small town.
- Day tripping Mount Rushmore from Pierre, roughly three hours each way.
- Assuming Fort Pierre times are Pierre times, or planning a small boat day without a wind plan.
Getting around Pierre: public transport and more
- You need a car. Pierre has no meaningful visitor transit and the airport has limited connections.
- In town drives are under ten minutes. Sioux Avenue is the hotel strip and the Capitol anchors the east.
- Fort Pierre is one bridge away but in Mountain time, while Pierre is in Central. Name the town with the time.
- Check South Dakota 511 before winter highway legs, as ground blizzards close roads with little notice.
Who Pierre suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Pierre your trip
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