Buffalo Ridge, Cowboy Ghost Town, Sioux Falls

Okay, if you're looking for an authentic Old West tourist trap, head west past Murdo to the "Original" 1880s town...it is much more elaborate and authentic. But for me, who loves authentic homegrown Americana, the Cowboy Ghost Town was a chance to see a real, homegrown, low-rent tourist trap built with love and sincerity you just don't see much any more. It's dingy and run-down and some of the exhibits seem cobbled together from flea markets. The animatronic cowboys are surreal and scary (my fave was the Abe Lincoln, whose stovepipe hat is pulled down over his eyes). The manager, who has a similarly grungy general store attached, is friendly and engaging and has a clear love for the place. At six bucks admission, I think it's a bargain. Like I say, it was weird and surreal but I am really being honest when I say it was one of the high points of my road trip. I have never seen anything like it.

This place gives me the creeps. Scary man works there, scarey "tour" and don't think they treat there buffalo's well at all. Scared the kids out of there wits.

Buffalo Ridge Ghost Town was a wonderful little detour on our way back to Nebraska. Completely understandable why it would be difficult to pass this up once you've spotted it from the highway. At first glance it looks like a defunct gas station and tiny ramshackle convenience store, and you wouldn't be wrong. But the little old man who owns and runs this very cool outdoor exhibit definitely put his entire life's passion and work into making this an educational and fun history lesson for all who take the time to check it out. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the land (in fact he's a retired history teacher) and he took the time to tell us many stories before we went on the "red road walk". The actual ghost town is very run down and clearly has seen it's better days. But I'm telling you if you are non-cynical and enjoy new experiences, this is one you shouldn't pass up. Give it a chance! Bring your camera! And definitely ask yourself if you've seen this place before in House of 1000 Corpses'. Worth it!

I definitely feel that I didn't get good value for this tourist attraction. It is basically a run down gas station attached to some dated junk that you can look at. In terms of brining a child to this exhibit there is a scene of a magician sawing a lady in half while she is screaming. Lastly it shows a scene of a man having his leg amputated. "Fun for for the whole family I think not." My advice -- skip past this attraction and save your money.

With some work it would be really nice. A lot of items need repairs. I liked the stories and the old photos. The gallows should be repaired and they would be a main item.

This is one of those American Roadside Attractions which maker any trip to the US worthwhile. Tumbledown, dirty and dusty, really quite creepy and so grim that it's funny. Not to be missed!!!

The whole cowboy theme was great. The buffalo with the baby buffalo in the field was devine. The buffalo steaks are to die for. I don't understand anybody not liking this place. I'll go back again

My friend and I were on the Lewis and Clark quest when my friend got sick. We stopped to get a cup of coffee at the little store on the site. The owner was there and he told us that he had an exhibit about the Lewis and Clark exploration. We decided to go out to see it. I could tell that the man had put his heart into the exhibits.We saw everything and enjoyed it very much.He gave us his time and told us a lot of stories. I would like to see it again. Another great part of the experience was seeing the buffalo roaming over the nearby hills. We took a lot of pictures and had a great time talking to the manager

The displays were creepy looking. Great place to be after sunset on Halloween. Buffalo Ridge looks just like a "Night of the Living Dead" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" scene. Most of the voice recordings were hard to understand. The place could be a big hit IF, they update it. Maybe restore it to it's original state. I would however pay the $5 entry fee, if it went to Buffalo Ridge demolition.

Buffalo Ridge was an interesting and rather hilarious stop on our trip to Sioux Falls in May 2006. Those looking for really "cool" places might not want to stop here, but we went ahead and went through it for the comedic effect. There are life-sized mannequins and some are so dusty and old it's just funny. There were live birds roosting on top of the opera singers' heads and the guy in the jail's head was on the floor. It's really run down, but rather funny and yes, good for some silly photos. The buffalo look well-maintained and that is worth seeing. We were also the only ones there and my daughter kept saying, this is like some freaky Rob Zombie movie, watch out a trap door will probably open and we'll fall down into some Captain Spaulding nightmare. Yeah, it WAS like that. If you're into the weird and old and don't take it too seriously, this is the place for you. If not, I'd skip it and go on to something that wasn't built by the owner's father in the 1960's. Will give them credit, looks like someone did a lot of work at one time on this, and the historical information is good. However, it remains a strange, strange, place that we will laugh and joke about for a long time.