The drive to Aberdeen, SD is beautiful. It took us about 5 hours (including 2 stops) from central Minnesota to get there. We packed the car with lots of activities to keep the kids busy. Including movies, barbies, pens, papers, activity books, car bingo and pipe cleaners.
We arrived at Wylie Park in the afternoon and our first stop was Storybook Land. As we enter Storybook Land the magic comes to life as we walked around the visitor center and we are greeted with the familiar nursery rhymes, including a pumpkin from Peter Peter Pumpkin eater. We were greeted by other characters including, Jack and Jill, Pinocchio, Humpty Dumpty and The Three Little Pigs. My girls enjoyed reciting each nursery rhyme or story as we played at each area. In the center of the park is a huge castle surrounded by a moat, with many princesses depending what door you go in including Snow White and Rapunzel.
The Land of Oz
We continued on and found Dorothy's house went through the tornado and landed in Oz. We stopped by Munchkin Land before following the yellow brick road. We saw the Scarecrow, Tin Man and even the Lion.
We enjoyed the rides including the hot air balloon, carousel ride, Humpty Dumpty Roller Coaster and the train ride. We continued to the beginning of the park and went on the train. On the train we saw the whole park including their wildlife exhibit which included yaks, geese and buffalo (with a baby buffalo that just arrived this spring).
Inside of Storybook Land Visitor Center is a concession stand, gift shop, restrooms and informational center. There is another concession stand with bathrooms available near carousel. Also there are several playgrounds throughout Storybook Land. Storybook Land has free admission.
Wylie Park Campground is beautiful. The staff is very friendly and helpful with questions and knowledge of the area. Our large cabin, had a cool loft which my kids called their room. It also included a kitchen with a refrigerator, microwave, stove top burner and a toaster. We also had our own bathroom with a shower. Outside was a large deck and an area to have a fire.
We got to have a campfire outside where we roasted marshmallows and had s’mores.
Modern Campground includes laundry facilities and Free Wi-fi
More info about Wylie Campground:
Wylie Park South Campground Map
82 RV sites, 44 full hookup sites including 1 handicap site, 38 water/electricity sites
5 Tent sites, water/electricity sites, 8 tent sites, no hookups
7 Small Sleeping cabins, sleeps 4 with heat/AC
4 Medium Sleeping cabins, sleeps 5-6 with heat/AC (west side of campground)
1 Deluxe cabin, sleeps 12, 3 bedroom with kitchen and 2 restroom facilities
Wylie Park North Campground Map(new expansion area)
23 Full Hookup RV sites including 1 handicap site
2 Large cabins, sleeps 6, 1 bedroom with kitchen and restroom facilities
1 Platform Tent, no hookups
14 Tent sites, no hookup
Bumper boats/Go Karts
Bumper boats was a blast. Unfortunately my kids were all too little for the go karts. The older girls loved the Euro Bungee but my four year old wanted nothing to do with it. So we went on a double go kart, she was yelling for me to go faster. She loved it.
Beach Area
We walked over to the beach. It was too cold that day to swim and everything was still closed. They do have paddle boats and canoe rentals. They also have a snack stand with mini donuts. Close by is a place to rent bikes. There are awesome biking/walking trails throughout the park.
Playgrounds
There are multiple playgrounds throughout Wylie Park.
The kids got up super early so we drove into town to see if we could find something to do. We found Dacotah Prairie Museum, which was a fantastic surprise. They have great interactive exhibits including a kids area. The kids climbed on a covered wagon, played in a prairie house, planted a garden and even washed clothes. We found history of area football teams. They had interactive area to do football drills and a microphone to call the game.
what a old phone and an old computer (typewriter) looked like. Of course they looked at Grandma and I like we were crazy. They had an exhibit of many wild animals from North America, Africa and India that were mounted, it looked amazing. They also had a gift shop.
The Aquatic Center was still closed the days we were there. We drove by and it looked awesome. The waterpark includes waterslides, raft slide, body flume slide, a leisure pool with zero depth entry and multi-level play structure waterslides, interactive features that dump, spill and squirt water. There is a lazy river and a large lap pool which includes one and three meter diving board, drop slide, variety of floatable play features.
I would recommend to visit Aberdeen with families of all ages. In Aberdeen all the facilities are clean and well maintained. The city has a small town feel and I felt very safe the time I was there. There are many choices of places to eat.
