Badlands National Park

Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
Date of Visit:  June 2007
Website:  www.nps.gov/badl
Location:  South Dakota
Entrance Fee:  $15 per car
Type of Trip:  Daytrip as part of Western US Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
Trip Report:  I have actually been to the Badlands three times -- once as a kid, once on my way out to work in Yellowstone, and once in 2007 on the way back from our Western US trip.  In 2007, we basically just took a scenic drive through the park; on the other visits, however, I was able to hike around a little bit.

Badlands National Park combines strange landscape formations with a large prairie ecosystem, providing an interesting look at both geology and nature. There are also fossils to be found here (hmmm, will have to remember that the next time I take Jackson out west). In certain places, you can even climb up on some of the weird rock formations -- as a kid, I found this highly entertaining!

The easiest way to visit the Badlands is to drive the main park road, which takes about 60-90 minutes, depending on traffic.  It's just a quick drive off of I-90 to get to the park, so even if you don't have a lot of time, you can still at least get a taste of what this park has to offer. Mount Rushmore is only 100 miles west of the Badlands, so you could easily combine the two into a day trip.  However, with more time, you could take in a ranger program, or do some hiking around on the rock formations.  The Notch Trail, in particular, can give a good glimpse of the canyon and rock formations in a relatively short period of time.

Badlands Scenery

As with all places in the prairie, the Badlands can be very hot in summer and cold and snowy in the winter -- plan accordingly!  There is also only one place in the park for lodging and dining -- the Cedar Pass Lodge.  There are two campgrounds in the park, one developed and one primitive.  I have not camped in the Badlands, however.

One of the other fun things to do -- which can also be done from your vehicle -- is watching wildlife.  The Badlands are home to coyotes, bison, bighorn sheep, bobcats, prairie dogs, foxes and much more.

American Bison, symbol of the American West

All in all, this is a great park in which to spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days.  I look forward to visiting again and discovering some of the additional activities in the park.


Interesting sidenote:  the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, dedicated to teaching about the Cold War, is located just a few miles from Badlands National Park.  You can take a tour of the missile launch center and everything -- hard to believe I missed this the last time I was at Badlands.  FMI:  www.nps.gov/mimi