While the Dakotas hold some spectacular sites, our South Dakota itinerary would have been incomplete without a visit to Badlands National Park. My first exposure to “badlands” terrain came during a trip to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in southern CA. Fascinated to learn more of how badlands are formed and why they’re called ‘badlands’… well, the rabbit hole lead me to Badlands National Park.

A Photo Tour of the Beautiful Badlands National Park

1. Basic Info about Badlands National Park
2. Scenic Loop Drive at Badlands National Park
3. Vistas & (Explored) Hiking Trails at Badlands National Park
4. Final Thoughts on Badlands National Park

Basic Info about Badlands National Park

Badlands National Park is located about a 1 hour driving (62 miles) west of Rapid City. The best way to see the park is by the Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240). The loop road connects to I-90 on both ends of the loop. We opted to go to the further entrance – Badlands Northeast Entrance – and drive west through the park.

From sunrise to sunset, there is plenty for visitors to do at Badlands, including visiting the park for sunrise, sunset, or watching the stars in the night sky. Not being early risers, or wanting to drive after dark, we kept our explorations to the daytime. From accessible vista points and exhibition paths, hiking and biking trails, and scenic drives, Badlands offers adventure for all visitors. While we had earmarked a few trails to explore, the 100 degree weather kept us mostly in the car. Fortunately the scenic drives and vista points along the way filled our visit up easily.

Scenic Loop Drive at Badlands National Park

The main Badlands Scenic Loop Drive (between the Northeast Entrance and Pinnacles Entrance) is ~40 miles long. The drive, without stops, will take 1-2 hours to complete. With 12 vista points along the way, all of which offer a unique perspective of the park, this drive can easily take 3-4 hours to complete. The drive winds through the park, often with sharp and/or steep spots. The speed limit in the park was akin to a suburban neighborhood (25-35 MPH). Although, if you’ve come all this way to see the park, why speed through? And while the rest of the Dakotas may be flat and relatively boring, the scenic drive was truly that with the terrain rising up or creating canyons on either side of the road.

To extend our drive, we opted to follow the Sage Creek Rim Road for a few miles, turning north shortly after Robert’s Prairie Dog Town. While unpaved, our rented sedan had no issues driving on the gravel. The further west we drove, we saw the landscape of the Badlands terrain transition from rolling buttes to open grasslands. Given more time, I certainly would have wanted to drive the entire Rim Road (about 27 miles long).

Vistas & (Explored) Hiking Trails at Badlands National Park

Many of the 12 vista points are wheel-chair accessible / kid friendly with either relatively flat, paved roads and/or a short walk to see the view.

We did find that bee flies were in reasonable abundance at each stop, especially by the signs. We didn’t land up spending more than a few minutes at the vistas due to the insects. However, I am glad we stopped at as many vistas as we did to soak in the park.

Due to the heat, we only walked a little bit outside. If you have small children, the Fossil Exhibit Trail (about halfway) had informative plaques on the fossil bed at Badlands. We were hoping we could see actual fossils along the way, which was not the case. Unless you’re interested to read about the fossils, we suggest spending your time on a trail going through the buttes.

The trailheads are well indicated with trail descriptions and a map. They also provide indication of what wildlife you may encounter along the route (primarily rattlesnakes). We did see that dogs were not allowed on certain trails, likely to avoid any incidents with snakes. Be sure to keep sunglasses and lots of water with you; as you can imagine, there aren’t a lot of shady trees in Badlands.

Final Thoughts on Badlands National Park

With a mix of spectacular landscapes and grazing wildlife, Badlands is definitely worth a visit. For a future trip, I’d plan a spring or fall visit. The cooler temperatures would be more suitable for hiking and hopefully allow us to see more wildlife (from a safe distance, of course).

As noted in our Custer State Park post, Badlands provides an easier, more tourist experience, especially if you just drive through. Badlands could make for the perfect day trip when you need a a break from more strenuous hiking you may have been doing the rest of the trip. If you decide to plan a visit, be sure to inquire with the Rangers on insects / wildlife to watch out for.

What did you think of Badlands National Park? Did you try any backcountry hiking? Leave a comment below!