Not at all what I expected. It's a 10x10 dent in the ground up the hill from the creek. That being said, the creek was very pretty
This was a nice and quiet place. Highly recommend. It is pay on the honor system. There was only one other car there when we were there and loved the little walk to see Plum Creek. It was a gorgeous evening.
Quiet and peaceful trails through fields of wildflowers and around Plum Creek. If you love history, this is a site to see and experience. Charge of $5 per carload, which I thought was reasonable. If I am every back in the area, I will definitely stop by again.
My 8-year-old daughter and I visited Walnut Grove, and the Plum Creek site, while on a Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite tour last month. Of all the places we visited, this was our favorite. We both loved seeing where the dugout had been, and walking along Plum Creek. We then waded in the creek. Such fun for both of us! It's amazing that after all these years, it still looks the same as Laura described in the book. Huge thank you to the family who owns this land.
We paid the $5 to drive down to the creek. You park your car and walk through beautiful prairie grass and wildflowers to the creekbed. My 5 yr old and I dipped our toes in the same creek as Laura did how many years ago. They have signs on were things would have been and nice hiking trails.
As a 33 year old mother who grew up loving Laura Ingalls my now 9 year old loves her too. We had to make a cross country trip and just knew we had to see this. It cost 5.00 to drive to the creek and see where the old dugout was. There is a sign marking its spot. I will be honest it brought tears to my eyes. The crazy thing about our walk there was there was a fArmer farming the soybeans. Can you even imAgine what Charles would of thought of such farm equipment? We talked to the man briefly. What an amazing adventure we had!
I visit this site often and it is beautiful every time. You can access Plum Creek at two locations: Ingalls Dugout Site ($5 per vehicle) or Lower Plum Creek County Park (FREE)
For Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, this is a must. The dugout is gone (caved in), but Plum Creek is still there to be waded in and there is a short walking loop to see the tableland. My first LIW book as a child was ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK, so at 43 years of age, of course, I got in and waded down the creek. Wear shorts and waterproof sandals for best experience.
My two daughters and I drove out to Walnut Grove after visiting a dear old friend in Lonsdale, MN. We're fans of the show and I thought it worthwhile to drive out and see the authentic Walnut Grove. After miles and miles of nothing but flat farmland and a never ending two lane highway, we finally arrived at Walnut Grove. In a time when family vacations costs thousands of dollars and the need for constant, flashy entertainment becomes more demanding, Walnut Grove is that area on the map that doesn't live up to that expectation. One must arrive with the humbleness of Laura Ingalls on Sunday morning. The town is extremely small. Not even a fast food restaurant. We explored the museum, which was interesting for about an hour. The gift shop was plentiful of the books Laura Ingles Wilder wrote and also DVDs of the show. It was quite expensive, but it is, afterall, a gift shop. There's lots of memorabilia from the show and some interesting buildings to explore. We then drove down Ingles Avenue and I let the girls out to play at a city park. I shot a few pictures there and of the local water tower and then we left. Walnut Grove is really only interesting if you're a fan of the show and/or the books, but not to be missed if ever somewhat close to the area. A true piece of history and once a homeplace to one of America's beloved authors.
Plum Creek and Ingalls Homestead in Walnut Grove pages as listed in TripAdvisor are both the same attraction. -- my detailed review is under Ingalls Homestead.I did enjoy it a lot.