Fort Sisseton Brings back bluecoats, bugles, and bayonets Walk the grounds where the officers' quarters, stone barracks, powder magazine, guard house, and other buildings remain at frontier Fort Sisseton. This 1864 fort, atop the Coteau des Prairies (or hills of the prairies), is a rare reminder of the western frontier. The fort's name comes from the nearby Sisseton Indian Tribe, and it is now a picturesque state park that unfolds the area's history. Facilities at a Glance - Visitor Center and Interpretive Displays - Campground with 15 Campsites - Boat Ramp - Comfort Stations - Picnic Area, Shelter with kitchen - Guided Walking Tour   When: Fort Sisseton Visitor Center is open daily, June-August. The park is open all year. Park fee. The Fort Sisseton Festival, held the first full weekend in June, is a rendezvous featuring cavalry, fiddlers, square dancing, draft horse pulling, tomahawk throwing, a melodrama, and other excitement. Admission to the Festival.   Where: To get to the fort from I-29, take U.S. Highway 12 west about 24 miles, then Highways 25 and 73 north about another 24 miles. Or, from I-29 take Highway 10 west about 26 miles, then Highway 73 south about 5 miles.   Virtual Tour

Parade grounds

Doctor's quarters

 

	Sica Hollow Where legends come alive The Hollow's first Indian visitors named it "Sica," (pronounced she-cha) meaning evil or bad. Eerie Sioux legends recall mysterious happenings here. Along the Trail of the Spirits, a Registered National Recreation Trail, you'll see gurgling reddish bogs, which Indians saw as the blood and flesh of their ancestors. Swamp gas and stumps glow in the dark, and small waterfalls are heard echoing as trapped air escapes. Indian lore also gives new meaning to Sica's streams, rustic bridges, waterfalls, and wildflowers. The Hollow is open to hikers, picnickers, campers, and horseback riders. Horse stables rent mounts nearby. Facilities at a Glance Picnic Area and Shelter Hiking Trails Horseback Riding Trails When: This state park is open all year. Park entrance fee required. Where: Sica Hollow is located 15 miles northwest of Sisseton, off S.D. Highway 10, within 35 miles of I-29.
	Museum of Wildlife, Science & Industry This FREE ADMISSION museum will provide you with an entire day of fun filled activity.  A tour through all the facilities will thrill all age groups.  Kids love the museum, and they get a great taste of American history at the same time.  Don't plan on spending just an hour or two . . . you won't be able to see it all.  Visit their website at: http://www.sdmuseum.org
	Horseback Riding at Canyon Ranch Located in the heart of the beautiful Coteau Hills. Close to several lakes and just north of Sica Hollow State Park. Guided trail rides, hiking, horse rental, undeveloped camping area. 10,000 acres to ride on. Canyon Ranch sponsors Annual Event Trail Rides Memorial weekend and Labor Day weekend. For reservations call (605 738-2480 or write Canyon Ranch, R.R. 1, Box 86, Veblen, SD 57270.
	Nicollet Tower &  Interpretive Center Highway #10 & Golf Course Road P.O. Box 215 Sisseton, South Dakota 57262-0215 French map-maker, Joseph N. Nicollet spent 1838 and 1839 creating the first accurate map of the vast area between the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers, still considered one of the most important contributions to U.S. geography. Dedicated to this man who kept detailed and passionate journals of life on the prairie, the Nicollet Tower and Interpretive Center is located 3.5 miles west of Sisseton. It features a 75 foot observation tower with three floors providing a breath-taking view of the great valley carved by the glacier some 40,000 years ago. The center displays the "mother map" of the midwest created by Nicollet and presented to the U.S. Senate in 1841. The central feature of the map is the Coteau des Prairies that, at more that 2000 feet elevation, is the highest point between Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the Gulf of Mexico and the Appalachians and the Black Hills. The Center also displays the original works of art by John S. Wilson, a nationally recognized wildlife artist. The paintings depict the Dakota Indian people described in the journals of Nicollet. Meanwhile a short documentary film, "Dakota Encounters," further brings to life the locations where Nicollet lived and traveled in the 1830's.
	Tekakwitha Fine Arts Center The Tekakwitha Fine Arts Center began in 1988 on the grounds of the Tekakwitha Children's Home just south of Sisseton. It is a showcase for local Native American artists whose works are cultivated and displayed in the multi-room facility. A collection of over 500 works of art is housed at the center which is backed by the Missionary Oblates whose members began the collection in 1969.  A gift shop sells Native American arts and crafts.