Badlands

Overview

Badlands National Park rises from the South Dakota prairie like a wall of jagged, layered sediment — striped buttes in shades of tan, pink, and gray that look more like another planet than the American Great Plains. These formations, built from ancient seabeds and volcanic ash deposits over 75 million years, erode at a rate of about one inch per year, meaning the landscape visitors see today will look noticeably different within a human lifetime. The park's 31-mile Badlands Loop Road carves through the heart of the formations, with frequent pullouts and short trails that put you right on the eroded ridgelines. The Door Trail and Notch Trail offer easy-to-moderate scrambles through narrow gaps in the rock walls with views across the White River Valley. The mixed-grass prairie that surrounds the formations supports one of the country's most successful bison reintroduction programs, and black-footed ferrets — North America's most endangered land mammal — have been reintroduced in the park's South Unit. Badlands is a drive-through park that rewards lingering. Sunrise and sunset transform the normally pale formations into vivid orange and purple, and the park's remote location and minimal light pollution make it one of the best stargazing spots in the lower 48 states. Combine a Badlands visit with nearby Wind Cave and the Black Hills for a full South Dakota national park road trip.

Things to Do

• Drive the Badlands Loop Road at sunrise
• Hike the Notch Trail through a canyon ladder
• Walk the Door Trail into the formations
• Watch bison herds on Sage Creek Rim Road
• Attend an evening stargazing program
• Explore the Fossil Exhibit Trail
• Backpack the unmarked wilderness in the South Unit

Wildlife

Keep an eye out for these animals during your visit:

Weather & Best Time to Visit

Extreme continental climate: summer highs reach 95-100°F, winters drop well below zero. Spring and fall are mild with occasional thunderstorms. Lightning storms are spectacular.