We are looking for your support for our River Park Project. Our 501(c)3 organization, Sioux Empire Paddlers, wants to raise funds for our Big Sioux River Park Project with in river enhancements in Sioux Falls South Dakota. One of our first steps that need your support is raising funds for engineering, design, and permits.

We have had a feasibility study done to show us that a couple locations in Sioux Falls are feasible for in river whitewater enhancements and riverbank restoration. We have also had a conceptual design on one of these locations that made the most sense to our supporters and to our board. We picked this location for a conceptual design because it received the highest score on our feasibility study.

We have done several fundraisers over the years now and we are looking for that final push. We want to raise enough funds to cover all the engineering and permit fees for our River Park Project. It may seem like a large goal to get that many people coming together for one project but that is what we are looking for. A large number of supporters for our project. We want to know how many supporters we do have! Once we have raised the amount below we are able to move forward to the next step!

Please show your support and donate today for our project.

Amount still needed for all engineering, studies, designs, and permits –

$21,377.99

(Amount last updated 04/02/2022)

DONATE HERE or send a check to:

Sioux Empire Paddlers

320 S 2nd Ave

PO Box 6

Sioux Falls, SD 57101

(Please write “River Park Project” in note line and checks payable to “Sioux Empire Paddlers”)

Thank you for your support for this project. If you have any questions please email us at info@siouxempirepaddlers.org.

Detailed Phases of our River Park Project:

Phase I:

Task 1: Site Reconnaissance Completed

Task 2: Stakeholder Coordination Completed/Continued Efforts

Task 3: Opportunities and Constraints Matrix (Feasibility Study) Completed (Falls Park North)

Phase II:

Task 4: Conceptual Design: Completed

Task 5: Site Inventory and Assessment

Task 6: Hydrology

Task 7: Hydraulic Analyses

Task 8: Preliminary Design and Alternatives

Phase III:

Task 9: Permitting

Task 10: 50% Design

Phase IV:

Task 11: Develop Bid Package

Task 12: Negotiate Bids with Contractors

Task 13: Construction of Sioux Empire River Park Project Phase V:

Task 14: Grand Opening – Free rafting at the park for Lifetime Members on the weekend of the Grand Opening! BECOME A MEMBER HERE

Benefits and Fun Facts of our proposed River Park Project:

FREE to use – YES that is right it will be free to use at anytime during park hours. That means no matter who you are or how much you make you can enjoy this River Revitalization project.
In Water Uses – kayak, canoe, tube, raft, sup, surfboard, body board, and air mattresses
Out of Water Uses – 3 out of 4 users of projects like this don’t even touch the water. Uses can be picnics, resting, photography, fishing, art, watching in water users, relaxing, and enjoying the beautiful river revitalization.
Economic Impact – Charles City Iowa Est. population of 7,500 built their park in 2009. They conducted a study on economic income from their park in 2014. Their study said that the city of Charles City Iowa received $746,000.00 in economic income. Manchester Iowa Est. population of 5,179 built their park in 2015. Manchester has estimated to have a $2million per year economic impact.
Events – races, slalom races, special soapbox races, freestyle competitions and other special events
Bank Stabilization – Removes field stone and large chunks of concrete and replaces bank with Sioux Quartz boulders. Also replaces unprotected banks with Sioux quartz boulder to prevent erosion and sediment in river. (improves quality of water)
Fishing – provides stable ground and more access to deep fishing holes. Provides deeper fishing holes. In river enhance structures will also provide more dissolved oxygen which is good for the river ecosystem (improves quality of water).
Stewardship – With a river project like this one, we need to keep it in great shape. Regular clean ups would be done at this location on and off the water. With more river users because of the project there will be more users taking personal ownership. This person ownership will provide more people determined to keep the river clean and do what they can to keep it clean at home (improves quality of water)
Quality of Life – younger professionals are looking more into nightlife and things to do while not at work to base their decision on employment. Having a great outdoor recreational opportunity in Sioux Falls would only improve the quality of life to attract young professionals.
Family Friendly – Our proposed location is smoke free and alcohol free. Easy ADA access to different locations of the park. Accessible to bike trail, bathrooms and a playground.
Dam Modification – Unfortunately long time ago people thought low head dams were great. Now we are realizing they are death traps that takes lives. We can stop this one from taking another life. Our River Project includes dam modification to make it safe for passing through and doesn’t provide a retentive hole. Instead of a dangerous dam it will make a wave to surf and shoot through with any type of water vessel you use.

Sioux Empire Paddlers River Park Project would benefit the city in so many ways that they cannot possibly list them all. Let’s work together to make something great in Sioux Falls South Dakota and make this an amazing place to live and work!

Thank you for your support.

River Project Sponsors

If you are concerned about the quality of the water and would like to know what you can do as a resident to help. Please check out Friends of The Big Sioux River. They provide a lot of information on what “you” can do and what others are doing to help improve our waterways. We fully support their goal of swimmable by 2025 and hope our Sioux Empire River Park Project can help make that a possibility.

Other Resources of organizations/government helping to make our waterways better: