Page Updated: August 27, 2023
Badlands National Park
2021 OCT
Big Badlands Overlook - Badlands National Park
To say the Badlands are otherworldly is a cliché but accurate description. Located in the American Great Plains, Badlands National Park protects more than 244K acres of buttes, spires and one of the largest undisturbed prairies remaining in the United States. We should’ve booked a camp here for a couple of days to see the stars and hunt for fossils and wildlife. Instead we only had enough time to hike a trail mid-day - (it was hot even in October!), learn a little at the visitor center and and see the scenic drive.
The drive from Sturgis to the Badlands took us away from the Black Hills and through miles of farm land. You can enter the park due south of Wall, SD through the Pinnacles entrance, but our trek took us all the way to the NE entrance.
Stopping at the Big Badlands Overlook gave us our first glimpse of the Badlands Wall. The geological feature constantly shifts north as the land erodes and recedes. It’s hard to imagine pioneer wagons trying to navigate the bizarre terrain - especially when rainy.
We made a quick pass through the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and jumped out at the Cliff Shelf Nature Trailhead to see what it was about. The temperature was climbing fast with the sun so we skipped hiking the trail. But, we did walk the boardwalk to the interactive sign and quickly took in the views.
We hit Notch Trail one o’clock, which in retrospect is stupid. Mid-day on a trail with no trees in the middle of a record breaking heatwave. This trail was hot, but it was still fun. As the name of the trail suggests, it leads to a notch in the wall with vistas of the lower southern prairie
We’re tough, but not that tough; so we skipped enduring the energy-leeching heat required to pop out at overlooks along scenic SD-240 and just took in what views from the sweet air-conditioning of the car.
Badlands National Parks deserves a redo. The weather wasn’t in our favor. Our timing was off. And we didn’t do enough research going into the park. We’ll slip back into the Badlands when we return to this corner of South Dakota to see Wind Cave National Park. And we’ll have a better plan - and hopefully an awesome telescope.
scenes from Badlands National Park
-b&b
Crazy Horse
Notch Trail
