Hillcrest Park

Locals know Hillcrest is one of the better options in Brookings if you’re hauling kids of different ages — the separate play areas mean the little ones aren’t constantly getting bowled over by older kids. There’s solid shade from mature trees, which matters a lot on a hot South Dakota afternoon, and the BBQ and picnic setup makes it easy to turn a playground trip into an actual outing. The open grass field gives everyone room to spread out, and parking is genuinely easy to find. It stays clean and well-kept, which isn’t something you can say about every park in town.