Sponsored By The Outdoor Campus
By: David Parker, Director of the Outdoor Campus SF
Believe it or not, the Outdoor Campus is 27 years old! Since opening our doors in 1997, we have seen a lot of growth in Sioux Falls and thanks to the generosity of the greater Sioux Falls Community, it is our turn to grow too!
Outdoor Archery Range
Phase 1 of our expansion started with the creation of a 12 lane, 60-yard Outdoor Archery Range. The groundbreaking for this took place back on July 12th, 2024 and within a short time work kicked off. We are now excited to say that the range is open to the public to use, free of charge. This means that anyone in the public can come utilize the range during normal park hours (5:00am-10:00pm). The range is meant for archers of all ages with targets located as close as 10-yards and as far as 60-yards.
Indoor Expansion
If you have been out to Sertoma Park in the last month or so, you may have noticed that the grounds here are looking a little different! Work on Phase 2 has already started and is moving quickly. This work means: the addition of an indoor archery range, new classroom space, new restrooms, and more! We are very excited for these changes to come and the increased amount of programming we will be able to do, year-round because of this added space.
So What Now?
Many of our Outdoor Campus Families and Sertoma Park Users may be wondering what these changes mean for the extent of the 18 months of construction. I will start with what won’t change. During the expansion, we will stay open. The Regional Wildlife Office will stay open throughout the duration of the work, meaning if you need to purchase a hunting/fishing license/park entrance license or have questions about the great outdoors, our doors are open. It also means we will continue to offer programming throughout the year as we typically do. Another feature that I know is on everyone’s mind is the status of restrooms, we will plan to keep our restrooms open during the extent of the construction.
Now, things that will change. A small section of the Sertoma Park trail will be closed during construction. You are still able to access the trails behind the Campus, but you will have to reach them via the west side of the building (instead of the east). Another change is that our backdoors are closed, so users for the time being, will not be able to access the trails through our building.
We want to thank everyone for their understanding with these changes, and hope you are all as excited about this update as we are!
A Final Promise:
One thing we plan to never change is our commitment to helping the public get outside and enjoy all South Dakota has to offer through FREE, professionally taught outdoor programming!
So whether you are a novice or an expert, we are her to help you get connected to the great outdoors!
To read more about The Outdoor Campus, check out their page! To see class offerings at The Outdoor Campus, check out their website.
