Long Term Surface

Save $6 a day versus the garage with Long Term Surface

About 0.5 miles from Terminal T, Long Term Surface is the value play at Sioux Falls Regional for trips that run a week or more. It’s a long-stay, open-air lot with simple drive-up entry, no pre-booking hoops, and a straightforward walk to the terminal instead of waiting on a shuttle.

Rates run $3 for up to 1 hour, $3 for each additional hour, capped at $12 per 24 hours, so you sit neatly between the $18 long-term garage rate and the $10 Economy South rate. On a 7‑day trip, that’s $84 here, versus $126 in the long-term garage and $70 in Economy.

The walk clocks in around 15 minutes for most people, which is a little longer than the garage but shorter than Economy South. There’s no shuttle loop to factor in, so late-night arrivals into T don’t turn into a 30‑minute hunt for a bus stop and pickup window.

Airport rules allow parking for up to 90 consecutive days in Long Term Surface before your car is considered abandoned and at risk of being towed. That makes it viable for multi‑week trips, snowbird stints, or back‑to‑back work travel without having to shuffle cars between lots mid-month.

Occupancy reports often show Long Term Surface sitting at roughly two‑thirds full even when the garages are tight, so this lot tends to fill after the garages but before Economy South. Regulars with checked bags and decent mobility lean this way to save $6 per day vs. Long Term Garage and $13 vs. Short Term.

Tip: On departure day, snap a photo of the nearest aisle marker and the 0.5‑mile walk spot you enter from; it’ll save you wandering rows in the dark after a late return into T.