Badlands National Park

Visited: June 2013

Nearest city: Rapid City, SD 

Let's say you're driving along Interstate-90, the main east-west artery across South Dakota. Or you're spending your vacation in the Black Hills to see the iconic site of Mt. Rushmore. Either way, make sure you spend half a day and take a delightful detour to view one of the great natural wonders of the world. Just a few miles off the freeway lies the seemingly bleak and somewhat alien landscape of Badlands National Park.

We had gone to Mt. Rushmore for our honeymoon. The Black Hills are a wonderful place to vacation. One morning we left early to head out to Badlands National Park. It's about an hour drive east of Rapid City along I-90. Take Exit 131 to head south on State Highway 240 to enter the Park at the Northeast Entrance.

Just south of the freeway you'll hit the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

This is the new visitor center for the site. When we visited back in 2013, the Visitor Center was simply a small single wide trailer with a few exhibits and a short video. The site preserves a missile silo and launch facility, part of the Cold War era ICBM system to deter against a nuclear strike by the Soviet Union. You can take a tour of the silo and launch center, just make sure to reserve in advance. Check for more info here: https://www.nps.gov/mimi/index.htm When we visited, you could not reserve a tour in advance and had to purchase ticket the day of your visit. It was sold out so we moved on. We might have to go back so we can go on the tour.

I was a little disappointed that we couldn't go on a tour of the missile facility but a few miles south of the road we spotted this prairie dog compound. We fed the prairie dogs some nuts and took a picture with the giant prairie dog. 😊 I love roadside attractions like this. It was a fun diversion.

A few more miles south and we spot our destination. It's very dramatic. So much of the landscape here along the freeway is a flat, grassy, mostly featureless prairie. You have no idea that a few miles off the road is this incredible 60-mile rock wall of craggy pinnacles and spires.

Eventually you come to the Northeast Entrance. Entrance Fee is $20. (It was $15 when we visited, and starting in 2019 the fee will be $25). You can always get the annual pass for $80. It lasts an entire year and gets you into all Units administered by the National Parks (that's all the Parks, National Monuments, National Historic Sites, etc. It covers entrance fees, it does not cover guided tours or camping fees, etc.) If you're 62 or over you can get a LIFETIME pass for all National Park Units for only $10! But hurry! Starting Aug 28, 2017 (that's only a few weeks away) it will be $80 for the lifetime pass.

Your first stop along the 42-mile long Badlands Loop Road is just south of the entrance station: the Big Badlands Overlook.

The Badlands are a masterpiece. But unfortunately, the very process that creates them will eventually wear them completely away. The loose, fine-grained rock is constantly being eroded away by the rains and wind. About an inch of rock is eroded away each year. So hurry and visit because in hundreds of thousands of years it will be gone. 😉

A few miles south of Big Badlands Overlook is the Door/Window Trail Parking Area. This is THE stop along the Badlands Loop Road. The parking area is the start for three short trails: (1) Door (2) Window and (3) Notch. Door and Window are both under 1/2 mile, the Notch Trail is 1.5 miles roundtrip. Take the Door Trail for incredible views of the alien landscape of the Badlands.

Although there is a boardwalk, visitors are free to wander and scramble over the Badlands at will. Have fun!

Tara likes this picture because I look like a giant 😊

The lunar landscape makes you feel like you are on another planet

We took the Notch Trail. Made for a great hike. It's only 1.5 miles roundtrip. Here are the views along the trail.

Notice the ladder on the left

Your reward at the end of the Notch Trail

There is one semi-challenging obstacle along the Notch trail. This ladder.

It looks daunting, but it's not too bad. Going up isn't a problem at all. Going down was kind of scary. Just take it one rung at a time.

Once you've done the Door, Window, and Notch Trails. You can also head to the west side of the Door/Window Parking Area for the trailhead of Castle Trail. This 10 mile trail is one of the longest in the park. We didn't take it, but it goes along the north side of the Badlands Wall and ends at a Fossil Exhibit (this exhibit is also one of the stops along the Badlands Loop Road).

Continue along the road to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. There are picnic tables so it was the perfect time for our packed lunches. See the exhibits, watch the park video, and fill up your water bottles. At this point you can continue on the Loop Road (which is what we did) or you can turn onto Highway 44 to head over to other sections of the Park that are less visited and part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This is the Stronghold Unit, the Palmer Creek Unit and the small village of Scenic (yep, that's what it is called). We did not explore this part of the park but continued along the Loop Road. There are lots of overlooks further down the road, take a couple, take them all, or just enjoy the drive.

The Badlands Loop Road ends back on the freeway at the tourist trap town of Wall. The Wall Drug Store is one of those places that is advertised by quirky billboards for what seems a 300 mile radius. It has free water! 😊 It's got lots of eccentric things to see and do (like ride the Jack-a-lope!) but it's really not worth a visit...and the water tastes weird.

Overall, Badlands is a great National Park to visit and experience in a day. Its unique landscape is unforgettable. Not really enough for the casual visitor to do to plan an entire vacation around (although there is a hotel in the park boundary right next to the Visitor Center, the Cedar Pass Lodge), but pair it with your stay in the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore. It is totally worth it. For more info check out: https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm