Badlands National Park
United States of America · South Dakota · 910 m
Description
Badlands National Park, located in southwestern South Dakota, is renowned for its spectacular landscape of rugged rock formations, deep canyons, and colorful layered buttes rising abruptly from the vast prairie. Shaped by millions of years of erosion, the Badlands also reveal a fascinating geological past and rank among North America’s most important paleontological areas, with exceptionally rich fossil beds. The park protects extensive mixed-grass prairie and provides habitat for bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and the rare black-footed ferret. The scenic Badlands Loop Road, dramatic sunrises and sunsets, and remarkably dark night skies make the park one of the most fascinating natural destinations in the Great Plains.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June – August
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240)
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial(Day trip)
- Notch Trail
- Big Badlands Overlook
- Wall Drug(Day trip)
- Bison & Badlands Wildlife
- Custer State Park(Day trip)
- Yellow Mounds Overlook
- Panorama Point
- Door Trail
- Pinnacles Overlook
- Castle Trail
- Roberts Prairie Dog Town
- Bighorn Sheep, Prairie Dogs & Black-footed Ferrets
- Ben Reifel Visitor Center & Fossil Exhibits
- Minuteman Missile National Historic Site(Day trip)
- Fossil Preparation Lab (June - August)
- Fossil Exhibit Trail
- Window Trail
- Cliff Shelf Nature Trail
- Sage Creek Rim Road
- Hay Butte Overlook
- Ancient Fossil Beds
- Badlands Wilderness
- Sunrise & Sunset over the Badlands
- Milky Way & Stargazing
Getting there
- Airports:
- RAP