A park quest: Couple turns frustration into family fun

Sioux Falls family visiting every park in South Dakota's largest city

A Sioux Falls family that set out to visit every public park within South Dakota’s largest city is nearing the end of what’s turned into a years-long project.

And the Buns of north-central Sioux Falls hope information about park amenities and characteristics they’ve compiled along the way can help City Hall make its already renowned park system even better.

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It was March 2022 when Lim Bun and his wife Amber brought their then-toddler to a park nearby their home. They’d checked the city’s website to make sure a swing set was among the park’s offerings — about the only park activity young Linden could enjoy at the time.

But after packing up a bag, readying a stroller, and hoofing it the few blocks to Whittier Park, the couple found no swings.

Frustrated and wondering about other out-of-date information potentially listed on the Parks and Recreation Department’s website, the Buns decided to turn the experience into a positive, hatching a plan to inventory every park in the city.

And nearly two years later, Linden and his mom and dad have crossed more than 80 of the city’s 85-plus parks off their list.

“This endeavor didn’t start out of anything but pure rage,” Lim Bun joked during a recent visit to Whispering Woods South Park in southern Sioux Falls, the 81st park the family has been to as part of its project. “But it‘s taken us to parts of Sioux Falls we’d have never gone to.”

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