Trip Across America

Contrary to popular belief, the Midwest isn’t just one giant corn field. Sure there’s plenty of corn, but there are many different crops grown throughout America’s heartland. One such crop is the sunflower, and it produces not only delicious sunflower seeds, but breathtaking views for anyone lucky enough to see them. Catching a glimpse of blooming sunflowers was not something on my to do list, but in hindsight it should have been. No it wasn’t thoughtful planning that brought me to these views, but dumb luck.

Today was a travel day for me, spent driving through South Dakota on my way to Montana. Spending all day in the car, I didn’t anticipate seeing anything worth writing about, but South Dakota’s sunflowers were a very pleasant surprise. After stopping in Pierre to see the South Dakota State Capital, which is one of the country’s more impressive state capital buildings, I headed West on Highway 34. While driving I passed fields of corn, soybeans, and wheat. Scenic in their own right, but nothing I haven’t seen before. Then in the distance an unfamiliar sight, fields blanketed with the most brilliant shade of yellow.

https://www.travelsouthdakota.com/trip-ideas/photo-essay/brilliant-sunflowers-south-dakota

Once I got close enough, I pulled over to admire the scene. As it turns out, I had lucked into some beautiful and rare scenery. Sunflowers bloom between late July and early August, but only produce their brilliant yellow bloom for around 30 days. They are also harder to find than you would think. South Dakota covers roughly 50 million acres, of which only 1% is planted with sunflowers. Anecdotal evidence also suggests you aren’t going to spot them from the Interstates, you have to take the road less traveled to catch this view. In addition to stumbling upon the right area, at the right time of year, I was going the correct direction. When sunflowers bloom they all face due East, so driving towards Montana I got to enjoy the best possible view.

I should also add that South Dakota doesn’t have a monopoly on sunflower production. North Dakota is a close second, producing nearly as many as their neighbor to the South. They are grown in a few other states, but the Dakotas are by far the 2 leading producers, and your best bet for catching a glimpse. While down the rabbit hole of scenic farmland, I should mention that North Dakota has similar scenic views with its canola crop (see below). Who knew farmland in the Dakotas could be so pretty?

Most people will never visit South Dakota during their lives, and those that do, probably won’t see the brilliant yellow bloom of the sunflower fields. I’m quite happy I lucked into seeing this, and hopefully a few of you found this interesting. I’m continually surprised by what I stumble upon while traveling, and South Dakota’s sunflower fields might be the most unexpected find yet.