Overhead in Aberdeen is a sky that provides theater in the round, where crimson sunsets dazzle, full moons illuminate violet nights, and stars sparkle just out of your reach in the clear, clean air. There are exhilarating weather fronts with cumulus clouds towering up like white mountains, dramatically vivid rainbows, and on many days a soothing blanket of deepest blue domes the land.

Hunting, fishing, camping, boating, cross-country skiing, bird-watching, biking, snowmobiling and many organized team sports keep active Aberdonians outdoors though all four seasons. There are superb public and private golf courses. Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a short drive from the city, is a nationally recognized wildlife sanctuary. Pheasant hunting draws outdoorsmen from across the country each fall, and duck and goose hunters set decoys on the many small lakes and marshes that dot the fabled "prairie pothole country." Some of the finest walleye fishing on earth can be found only 90 miles away on the Missouri River's giant Lake Oahe. Scenic and sizeable lakes are near at hand, with Mina and Richmond Lakes only minutes away from the city, and the wet, wooded Glacier Lakes region is an easy, hour-long drive away in the rolling hills to the northeast.

Aberdeen has an enviable park system, highlighted by Wylie Park, with its swimming lake, water slide, go-carts, mini-golf, campsites, and bike trails. Adults and children alike are enchanted by Storybook Land, adjacent to Wylie Park.

At Storybook Land, bigger-than-life interactive storybook characters provide an adventure in imagination and memory. You can ride a small-scale train to tour the park or stroll lovely, landscaped walkways.

Sports fans pack the Brown County Speedway to watch auto racing, or wager on Thoroughbred horses galloping wire-to-wire. NSU fans cheer the winning Wolves of Northern State University in exciting NCAA Division II sporting events in the impressive Barnett Center, where dynasties in both the men's and women's programs draw huge, noisy crowds. Presentation College is building its own competitive sports programs in a brand new field house.

Youth and adult sports are enthusiastically followed and well supported in Aberdeen. In addition to activities such as basketball and football, the community offers youth programs in golf, hockey, baseball, softball and soccer. A new soccer complex adds a dozen regulation size fields to existing fields. Hockey is played indoors in the Holum Expo Building, and tennis players enjoy more courts per capita than any other community in the state.

Each summer the best party and family celebration in South Dakota takes place on the outskirts of Aberdeen, when the Brown County Fair is held at the county fairgrounds.