'House'ward Bound: Essential 'LHOP' Sites

Pepin, Wis.: Where Laura was born and where Little House in the Big Woods is set; there's a replicated house and museum.

Independence, Kan.: Where the family first moved. They built a house, but the government made them leave it after they designated the land for the Indians; there's a replicated house and museum.

Walnut Grove, Minn.: Where Laura lived from age 7 to 12. No actual "little house" in Walnut Grove. The family lived in a dugout home for a while, then built a house, which is no longer there. You can, however, visit the low spot in the ground where the dugout was and get some really good Laura vibes. There's a museum here, too.

Burr Oak, Iowa: Where the Ingalls lived during the "evil city" era, when Pa had to move to the city to make a living. They lived in the Masters Hotel, which is still there and is now a museum, where Ma was the cook. It's touted as the only childhood home of Laura still standing.

DeSmet, S.D.: The Ingalls lived in several places here. For one winter, they lived in the surveyor's house, now a museum. In downtown there really is the actual house that Pa built where he and Ma and Mary eventually died and were buried. The Ingalls homestead, where the cottonwoods are, is here. Like Walnut Grove, DeSmet has its own outdoor pageant about Laura's life there.

Mansfield, Mo.: The Rocky Ridge Farm in the Ozarks, which Laura and Almanzo built. Laura wrote all the books here, and the mother lode of LHOP artifacts, including Pa's fiddle, is here. It's where Laura lived from age 27 until she died, and where she and Almanzo are buried.