Mitchell is located in the southeastern corner of South Dakota along highway 90. It’s known for the World’s only Corn Palace. From Yankton, South Dakota it was only about an hour and a half drive to Mitchell.
Mitchell, SD
The city only has a population of about 16,000 people, but they did have a Walmart, so we were able to stock up on supplies. Unfortunately, the weather was miserable. We had sustained winds over 20 mph with gusts over 50 mph and rain with nighttime temperatures near freezing. We were still in Tornado Alley and were ready to move on if we needed to.
Never the less, we made the best of it and still got out to sightsee.
Lake Mitchell Campground
We had 30-amp service and good water pressure but no sewer. Our views of Lake Mitchell were stunning. It’s a small campground. There were no hiking trails or much else to do there, but it didn’t matter because of the weather.
Despite the weather, it was great to see white pelicans and a kingfisher.
There were also quite a few osprey in the area.
Corn Palace
The Corn Palace is a multi-function venue whose original construction started in the late 1800s and finished in 1937.
There is a stage and basketball arena. In addition to a variety of numerous events scheduled here like proms, Shriner’s Circus, and trade shows, music is a popular venue.
Every fall a new theme is chosen and the outside murals are redone. Twelve different colors or shades of corn are used in addition to other grains and native grasses. The indoor murals are changed every ten years.
The mural designs were created by Dakota Wesleyan University students enrolled in Digital Media and Design courses.
The Corn Palace was conceived as a meeting place to celebrate harvest and the hard work during the entire agricultural season.
