Robert L. Nielsen Visitor Center
The new Robert L. Nielsen Visitor Center is now open!
Museum * Event Center * Gift Shop
We welcome you to visit the Center located at the main entrance of the Ranch. The Center is free and open to the public! Tour buses are welcome by scheduling in advance.
Call: 605-339-1203, extension: #400. The entrance is on north Marion Road off of I-90 (exit 395) and has easy bus turnaround.
Hours of Operation
NOVEMBER - APRIL MAY - OCTOBER
Sunday Closed Sunday Closed
Monday Closed Monday 10 am - 6 pm
Tuesday Closed Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 9 am - 4 pm Wednesday 10 am - 6 pm
Thursday 9 am - 4 pm Thursday 10 am - 6 pm
Friday 9 am - 4 pm Friday 10 am - 6 pm
Saturday noon – 4 pm Saturday 10 am - 6 pm
Campus Tours are available every Thursday at 2:30 pm for the general public.
Tours or visits outside of business hours are available by calling at least 7 days prior to your visit.
Visitor Center Museum
If you’re a history buff or if you’re curious to see the progress that has been made at McCrossan Boys Ranch for the boys and staff over the last six+ decades, the Center’s museum area is for you!
What you’ll see at the museum:
- Large murals with a historical timeline from the inception of the Ranch in 1942 to the present.
- Highlighted stories of past McCrossan resident boys.
- Life-size U.S. Bicentennial Wagon from 1976.
- Founder Melinda McCrossan’s Steinway baby grand piano.
- Historical story of Bernard and Melinda McCrossan’s vision and donation.
- Interactive educational panels that highlight the boys’ challenges.
- History of our Equine Assistance Psychotherapy (EAP) and how it impacts the boys’ needs.
- Life-size statue of a draft horse which stands 18 hands-tall.
- Interactive fun facts about the animals on site: cattle, horses, donkeys, chickens, goats, sheep and llamas.
- How athletics and 4-H play an important part in the boys’ lives.
Interactive touch screen videos coming soon! New nature area with trails coming next summer!
Event Center
The Visitor Center also holds an event center which can be rented for meetings, small conferences and gatherings.
- Round table seating for 95 people.
- Theater-style seating for 200 people.
- A/V projector with sound system and seven-foot wide dropdown screen
- Kitchen area with serving island, refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher. Caterers welcome!
- Linen tablecloths available.
- Picturesque view of cows in the fields, beside evergreen and deciduous trees.
- The wrap-around deck overlooks the fields and trees and provides a beautiful break area.
- Alcoholic beverages may be brought on site by client.
- Call for fees and availability.
Gift Shop
You’ll find several McCrossan logo items here such as t-shirts in various colors, logo caps and coffee mugs. We have signed prints of John Green’s painting “Hope Lives” which depicts a McCrossan staff and boy on a plow behind draft horses, as well as other various on-site scenes. There are also cookbooks, card sets, iron signs, printed bandannas and western ornaments.
New items created by the McCrossan boys and local artisans coming soon!
