Best Family-Friendly Disc Golf Courses in South Dakota

Courses Kids, Beginners and Parents Can Enjoy Together

Disc golf can be one of the easiest outdoor activities to build into a South Dakota family trip.

You don't need a tee time. You don't need expensive equipment. A family can share a few discs, play as many holes as everyone feels like playing, and combine a round with other outdoor activities.

But some disc golf courses work much better for families than others.

For this guide, family-friendly doesn't simply mean easy.

We looked for South Dakota disc golf destinations that offer some combination of:

• Short or beginner-friendly holes

• Reasonable round lengths

• Playgrounds

• Restrooms

• Drinking water

• Picnic areas

• Walking or biking trails

• Fishing or swimming

• Camping

• Activities for family members who don't play disc golf

• A setting where spending several hours together is enjoyable

Some of the best competitive disc golf courses in South Dakota are intentionally difficult. They're excellent courses—but they may not be where we'd take a child for their first round.

The courses below stand out for a different reason:

They make it easier to turn disc golf into a family outing.

PrairieDisc — Freeman

Best Overall Family Destination

PrairieDisc has an advantage that has little to do with the number of holes.

The course is located inside the 40-acre Prairie Arboretum in Freeman, meaning disc golf is only one of several things a family can do during the same visit.

The current PrairieDisc course is a free-to-play nine-hole layout surrounded by mature tree collections, ponds, gardens, prairie and landscaped grounds.

But if one parent wants to play and another family member doesn't?

There is still plenty to do.

Families can:

• Walk more than a mile of Arboretum trails

• Explore gardens and mature tree collections

• Cross bridges and a boardwalk

• Visit Gazebo Island

• Walk around three connected ponds

• Go fishing

• Use the fishing pier

• Have a picnic

• Explore the prairie

• Visit the amphitheater

• Relax near the Visitor Center

Public restrooms and drinking water are available at the Visitor Center.

That makes PrairieDisc particularly useful for families with different interests and different disc golf abilities.

One child can throw.

Another can explore.

Someone can fish.

Someone can sit beneath the trees.

Then everybody can meet for a picnic.

Designed to Become Even More Family-Friendly

PrairieDisc is also being developed toward a future 18-hole course using Green, Red, White, Blue and Gold tee levels.

The concept is simple: children, beginners, recreational players and experienced disc golfers should be able to play the same holes together from appropriate distances.

Green positions are planned specifically with new and shorter-throwing players in mind, including safer alternatives where championship layouts involve demanding water or prairie carries.

The result should eventually allow a child playing Green and an experienced parent playing White, Blue or Gold to walk the same course and throw toward the same baskets.

Best For

Mixed-skill families, road trips, fishing, gardens, exploring and families where not everyone plays disc golf.

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Kiwanis Woodlot Park — Mitchell

Best for a Child's First Disc Golf Round

If the goal is simply to introduce a young player to disc golf, Kiwanis Woodlot Park in Mitchell may be one of the easiest choices in South Dakota.

The nine-hole course is short, with most holes in roughly the 185- to 270-foot range. UDisc describes it as a great beginner course, and the normal layout is listed as wheelchair accessible, stroller friendly and cart friendly.

Even better for families, the disc golf course is only one part of the park.

Kiwanis Woodlot also includes:

• A playground

• Picnic areas

• Picnic shelter

• Restrooms

• Drinking fountain

• Hiking and biking trails

• Parking

• Mature trees

A normal round takes roughly half an hour, so children aren't being asked to commit to a two-hour walk their first time out.

Play nine holes.

Go to the playground.

Eat lunch.

Take a walk.

That's a pretty good formula for a family afternoon.

Best For

Young children, beginners, quick rounds and families wanting disc golf plus a playground.

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Tomar Park — Sioux Falls

Best Family Disc Golf Stop in Sioux Falls

Families staying in Sioux Falls have several disc golf choices, but Tomar Park offers a particularly useful mix of disc golf and conventional family-park amenities.

The park has a nine-hole disc golf course that Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation says can challenge both novice and experienced players.

Around the course, families also have access to:

• An accessible playground

• Restrooms

• Two picnic shelters

• Picnic tables

• Walking and recreation trails

• Drinking fountain

• Tennis

• Sand volleyball

• Basketball

• Open recreation areas

Because it's only nine holes, Tomar is also easier to fit into a family itinerary than a long destination round.

It can work especially well for a traveling family spending a day in Sioux Falls where disc golf is one activity rather than the entire purpose of the day.

Best For

Sioux Falls visitors, playground access, picnics and families looking for a shorter city-park round.

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Lake Herman State Park — Madison

Best Easy State-Park Disc Golf Round

For a family that wants disc golf to be part of a larger outdoor day, Lake Herman State Park near Madison deserves consideration.

The nine-hole course is rated Easy by UDisc and is only about 0.7 mile from beginning to end. Most holes are relatively short, and a typical round can be completed in roughly half an hour.

That makes it much less intimidating for new players than many full-size championship courses.

The state park adds the real family appeal.

Lake Herman offers amenities including:

• Playground

• Swimming beach

• Fishing

• Fishing pier

• Hiking trails

• Picnic tables

• Picnic shelters

• Campground

• Camping cabins

• Restrooms and showers

• Drinking water

So disc golf can be twenty or thirty minutes of a much larger lake day.

Families should remember that a South Dakota state park entrance license or daily fee may be required.

Best For

Beginner rounds, camping families, swimming, fishing and a full state-park day.

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Larson Park — Brookings

Best for Active Families With Older Kids

Larson Park in Brookings offers substantially more disc golf than most of the beginner courses on this list.

The current layout has 20 holes, with elevation changes, open throws and tighter wooded lines. UDisc rates it as a moderate-difficulty course rather than a pure beginner layout.

That makes Larson especially attractive for families where the kids already know how to throw—or where the adults want a more substantial round.

The surrounding park adds:

• Updated playground equipment

• Walking and biking trails

• Basketball

• Public art

• Large grassy recreation areas

• Picnic opportunities

Visit Brookings specifically promotes Larson Park as a family activity, suggesting visitors combine its 20-hole disc golf course with the playground and bike trails.

This isn't necessarily where we'd take a four-year-old for their first 20-hole round.

But for active families with older children, it offers enough variety to keep the experienced players interested while still providing other things to do.

Best For

Older kids, active families, longer rounds, playgrounds and biking or walking trails.

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Lake Poinsett Recreation Area — Arlington

Best Short Round During a Lake Weekend

Lake Poinsett Recreation Area combines a compact nine-hole disc golf course with a much broader family recreation destination.

The course is only about 1,970 feet long, with several holes under 200 feet. While UDisc currently categorizes the layout as moderate overall, reviewers frequently describe it as an approachable or beginner-level course.

A normal round takes roughly half an hour.

The recreation area itself includes:

• Swimming beach

• Playground

• Fishing

• Shore fishing access

• Hiking trails

• Picnic areas

• Campground

• Camping cabins

• Visitor Center and museum

• Restrooms and showers

• Drinking water

That makes this another place where nobody has to decide:

“Are we going disc golfing or are we going to the lake?”

Do both.

A park entrance fee applies.

Best For

Camping trips, lake vacations, relatively short disc golf and families who want several activities in one place.

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Richmond Lake Recreation Area — Aberdeen

Best Full Outdoor Family Weekend

For families who want to make an entire weekend out of outdoor recreation, Richmond Lake Recreation Area near Aberdeen may offer the biggest overall package on this list.

The Forest Drive portion of the recreation area includes an 18-hole disc golf course plus nine practice holes.

Elsewhere within Richmond Lake Recreation Area, families can find:

• Playgrounds

• Swimming beach

• Fishing

• Fishing piers

• Boating

• Hiking and biking trails

• Picnic shelters

• Campgrounds

• Camping cabins

• Restrooms

• Showers

• Drinking water

That makes Richmond Lake different from a small neighborhood course with a swing set nearby.

A family can camp for the weekend and build disc golf into a trip that also includes swimming, fishing, hiking and boating.

The longer disc golf layout may be more than very young children want to tackle at once, but there's no rule saying a family has to play every hole.

Best For

Camping weekends, outdoor families, fishing, swimming and combining disc golf with multiple activities.

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What About South Dakota's Harder Destination Courses?

South Dakota also has excellent courses such as Tuthill Park, Gavins Point, Dry Run Creek, Spearfish Canyon, Pageant Hill and others.

Several of them are located in parks with good family amenities.

But there is a difference between:

a great disc golf course located in a family-friendly park

and

a disc golf experience particularly well suited to children and new players.

For example, Tuthill Park in Sioux Falls has accessible playgrounds, gardens, shelters, restrooms and other excellent family amenities—but its 18-hole disc golf course is intentionally challenging.

Likewise, some of South Dakota's best destination courses include substantial distance, elevation, water, rugged terrain or technical wooded golf.

Those can be fantastic choices for families with experienced teenage players.

They aren't necessarily where we'd recommend introducing a six-year-old to the sport.

How to Make Disc Golf Fun for Kids

The easiest way to ruin a child's first disc golf experience is to make the score more important than the experience.

Don't worry about whether a young player throws from the official tee.

Move closer.

Let them throw from where they can reach the basket in a reasonable number of shots.

Let younger children skip a hole.

Share discs.

Don't make them throw across water just because that's where the adult tee happens to be.

And don't worry much about par.

For very young players, reaching the basket in six throws and celebrating the final putt can be more fun than being told they made a triple bogey.

The objective is simple:

Make them want to play again.

Why Disc Golf Works So Well for Families

Disc golf occupies an unusual sweet spot among family activities.

It's inexpensive.

It's outdoors.

Different ages can participate together.

Nobody needs to be particularly athletic to begin.

A family doesn't have to reserve a court or schedule a tee time.

And unlike many organized sports, an experienced player and a complete beginner can walk the same course together.

That's why courses with multiple skill-level tees and surrounding family amenities have so much potential.

The adults can get a legitimate round.

The children can play a manageable version.

And the day doesn't have to end when everyone reaches Hole 18.

Build a Family Disc Golf Road Trip Through South Dakota

One of the interesting things about these courses is how easily several fit into a larger South Dakota trip.

A family traveling through eastern South Dakota might combine:

Sioux Falls → Freeman → Mitchell

Play a short round at Tomar Park.

Visit PrairieDisc and spend part of the day exploring the Prairie Arboretum.

Then play Kiwanis Woodlot while visiting Mitchell.

Families traveling farther north could add Brookings, Madison, Lake Poinsett or Richmond Lake.

And families ultimately heading west toward the Badlands and Black Hills can use disc golf as a reason to stop, get everyone out of the vehicle and experience a different part of South Dakota along the way.

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BEST DISC GOLF COURSES ALONG I-90

Why PrairieDisc Is Building for Families

At PrairieDisc, we think a destination course should serve more than elite players.

The future 18-hole course at the Prairie Arboretum is being planned around a five-level progression:

Green — Beginner and Family
Red — Recreational
White — Intermediate
Blue — Advanced
Gold — Championship

The objective is not to make every player face the same challenge.

It's to allow very different players to share the same experience.

A child can play Green.

A parent can play White.

An experienced tournament player can play Blue or Gold.

Everyone walks together.

Everyone plays toward the same baskets.

And afterward, the family still has the ponds, gardens, fishing, trails, bridges, picnic areas and Gazebo Island to explore.

One Course the Whole Family Can Enjoy.

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