One Stop. Plenty to Explore.

Looking for a family-friendly outdoor stop in southeast South Dakota?

At the Prairie Arboretum in Freeman, families can play disc golf, walk through gardens and mature tree collections, explore ponds and bridges, visit Gazebo Island, go fishing, enjoy a picnic, or simply spend some time outside together.

PrairieDisc is being developed around a simple idea:

Disc golf should be something the whole family can experience together.

The future 18-hole course is planned with multiple tee levels, allowing beginners, children, recreational players and experienced disc golfers to play the same holes from distances appropriate to their ability.

And if someone in the family doesn't want to play disc golf at all, there is still plenty to do.

Come for a round. Stay for the Arboretum.

[PLAN YOUR VISIT]
[DIRECTIONS & PARKING]

Family Disc Golf at PrairieDisc

One Course the Whole Family Can Play

One of the goals for the future of PrairieDisc is to make the same 18-hole course enjoyable for dramatically different skill levels.

Instead of building one layout that is too difficult for beginners—or one that experienced players quickly outgrow—the future course is being designed around a progression of Green, Red, White, Blue and Gold tee locations.

That means a family can stay together.

A child or first-time player might throw from Green.

A recreational player can use Red.

An experienced player can use White, Blue or Gold.

Everyone plays toward the same basket and experiences the same Arboretum landscape.

Green Tees — Built With Beginners in Mind

Green tees are intended for children, families, first-time disc golfers and players with shorter throwing distance.

The goal is not simply to shorten every hole.

Green positions will be selected to make the course fun, understandable and achievable.

Where a championship version of a hole might require a major water or prairie carry, the Green layout can provide a safer approach so a new player can still experience the hole without being asked to make a throw beyond their ability.

Red Tees — The Next Step

Red tees provide additional distance and challenge for recreational players while remaining much more approachable than the primary or advanced layouts.

For families, that creates an easy progression.

Start on Green.

Move to Red as skills improve.

And keep coming back to the same course.

[EXPLORE THE FUTURE 18-HOLE COURSE]

More Than Disc Golf

The Rest of the Family Doesn't Have to Play

That may be one of PrairieDisc's biggest advantages as a family destination.

The disc golf course sits inside the 40-acre Prairie Arboretum, where visitors can explore trails, gardens, ponds, prairie, bridges, mature trees and landscaped areas.

Someone who isn't interested in playing an entire round doesn't have to sit in the car waiting for everyone else.

They can explore.

Visitors can:

• Walk more than a mile of trails

• Explore flower and rose gardens

• Walk among mature tree collections

• Cross bridges and a boardwalk

• Explore the rope bridge

• Visit Gazebo Island

• Walk around the ponds

• Watch the fountain

• Go fishing

• Use the fishing pier

• Have a picnic

• Relax beneath the trees

• Explore prairie and landscaped areas

• Visit the outdoor amphitheater

That makes a visit flexible enough for grandparents, parents, children, serious disc golfers and people who have never thrown a disc.

Walk, Explore and Let the Kids Wander

The Prairie Arboretum has approximately 5,500 feet of walking paths winding around the ponds and through the property.

Trails take visitors across a boardwalk, over the rope bridge and around the island while moving through prairie grasses, mature trees and landscaped areas.

For children, that can make an ordinary walk feel more like exploring.

For adults, it provides a peaceful place to stretch your legs and slow down.

And for families traveling through South Dakota, it provides something particularly valuable after hours in a vehicle:

Room to move.

You don't need a schedule.

Walk twenty minutes.

Explore for an hour.

Or spend the afternoon.

Visit Gazebo Island

One of the Prairie Arboretum's Most Memorable Places

Three connected ponds and a central island form one of the defining landscapes of the Prairie Arboretum.

At the center is Gazebo Island.

Walking to the gazebo gives families a destination within the Arboretum rather than simply another path to follow.

Cross the water.

Explore the island.

Take a family picture.

Sit in the gazebo.

Watch the pond.

Then continue exploring the grounds.

Gazebo Island is also central to the future vision for PrairieDisc. The proposed final hole of the 18-hole course is designed to finish on the island, bringing disc golf directly into one of the Arboretum's most recognizable settings.

Take the Kids Fishing

Bring a Rod Along With the Discs

Fishing gives families another completely different activity without having to leave the Arboretum.

The pond is open for catch-and-release fishing when it is ice-free, and a dedicated fishing pier provides convenient access over the water.

Fish stocked in the Arboretum ponds have included bass, bluegill and other species, and the property has a long tradition of introducing local children to fishing.

You don't need to build the entire visit around it.

Play some disc golf.

Walk the trails.

Then spend a little time seeing what is biting.

For a child who isn't ready for 18 holes of disc golf, that combination can make the difference between being dragged along on somebody else's outing and having an adventure of their own.

Pack a Picnic

Take a Break Between Activities

Families are welcome to bring food and enjoy the Arboretum.

Picnic tables are available near the Visitor Center, and visitors can also bring a blanket or camp chairs and find a comfortable place elsewhere on the grounds.

That makes it easy to build an inexpensive family afternoon:

Play. Explore. Eat. Relax. Play some more.

The Visitor Center also provides access to restrooms and drinking water, giving families amenities that are especially useful when traveling with young children.

A Simple Prairie Arboretum Family Day

Not sure what to do first?

Try this:

Start With Disc Golf

Play a family round at PrairieDisc.

New players can keep the experience casual while experienced players can challenge themselves from a longer position.

Walk to Gazebo Island

After the round, follow the paths toward the ponds and island gazebo.

Take some pictures and explore the water.

Have a Picnic

Head back toward the Visitor Center for lunch or a snack beneath the trees.

Explore the Gardens and Bridges

Walk through the rose garden and landscaped areas, cross the bridges and see another part of the Arboretum.

Go Fishing

Finish the afternoon at the fishing pier or pond.

Or reverse the entire schedule.

There is no required order.

That's the point.

Families can build the visit around what everyone actually wants to do.

A Family-Friendly South Dakota Road-Trip Stop

Long road trips are easier when there is somewhere worthwhile to stop.

The Prairie Arboretum gives families a chance to get out of the vehicle without simply replacing the car with another indoor attraction.

Children can run.

Parents can walk.

Disc golfers can play.

Someone can fish.

Everyone can eat.

And the family can explore somewhere that feels distinctly different from the interstate.

Freeman's location in southeast South Dakota also makes the Prairie Arboretum easy to include in trips involving Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Yankton, Interstate 90 and the wider southeast South Dakota region.

For families traveling across South Dakota toward destinations such as the Badlands and Black Hills, PrairieDisc and the Prairie Arboretum can provide a relaxing outdoor break along the journey.