South Dakota State University in 2 Days: A Brookings, South Dakota College Visit Fly-In Trip
A parent-first plan for visiting South Dakota State University in Brookings: how weekday campus visits and Friday Jackrabbit Previews work and where to sign up, how to register your car for visitor parking, four Brookings hotels from budget to mid-range, drive times from Sioux Falls Regional Airport, sibling stops at the free South Dakota Art Museum and McCrory Gardens, and Brookings weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 30, 2026.
A South Dakota State University sign on the campus in Brookings, South Dakota (July 2022). Photo: Tony Webster · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
School
South Dakota State University (Brookings, SD)
Days
2 days: fly into Sioux Falls and drive to Brookings, then an SDSU campus visit the next day.
Fly into
Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD), about 56 minutes from the Brookings hotels with no traffic.
Best base
Hampton Inn & Suites Brookings, about a 7-minute drive to the SDSU Admissions Office.
Car or no car
Rent a car. The airport is about an hour away, and visitors register their car to park on campus.
Registration
Register online for a daily campus visit (Monday through Friday) or a Friday Jackrabbit Preview.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents bringing a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, to see South Dakota State University, home of the Jackrabbits in Brookings, South Dakota.
SDSU describes itself as a campus community of 12,000-plus students and staff, and Brookings, with a population over 24,000, is the fourth-largest city in South Dakota. The photo in this guide shows the South Dakota State University sign on campus.
Why this order
Day 1: fly into Sioux Falls (FSD), drive about 56 minutes north to Brookings and check in.
Day 2: start at the Admissions Office for a session with an admissions counselor and a campus tour with a current student.
With extra time, the free South Dakota Art Museum is about a 4-minute walk from the Admissions Office, and McCrory Gardens is about a 5-minute drive.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
Daily campus visits run Monday through Friday through the year, except holidays and select dates. Register online and pick an open time on SDSU's visit calendar.
Each daily visit includes a session with an admissions counselor and a campus tour with a current student. You can add an appointment with a department representative from an academic program of your choice.
Jackrabbit Preview, on select Fridays during the academic year, is SDSU's most popular visit: a group program with admissions sessions, an academic appointment, lunch, and campus and residence hall tours. Family members are welcome, but space is limited, so reserve early.
SDSU Admissions can't set up athletics appointments. Prospective student-athletes should fill out the recruiting questionnaire for their sport on gojacks.com, and the Athletics Department coordinates their visits.
Tour availability varies by season.
Winter is cold and snowy: January averages about 22°F highs and 4°F lows, and December through March each average about 5 to 7 inches of snow at the Brookings 2 NE station.
Summer is warm: July averages about 81°F highs and 60°F lows, and June is the wettest month at about 4.3 inches of rain.
Fall cools fast: October averages about 58°F highs and 34°F lows, and November drops to about 41°F/22°F with almost 5 inches of snow.
Check the Jackrabbits schedule before you book, since home games bring extra traffic to campus.
2. The suggested 2-day plan
Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Campus times are to the SDSU Admissions Office in the Enrollment Services Center at 1175 Medary Ave., where daily visits begin.
Day 1: fly into Sioux Falls and drive to Brookings
Before you park anywhere on campus other than the pay lot, register your car with Parking Services. You'll need your license plate number or the last five digits of the VIN.
If you'd rather not register, the pay lot on the east side of the University Student Union is free for the first 30 minutes, then $1.50 an hour, credit card only.
3. Campus by campus
A South Dakota State University sign on the campus in Brookings, South Dakota (July 2022). Photo: Tony Webster · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
All daily visits begin at the Admissions Office in the Enrollment Services Center, 1175 Medary Ave., on the SDSU campus.
Session topics include admissions requirements, tuition, scholarships, financial aid, residential life and student activities, followed by a campus tour with a current student.
Visitor parking
Register your car as a visitor online, at the Card and Parking Service Center in the University Student Union (1421 Student Union Ln.), at the University Police Department east of the stadium off Jackrabbit Avenue, or by phone at 605-688-7275.
A visitor registration lets you park in any stall signed visitor or any commuter lot. Look for EC (orange medallion) or SC (blue medallion) signs at lot entrances. There's no physical permit, because license plates are scanned.
Parking rules are enforced year-round, including academic breaks.
Getting there
Campus is about 59 minutes by car from Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) with no traffic.
What to know
The South Dakota Art Museum sits on campus beside the Coughlin Campanile, at the corner of Medary Avenue and Harvey Dunn Street, a short walk from the Admissions Office.
Can't make the trip yet? SDSU posts a virtual tour of campus on its visit page.
Contact
SDSU Office of Admissions: sdsu.visit@sdstate.edu, 800-952-3541, Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 1175 Medary Ave., Brookings, SD 57007.
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
4. Where to stay: Brookings hotels a few minutes from campus
Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Hotel · Our pickBudget
Hampton Inn & Suites Brookings
3017 Lefevre Dr., Brookings, SD 57006
Why here
It's on Visit Brookings' hotel list and about a 7-minute drive to the SDSU Admissions Office with no traffic.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free buffet breakfast, an indoor pool, a hot tub, a gym, free self-parking and pets allowed. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3.5-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's on Visit Brookings' hotel list as the Brookings Inn & Convention Center, about a 5-minute drive to the Admissions Office with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free continental breakfast, an indoor pool, a hot tub, a restaurant, free self-parking, pets allowed and a minimum check-in age of 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Rooms have kitchenettes, handy for a family trip, and it's about a 6-minute drive to the Admissions Office with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists in-room kitchenettes, free self-parking, pets for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's on Visit Brookings' hotel list and the closest of the four to the Admissions Office, about a 4-minute drive with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free continental breakfast, free self-parking, pets allowed and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
All four hotels are on the east side of Brookings, within about 7 minutes of the SDSU Admissions Office and about 56 minutes from the Sioux Falls airport with no traffic. Brookings has no 4-star hotel on Expedia, so these run from budget to mid-range.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
At the hotels
The Hampton Inn, Brookings Inn and Quality Inn include breakfast, the Brookings Inn lists an on-site restaurant, and My Place rooms have kitchenettes.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
South Dakota Art Museum
1036 Medary Ave., Brookings, SD 57007
SDSU's art museum is free and open daily most of the year (closed Sundays January to March and on state holidays), with free museum parking west of the building on Harvey Dunn Street. It's about a 4-minute walk from the Admissions Office.
SDSU's 25-acre garden charges admission, and its 45-acre arboretum has about 1.6 miles of trails that are free and open dawn to dusk. Hours are shorter November through April, so check the visit page. It's about a 5-minute drive from the Admissions Office.
Head for the Enrollment Services Center at 1175 Medary Ave. and register your car as a visitor before you park, or use the Student Union pay lot.
Flying in and out
Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) is about 59 minutes from campus with no traffic, so leave plenty of time after your visit for the drive back.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Brookings 2 NE station)
Spring: April averages about 54°F highs and 32°F lows, with about 2.2 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow; May warms to about 67°F/45°F.
Summer: July averages about 81°F/60°F, with about 3.6 inches of rain.
Fall: October averages about 58°F/34°F, with about 2 inches of precipitation; November averages about 41°F/22°F and 4.7 inches of snow.
Winter: January averages about 22°F/4°F, with about 5.5 inches of snow.
Parent checklist
Register for a daily campus visit on SDSU's calendar, or a Friday Jackrabbit Preview if one fits your dates.
Check that your dates don't fall on a holiday, when daily visits don't run.
Book flights into Sioux Falls (FSD) and plan a rental car.
Book a Brookings hotel.
Register your car with SDSU Parking Services before you park, and save 1175 Medary Ave. in your map app.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
1 Division I
Athletics
South Dakota State University
NCAA Division I The Summit League
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (South Dakota State University): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
Expedia listing: Hampton Inn & Suites Brookings (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Brookings-Hotels-Hampton-Inn-Suites-Brookings.h2392992.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Brookings Inn (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Brookings-Hotels-Brookings-Inn.h1303546.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: My Place Hotel - Brookings, SD (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Brookings-Hotels-My-Place-Hotel-Brookings.h11070557.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Quality Inn Brookings - University (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Brookings-Hotels-Quality-Inn.h15809.Hotel-Information)
