Our Little House on the Prairie Road Trip Adventure - AI Planned

We just wrapped up one of the most unforgettable family experiences ever — a real-life Little House on the Prairie road trip! After finishing the entire book series together as a family (yes, all nine books!), we decided to bring the pages to life by exploring the actual places Laura Ingalls Wilder lived and wrote about. What started as a bedtime reading tradition turned into a full-blown summer adventure.

Of course, planning a trip with kids, a short time frame, and a herd of cats waiting at home isn’t easy — so I turned to AI for help. I gave it some very specific requests: the trip had to be short and sweet (our girls don’t like being away from their creature comforts too long), packed with historical immersion, fun swimming spots, educational experiences, great food (I’m a foodie, after all), and family-friendly lodging. Oh, and we had to see the pageant!

AI whipped up a great starting agenda. It wasn’t perfect — we had to cut Wisconsin from the itinerary due to time and stick to just South Dakota and Minnesota — and some food recommendations were sadly outdated (a few places were permanently closed). Honestly, the food scene didn’t wow me... except for the doughnuts at Ward’s Store. Those were divine.

Despite a few hiccups, the magic of walking where Laura walked, seeing the places she described, and watching our kids light up with wonder made this trip absolutely worth it.

Here’s our adjusted Little House travel itinerary — full of prairies, pioneer stories, and splashes of adventure.

Click here for Printable Travel Agenda

Day 1 -

Boring travel -We packed each of the kids a snack bag and gave them an activity book with a map, Little House coloring pages, and a travel journal. Travel Journal Here

Trampoline Park in Minot -They are going to be sitting for a while so its a good idea to wear them out. We went early enough in the morning that it was not crowded.

Stay at – A surprise (Basically the first place we stopped when we were too tired to drive anymore).

Day 2 –Walnut Grove, Minnesota: Plum Creek Days

📍 “On the Banks of Plum Creek”

Morning to Afternoon:

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum Complex
Walk to the Plum Creek Dugout Site (actual site of the Ingalls’ dugout home)
Explore Heritage Lane with replicas of a schoolhouse, chapel, and depot
There is a park with lots of activities, entertainment, food trucks, and crafter’s wares.
Search for Pioneers around town. Businesses around town post a picture and info about pioneers. There are discounts at some stores and prizes at the museum if you get a certain number of them.

Lunch:

Nellie’s Café – cute, themed café with down-home cooking (This is closed now =( So we got Subway instead at a town called Tracy. You might remember this place mentioned in the books.)

Evening Activity:

Outdoor Wilder Pageant (bring camp chairs and blankets or reserve tickets online for seats! Bring mosquito spray. I got over 40 bites while watching the show.)

Lodging Options:

Camp at Plum Creek Park – right near the pageant, playground, and trails

Check in time at 3:00PM at cabin #3.

That's Plum Creek really close to where the dugout is.

We were going to swim but the water was way too high.

Day 3–Travel Day to De Smet, South Dakota

Drive: ~3.5 hours west to De Smet

Stop in Brookings, SD for lunch and a break:

Children’s Museum of South Dakota – fantastic indoor/outdoor play stop
Nick’s Hamburger Shop – classic mini burgers since 1929

Arrive in De Smet in afternoon/evening

Dinner in De Smet

Owbow Restaurant

Evening Activity – The Pageant The Hard Winter: Laura’s Dakota Stories

Gates Open 6PM • Performance at 8PM

Lodging:

🛌 Stay on the Ingalls Homestead:

Camping. If you call ahead (long wait list) you can rent a covered wagon or bunk house for your family to stay in.
Kids can help with chores, feed animals, and play with old-time toys.

Day 4 - Full Day in De Smet: “The Little Town on the Prairie”

📍 “By the Shores of Silver Lake,” “The Long Winter,” “Little Town on the Prairie” “These Happy Golden Years” ”The First Four Years”

Morning to Evening Activities:

Tour the Ingalls Homestead:

Drive a covered wagon, make corncob dolls, try old-fashioned washing
Visit a one-room schoolhouse and wear pioneer clothes

Visit:

Surveyor’s House
First School of De Smet
Wilder Memorial Society
De Smet Cemetery (visit graves of Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie, Grace and many other’s from the book)

Meal Options:

Wards Store and Bakery – hearty meals in a historic general store setting (They close early so this is a great breakfast and lunch option)

Lodging:

🛌 Stay on the Ingalls Homestead:

Camping. If you call ahead (long wait list) you can rent a covered wagon or bunk house for your family to stay in.
Kids can help with chores, feed animals, and play with old-time toys.