Badlands National Park Travel Guide

With incredible fossil beds, rugged landscape, roaming wildlife, Badlands National Park is a great weekend getaway destination

What else is there to see in the Badlands? Incredible rocky cliffs, fascinating hiking trails, and iconic roadside experiences – Badlands National Park has it all. This is a national park that deserves a visit.

Let us help you plan your visit with this Badlands National Park Travel Guide.

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About Badlands National Park.

The Badlands are located in South Dakota and are filled with incredible fossil beds, sandy dunes, and the largest mixed-grass prairie in the National Park System. The geologic formations have to be experienced to be believed.

There are three sections to the park – the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Palmer Creek Unit.  

The North Unit roads are maintained and accessible much of the year. The South and Palmer Creek roads receive minimal maintenance.

To me, that sounds like a promise to see fossil beds, rugged landscape, and roaming wildlife – which sounds even more fun!  

As the park is split into sections, I highly recommend making each section a weekend getaway destination. To fully appreciate each section, you need to spend a day in each section. And each section is most fully enjoyed when viewed at all times of the day, hence a full weekend getaway for each section.

Badlands is surrounded by Buffalo Gap National Grassland and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

The rugged landscape appears to be untouched for thousands of years, but that appearance is deceiving. Natives and later Settlers have occupied this land for millennia. A stop at one of the Visitor Centers will provide a wealth of information about those cultures.

That is my first tip for planning any trip to a national park. Make sure to include time to check out the visitor centers. We always stop to get a National Park stamp and sticker and often purchase a National Park pin.

In addition to the gift shop, the visitor’s center has information about the park that will enhance your visits, and offer the opportunity to speak to local Park Rangers. I highly recommend talking to the rangers and attending a guided ranger tour if it fits in your schedule. They are walking encyclopedias when it comes to National Park information. It is not at all unusual to get tips from the rangers for the most recent locations for wildlife sightings. Just sayin’.

In general, visiting the National Park Rangers at any National Park Visitor Center is a good idea.

Wildlife Sightings in the Badlands National Park

The park is teaming with wildlife – we saw pronghorn (otherwise known as antelope), bison, and prairie dogs, but you can also spot coyotes, various butterflies, turtles, vultures, snakes, and bluebirds.

Wildlife was roaming everywhere, but I was very happy to NOT spot any snakes.

Many describe Badlands as a park that could be visited multiple times and would look different on each visit. We could see in our short visit how much the park changed depending on our elevation and amount of sun. The time of day you visit and the direction the geologic formations were being viewed from also made a huge difference.

I wasn’t joking about this being a weekend getaway destination.  

Badlands features the largest mixed-grass prairie in the National Park system. Mixed-grass prairie, pronghorn, and bison just seem to go together. But beware – these are wild animals. Freely roaming wildlife should not be approached.

Badlands National Park is Great for Photographs

Somebody may have been taking photos through the sunroof – not sure who that would have been. Photos from the car in general, are just fine, and some bison grazed a few feet from the road. This guy seemed to be posing for the camera.

Beware of roaming wildlife. On our most recent visit, bighorn sheep were grazing along the highway. We had to turn around in one spot because of the buffalo in the road. Roaming wildlife is no joke here.

In this video, we are sharing some of the more dramatic rock formations, fossil beds, and a variety of colors displayed in the park during our Badlands visit. It was amazing to see how the rock colors changed during the day.  

Absolutely incredible!

Hiking in the Badlands National Park

We enjoyed hiking trails marked throughout the park. Until you have had the opportunity to see the park’s fossil beds, you don’t know what you are missing. I mean seriously, there is nothing like reaching for a handhold to climb and realizing that rocky indentation placed perfectly for you is an ancient fossil bed. Unreal.

This ladder was much easier to go up than down, and the trail becomes dicier after that – but a great rugged landscape trail all in all. Others seemed to have the same opinion – several spouses were “helping” their wives down the ladder.

It’s fun driving the winding roads and the views are beautiful. Luckily, we went early in the season and there wasn’t much traffic, so we could spend as much time sightseeing the rugged landscape as we wanted. This is a takeaway – according to the National Park Service, there’s not a bad time to visit the Badlands.

Planning a Trip to the Badlands – Travel Guide

If you are interested in geologic formations, exploring the hidden wonders of grasslands, and seeing buffalo, the Badlands is a great park to visit.  Yes, we saw other animals, but buffalo were the most prevalent. We kept driving through the park instead of heading north to Wall Drug, and this is where we saw most of the buffalo and prairie dogs.

Unfortunately, many people take the road to Wall Drug, and those folks may miss seeing large wildlife altogether.

Is this a kid-friendly National Park?

The park has several overlooks where people are able to get out, take pretty pictures, and walk around a bit. If this meets your family’s needs – great. If not, this may not be the park for you. There are numerous trails that offer interestingly rugged landscapes. Unfortunately, the hiking trails are not incredibly well marked. Some hiking trails require moderate exertion. Sorry – I probably wouldn’t have taken my kids along a trail and risked a rattlesnake bite.

Don’t let me steer you wrong. We saw a lot of adolescents exploring the park, and I loved it. Make sure Badlands fits your family’s needs. Badlands does offer a campground, and that may provide opportunities for younger children to explore a little each day. To each his own.

Other Tidbits for your Badlands visit.

This is not the countryside for the faint of heart. If your Badlands visit is during the summer months, make sure to carry plenty of water and have sunscreen. You would be amazed at how hot the sun can get on the plains.

Be mindful that you will likely lose cell signals in the park. Don’t count on using your smartphone to get you out of an unmarked hiking trail. If you plan to go off-road, carry a compass, a map, and be wearing rattlesnake-resistant gear. Just saying.

Camping during your Badlands visit

I highly recommend checking the NPS website if you plan on camping in Badlands. The campground has a limited number of campsites available in the park, and campsites fill early in the day during the prime season.

Reserve a camping site if your heart is set on camping Badlands.

Entrance Fees for Badlands

We purchased a National Park pass, which is good for entry into all National Parks for a year. It was $80, and we would have spent more than that on admissions on our 2018 Northern Pass trip if we had paid admission to each park we visited. Frankly, I think all of the National Parks are great weekend getaway destinations.

That’s it for your Badlands National Park visit

If you are looking for a destination with fossil beds, rugged landscape, and roaming wildlife, then Badlands is the weekend getaway for you!

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