The Retreat at Pointer’s Ridge (named after a Rhodesian Ridgeback and 3 German Short Hair Pointers) is a 21-acre campus along the Big Sioux River just 12 miles north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We’re close to the intersection of I29 and I90, making it very easy to reach us … close to home, yet far away.
The Retreat sits at the junction of 473rd Avenue and Big Sioux Road, just on the edge of South Dakota farmland. During your stay here, make your way to our state’s largest city, Sioux Falls, where you’ll find arts, museums, beautiful parks, movie theaters, lots of shopping, and … of course … Falls Park, where the Big Sioux River spills 7,400 gallons of water 100 feet over ancient quartzite rock every second.
Main Hall is the center of many Retreat activities. The building itself is 100′ x 40′; the open area is 60′ x 40′ and can be set up in theatre style, cafeteria style … many options. The remaining space contains a large, fully stocked kitchen; and the men’s and women’s bathrooms and showers. Most of the plumbing on our campus is found only in this building.
Cabin Row! The Retreat campus has 9 cabins that have been rehabbed and updated for various uses. Three of them … Rustic, Artist Studio, and the Writer’s Bunk … are fully accommodated for your stay, whether overnight or for a month or more. While cabins do not have plumbing, each has both air conditioning and heat; a small refrigerator, microwave and (most importantly) a coffee pot. Linens are provided.
A-Frame inside is the most popular place to stay, especially for groups of two or more, or extended stays. It is comfortably furnished with 2 queen and 1 twin beds, desk and chair, table with seating for 4, wing chairs set up in front of the DVD player (with many old movies for you to enjoy!), a bookshelf full of books (you can also enjoy reading what is on hand in our Little Free Library), separate small room with full-sized fridge, microwave, and coffee pot, AND, perhaps best of all, a half bath! This space has been used for family stays; double artist residencies; prep room for brides and their attendants … let us know your needs and we’ll take care of them.
Rustic Cabin is just that … rustic, yet very comfortable. With wood paneled walls, floor rugs, lamps, and cozy comforters, you’ll spend very pleasant evenings in this cabin. There is a twin bed, one queen, table and chairs, couch, and two swivel rockers with foot stools. The back door opens onto the wooded hillside, to give you a quiet place to find a trail or set out on your own path among the huge burr oak trees and towering cottonwoods that grace this property.
Artist Cabin is a place to get down to work on your art, whether it is visual art, writing poetry or a novel, composing music, or finding the quiet to dream big dreams. It is furnished with a twin bed, table and chairs, bookcase full of books on visual art, upholstered swivel chair, and a work table with stools. This is the room to make a mess in! And when you’re done with that, it is close to the playground … and the river … and the big firepit.
Writer’s Bunk has plenty of space for you and a few friends or your family to crash at the end of a day enjoying nature at The Retreat. With 5 bunk beds, there is plenty of room for all of you; spend the night telling spooky stories or playing board games around the kitchen table on one end of the cabin. Air conditioned; for chilly shoulder season nights, there is a wood burning stove.
Screen Porch is the sweetest spot in southeast South Dakota to spend a warm summer evening. Completed during the Covid years, the Sun Porch is perfect for social distancing … and is fully screened to keep out those pesky skeeters! Stocked with picnic tables, overhead fans, funky wall sconces, and wifi connection for your music speakers, this is also a perfect spot to watch for the local turkeys taking their afternoon walk, or a possible deer siting later in the afternoon.
Camp along the Big Sioux River during the dry, hot summer with the sound of the river bubbling by to ease your soul. This is a rough camping spot, but you do have access to showers and kitchen in the Main Hall, as well as use of the big bonfire pit, tiki bar, and screen porch. If you’re lucky you may be here during a concert, poetry reading or a creative at work on a project somewhere on the property.
Creator’s Studio is an open space for anyone staying at The Retreat. Stocked with basic art supplies and full of natural light, this is an open, airy space to create.