u/Worried_Brain5398

Was curious which is better to use as a seller and also for buying

I’ve lived in South Dakota my entire life, and the more I travel around the central US and study geography, the more convinced I become that the Great Plains and the Midwest are two distinct regions that people constantly lump together for convenience.

From my understanding the Great Plains are fundamentally different:
-drier climate
-much lower population density
-huge distances between towns
-ranching and wheat economies
-reliance on irrigation farther west
-prairie/wind/frontier west culture
-flatter, higher elevation grasslands

(To clarify, I’m talking about geographic regional identities, not the Census Bureau administrative groupings. I know the federal government groups states like the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas into the “Midwest” for statistical purposes. But those categories exist for data collection and reporting, not to define actual geographic or cultural regions. If we used Census groupings as the ultimate authority, the US would basically just be four giant mega-regions, which obviously isn’t reality.)

Planning a summer trip up to Valleyfair with some friends and looking for recommendations on good cheap campgrounds in central or southern Minnesota where we can park cars and tent camp for a couple nights.
We’d probably spend one of the days at Valleyfair and the rest just relaxing/exploring outdoors. We definitely prefer more public/nature campgrounds rather than private RV resorts or crowded commercial places or anywhere too much near a town or the cities. State parks, county parks, forest campgrounds, etc are more what we’re looking for.
Lots of trees/forest
water access and ideally a lake for swimming and fishing
tent camping
relatively cheap

Not insanely far from Valleyfair/the Twin Cities.

I’d love to hear from people who actually know the area better. Any hidden gems or favorite spots? Also open to advice on what areas are nicest for this kind of trip. Thanks