Most of southeast South Dakota is pancake-flat prairie. So Union Grove State Park, about 11 miles south of Beresford, comes as a genuine surprise: forested hills and ravines carved out by ancient glaciers, stitched together by a winding creek. The park covers roughly 500 acres and sits about an hour south of Sioux Falls down Interstate 29 — an easy detour from the city for a day or a weekend.
The terrain is the main draw. Parkview Hill tops out above 1,300 feet, one of the highest points in eastern South Dakota, and rewards the climb with wide views over Brule Creek. Two main trails cover most visitors' needs: the Brule Bottom Hiking Trail, a 1.2-mile loop through native hardwood along the creek, and the Mosey Meadow Multi-Use Trail, a 4.3-mile dirt-and-grass route that's also open to mountain bikers and horseback riders. Reviews on AllTrails flag plenty of climbing on the latter — hikers and bikers seem to agree the effort is worth it. In winter the same hills convert to snowshoe and cross-country ski territory.
The woods themselves are part of the appeal. Bur oak, eastern red cedar and pine provide heavy canopy, and an old arboretum stocked with ornamental trees and shrubs adds a botanical quirk you don't expect in a small state park. Wildlife is easy to come by too — deer, wild turkeys, beavers, opossums and chipmunks all live here.
Overnight options are simple but well liked. The campground has 25 sites, four of which take horses, split between electrical hookups and tent-only spots. Campers repeatedly mention the shade and the quiet, and there are restrooms, showers and a playground on site. Rates run from $16 a night for tents to $30 for electric RV sites, plus a park entrance license. One caveat: hunting is allowed in the park, and its season runs roughly October 1 through April 30 — the same window when flush toilets, showers and drinking water may be shut off, so plan accordingly if you're going outside summer.
Who's this for? Anyone based in or passing through Sioux Falls who wants an actual forest without driving to the Black Hills. It suits families after an affordable, low-key camping weekend, mountain bikers who like rolling climbs, and paddlers-and-picnic types who just want a shady spot by a creek. If you'd rather not camp, Vermillion — a small college town about 20 minutes away — has hotels and inns, plus its own food-and-drink scene for evenings.
It's also a good reminder that South Dakota's state parks punch above their weight. While Badlands and Custer State Park soak up the attention out west, Union Grove offers a quieter, greener experience on the opposite side of the state — cheap campsites, real elevation, and enough tree cover to make you forget the prairie is right beyond the treeline.