Where Aliens Should Land in South Dakota – A Local’s Guide

South Dakota is a beautiful place. We are a largely rural state with most of the people living in and around one of two cities on each end of the state. In between is millions of acres of of open farmland, prairie, and ranches. The east side of the state largely flattened by glaciers and the west dominated by the ancient Black Hills.

From space, South Dakota might look like a giant, empty parking lot.  All that people-light land would be a great place to land the interstellar RV IF you wanted to hide.
Read More: Why Sioux Falls And Rapid City Are Growing So Quickly 

Why South Dakota Is a Great Place to Land

But, if you are leading a team of extraterrestrial diplomats and scientists, don't be so hasty. Yes, Devil's Tower, AKA Bear Lodge, worked great for an alien landing in the movie Close Encounter of the Third Kind. But two problems with that site. First, it's in Wyoming, just across the boarder. Second, aside from tourist support, it out in the middle of nowhere.

I'm going to assume that the ETs that land their Space-Winnebago in South Dakota are vibbing more with Star Trek than Star Wars, and they want to make friends. To make friends you need to be seen by as many people as possible. So, you need to land someplace with people that are connected to the world network.

If you land in one of our state's many vast, wide-open space, there's a good chance you could land and nobody will know your there. No leaders and nobody to take you to them.

To help the extra-solar explorers, I've come up with a list of the places in South Dakota for the aliens to land.

Get our free mobile app

Top Choice: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium  is where the South Dakota State Jackrabbits play football. Located in Brookings on the SDSU campus, it is the largest stadium in South Dakota.

It has capacity to hold nearly 20,000 people. That means there will be plenty of witness for the alien ship's landing. The field is 100,000 square feet of sturdy turf. A perfect place to land the saucer. Or cigar-shaped craft, whatever you space-folk are driving. Land right on the fifty yard line and we'll meet you at the podium to a press conference.

Big Entrance: Sioux Falls Regional Airport

If these aliens want to make the biggest entrance possible, they should choose the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. 1500 acres of land in north-central Sioux Falls. Three nice runways and lots of open space. It's a great spot to land if you're looking for maximum attention.

Scenic Landing: Custer State Park

If our ET friends want to do a little camping and wildlife studying, the grasslands on the south end of Custer State Park are a perfect place for them to land. Right in the middle of the Wildlife Loop, they'll have plenty of relatively flat land and lots of room to set up their space-grills. Plus, while things are more rural and less populated on the westerns end of the state, Custer State Park is a busy tourist destination, so our visitors will have plenty of IG Reels and Twitch streams to appear in.

Strategic Touchdowns: Fort Pierre National Grassland

If our alien ambassadors want to have quick access to the government officials in the state capital in Pierre, they are in luck. Just about 20 minutes south of Pierre is the Fort Pierre National Grassland. We're talking 116,000 acres of federal land right off I-90. That's plenty of open space for the spaceship's landing, plus it's very close to the state capital, that means lots of statewide news agencies hanging around looking for a story.

Wherever they pick to land, the aliens should find the people of South Dakota warm and welcoming...if they behave. No ray-guns and Ack Ack speeches, keep the tripods at home. We have plenty of germs and Slim Whitman's entire discography, so watch yourself.

What Locals Will Offer You to Eat

Oh! Also, dear alien friend: people will try to get you to eat fried meat cubes and call them a South Dakota delicacy. Skip that. I’ll take you to Casey’s for breakfast pizza.