The Land of Stone and Light. With rock formations with vibrant layers of pink, red and yellow sprawled out all over the park you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to another planet. Prairie dogs, big-horned sheep and bison roam the lands freely. Sunrises and sunsets hit differently. There is so much to see and experience in the park. Our hope is this guide will give you everything you need to plan a trip to Badlands National Park in South Dakota!
THE BADLANDS OF SOUTH DAKOTA
Badlands actually refers to a region and type of land that covers roughly 2,000 square miles in southwestern South Dakota. Consisting of rugged geological landscapes mixed with grassy prairies, this region of South Dakota has no shortage of beauty. It’s also a fossil-rich region, meaning you’ll find a number of museums and hiking trails designated for viewing fossils from thousands of years ago.
WHERE IS BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
Badlands National Park is one of two National Parks of South Dakota, with the second being Wind Cave National Park, which you can read about HERE. Both parks are located in the Black Hills & Badlands region of southwestern South Dakota. It is also part of The Great 8 of South Dakota.
There are three entrances to the park, with the two primary entrances being on Highway 240. The Pinnacles (west) entrance is just south of the town of Wall, the Northeast entrance is just south of the town of Cactus Flat and the Interior (south) entrance is just north of the town of Interior. From Rapid City it’s roughly a 1 hour drive to the Pinnacles entrance, and from Sioux Falls it’s roughly 4 hours to the Northeast entrance. Nearly all trails and overlooks are located off of Highway 240, making it incredibly accessible. From end to end it’s roughly a 1 hour drive.
THINGS TO DO IN BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
The million dollar question to every trip, what is there to do? Despite being in the middle of the pack when it comes to size compared to all other National Parks, much of the land is backcountry land, and unless you plan on doing backcountry hiking and camping, visiting should be relatively easy.
DRIVE BADLANDS LOOP ROAD (HWY 240)
The first thing you should do when visiting Badlands National Park, is drive the Badlands Loop Road from end to end. In our experience, this helps with getting a lay of the land, and determining what viewpoints, hiking trails, and other scenic spots you may want to spend your time at. And since it’s less then 2 hours driving roundtrip, makes for a nice relaxing way to start your visit.
Our personal favorite viewpoint, and one of the most popular, is the Big Badlands Overlook just south of the eastern entrance. Do yourself a favor, wake up early and go here for sunrise. You will not regret it. A follow-up location would be a pullout on Hwy 240 just south of the Fossil Exhibit Trail.
HIKING
One of the best ways to experience this park, or any other National Park for that matter, is to hike inside the park. There are 8 official hiking trails inside the park. All but one are easy to moderate, and relatively short. Pick a couple and you could easily feel like you’ve immersed yourself in the park.
- DOOR TRAIL
- DIFFICULTY – Easy
- LENGTH – 0.75mi / 1.2km round trip
- WINDOW TRAIL
- DIFFICULTY – Easy
- LENGTH – 0.25mi / 0.4km round trip
- NOTCH TRAIL
- DIFFICULTY – Moderate to strenuous
- LENGTH – 1.5mi / 2.4km round trip
- CASTLE TRAIL
- DIFFICULTY – Moderate to strenuous
- LENGTH – 10mi / 16km round trip
- CLIFF SHELF
- DIFFICULTY – Moderate
- LENGTH – 0.5mi / 0.8km round trip
- SADDLE PASS
- DIFFICULTY – Strenuous
- LENGTH – 0.25mi / 0.4km round trip
- MEDICINE ROOT
- DIFFICULTY – Moderate
- LENGTH – 4mi / 6.4km round trip
- FOSSIL EXHIBIT
- DIFFICULTY – Easy
- LENGTH – 0.25mi / 0.4km round trip
*Disclaimer: pets are not allowed on any of these trails.
The trailheads for Door, Window, Notch and Castle are all together making them very easy to do back to back, should you choose to take on that mission. One thing to keep in mind, is that Castle is not a loop. So if you choose to do the full hike, you’ll either need to do the 5 out and 5 back, or have a way of getting back once you arrive at the other end.
We’d recommend doing at least 2-3 of these. Door, Window and Fossil are all easy and short, so combining these with either Notch or a portion of Castle, and you will have gotten to truly experience this park. We really enjoyed Notch, although it does involve more strenuous hiking with some climbing up and down a wooden ladder staircase.
VISIT FOSSIL PREPARATION LAB
If you are interested in paleontology or fossils in any way, then combining the Fossil Exhibit Trail and the Fossil Preparation Lab is a must! Both offer opportunities to see fossils still in rock, being prepared and cataloged.
The lab is location in the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and is only open from June to September, so make sure to check the National Park website for timing and details HERE.
NIGHT SKY VIEWING
The Badlands region is one of THE best places to stare up at the stars, and do astrophotography, if that interests you. If you in or around the park, you’ll likely have an unobstructed view of the sky, with very little light pollution. So as long as the weather is cooperative, you should be primed for some incredible stargazing.
WILDLIFE WATCHING
There is no shortage of wildlife to view in and around this park. On the eastern side of the park you’ll likely see big-horned sheep and deer grazing on the cliffs, while on the western side of the park you’ll see prairie dogs and bison roaming the prairies.
Disclaimer: Please keep a distance of at least 25 yards from all animals, but most importantly the bison. These are very large animals and you do not want to put yourself in a position of risk.
SUNRISE & SUNSET
Sunrises and sunsets are absolutely spectacular in Badlands National Park. The way the sun shines on the mountain peaks as it rises and sets, couldn’t be more beautiful.
While there isn’t a bad spot to view either sunrise or sunset, we’d recommend Big Badlands Overlook, Pinnacles Overlook, or White River Valley Overlook. One of our favorites though was a the pullout we mentioned above that is on Hwy 240 just south of the Fossil Exhibit Trail.
BICYCLING
If you are an avid bicyclist, then you should probably consider bringing your bike here. Hwy 240 is primed for cycling. From Big Badlands Overlook to Pinnacles Overlook, it’s ~25 miles. And with such incredible views, numerous overlooks and viewpoints to stop at, we’d venture a guess that most cyclists would love it here! If you love biking, The Black Hills and Badlands have a number of bike trails to check out!
BACKCOUNTRY CAMPING
Definitely not for the faint of heart, but if should so choose to go backcountry camping, we’d imagine this park would be amazing to do it in. There are quite a few things to keep in mind before setting out on a backcountry camping trip in the Badlands, so make sure to double check the National Park website for the full list of requirements, HERE.
VISITOR CENTERS
There are two visitor centers, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and the White River Visitor Center. However, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center is the primary visitor center and is just south of the eastern entrance. The White River Visitor Center is permanently closed at the moment, so make sure to check the National Park website for timing and details, HERE.
WHERE TO STAY IN BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
If you’re looking to stay inside the park, there is only one option: The Cedar Pass Lodge and Campground which is just south of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. Here you’ll find lodges, as well as a campground for both tent camping and RV camping.
Just outside the park in the towns of Interior and Wall, you’ll find additional places to stay near the Badlands like The Badlands Inn and The Badlands Interior Campground. Outside of these locations, around Wall or Cactus Flat.
We opted to camp at the Cedar Pass Campground for two nights, and absolutely loved it! We were lucky enough to be staying there on a clear night to witness a Lunar Eclipse.
BEST TIME TO VISIT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
We’ll preface this with the usual disclaimer that this really depends on your personal preferences and interests. However, there are a few things to keep in mind which may sway you one way or the other.
SEASONS
The temperatures in South Dakota can range from scorching hot, to ice cold depending on the time of year. Given that so much of the activities are outdoors, we’d personally recommend going during one of the more milder to warmer months. Peak season is summer, so spring and fall would be ideal. We’d also recommend checking the park website for current conditions before visiting.
SPRING
- Avg Low temps – 35ºF / 2ºC
- Avg High temps – 60ºF / 16ºC
SUMMER
- Avg Low temps – 55ºF / 13ºC
- Avg High temps – 80ºF / 27ºC
FALL
- Avg Low temps – 50ºF / 10ºC
- Avg High temps – 80ºF / 27ºC
WINTER
- Avg Low temps – 15ºF / -9ºC
- Avg High temps – 35ºF / 2ºC
HOW MUCH TIME IS NEEDED
How much time you need to plan for in a place, is one of the most important questions to answer when planning a trip. I have good news for you, to really immerse yourself and get the full experience at Badlands National Park, you do not need a ton of time. In fact, 2-3 days is probably the sweet spot depending on just how much you want to do. A very basic 3-day itinerary could be:
DAY 1
Drive the Badlands Loop Road, stop at scenic overlooks and viewpoints and go wildlife viewing.
DAY 2
Wake up early for sunrise, hike a couple of the hiking trails, and end the day with a sunset.
DAY 3
Visit the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, check out the Fossil Preparation Lab, and tackle any other remaining activities you still want to do.
We spent 2 nights at the Cedar Pass Campground and the 2+ days was more than enough for us to get our fill.
ENTRY IN TO BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
Being a National Park, there is an entry fee required in to Badlands National Park. The good news, is not only is it not expensive, but there are also multiple options. A single vehicle pass is $30 and is good for 7 days from first entry. You can also get an annual park pass to Badlands specifically for $55. But if you’re anything like us, and love visiting National Parks, you may want to consider getting the America The Beautiful Pass. This pass gives you free entry to all National Parks in the U.S. for just $80. They do also offer discounted Senior passes as well as free passes for current U.S. Military.
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER
Service is actually not bad inside the park. Compliments of FreeRoam, you’ll see that AT&T is the only cellphone service provider that has little to no service. We have Verizon and T-Mobile between the two of us, and did not have any major issues. There is also free public WiFi available at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center should you need to get a quick WiFi fix.
THE GREAT 8 OF SOUTH DAKOTA
Badlands National Park is one of The Great 8 of South Dakota, which are 8 must-visit destinations when in South Dakota! In addition to Badlands National Park, there is Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer State Park, Historic Deadwood and The Missouri River. To read more about these, check out our THE GREAT 8 OF SOUTH DAKOTA article!
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
We hope this guide has provided you everything you could possibly need to plan a trip of your own to Badlands National Park. And if it didn’t, if we missed something, let us know below in the comments so we can make sure to update here and include in future posts!
For other National Park guides, head over to our National Park page HERE!
And for more info on South Dakota, check out Travel South Dakota!
