Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum & Tourist Center — Attraction in Walnut Grove

For those who love Little House On the Prairie it will be the best stop ever. This is a Museum with actual things from Lauras life here and from the actual show. There is a small fee to go in the museum area. Go in the shop to see what they have to buy related to the show and Lauras life. Pay there to go in the back too. They have the actual school house. Is the red building. Everything is from the time the ingalls girls went there and a few more things from the show. From ma's fire place to Mr. Edwards clothing on the show. You can buy original copies of the actual books they used in the school house. There is other areas that show you how everything looked and how people lived when Laura was a child. The dugout is a mile away down the road. Just ask for directions. There is small fee to go there too as the dugout is on private property but is definitely awesome if you love Lauras books. This area is mostly popular in her book "by the banks of plum creek" so is like living it. I do recommend it! This book lover approves this awesome place. It was my childhood dream to visit and now I seen it all. Enjoy and dream as much as...

Stopped here on a weekend motorcycle trip, partly to check it out, and partly as a motorcycle grand tour challenge item. (Look it up). Before we even removed them from their carrier, we asked if our 2 small Yorkies could walk the grounds with us if leashed. We were told no. Yet another gentleman shows up, with his dog, much larger than our 2 small Yorkies, in a carrier strapped to his chest and that was ok. 🤔

We took the photos we needed, walked the dogs in a grassy area AWAY from the museum, and left. They didn't get any money from us for souvenirs nor will they ever. Its sad that a town with something from history like this has to be so closed minded and not even a slight bit accomodating to travelers, especially, when thats really the only thing in the town.

(In response to owners comment) As were our 2 small dogs, but the question also wasnt asked of us. I was shot down before i could finish asking my full question. Still stand...

If you really want to see the dugout replica, this is the place to do it, even if the replica is of some other family’s dugout. Unfortunately, very little at this museum has much to do with how the Ingalls would have lived. This is more like a collection of random buildings and artifacts from after the Ingalls family would have moved on. Arguably, the most interesting part of the Ingalls time on Plum Creek and in Walnut Grove would have been the grasshopper infestation and other factors that led to the Ingalls family ultimately re-settling elsewhere, but the museum only perfunctorily touches on those topics, like whoever set this up is fearful of the lessons history has to offer. Nothing about the native people who were displaced from the land! Frankly, the atmosphere at this museum made us uncomfortable. Glad we sandwiched it in between Pepin and De Smet rather than coming all this way just for the Walnut...