Our Visit To Badlands National Park
South Dakota is one of our favorite states to visit and once again we found ourselves spending time in the state this year. We needed to head to Wall Drug to pick up a special item for the camper (we bought a mounted jackalope) and since Badlands National Park is right there we decided to visit again.
On a side note if you ever do visit Badlands National Park be sure to check out the tourist trap of Wall Drug because it’s a cool place to explore. Also, don’t miss the World’s Largest Jackalope Sculpture in town at Dahl’s Chainsaw Art or the Wall Drug 80 Foot Dinosaur behind the Conoco gas station in town.
We boondocked for free in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, sometimes referred to as The Wall, which is located just minutes from the Pinnacles entrance of the park.
There is a campground that requires reservations inside the park as well.
We visited Badlands National Park in 2020 so we didn’t spend that much time in the park this trip. We went to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and were able to explore all the exhibits this time. In 2020 they were closed off due to COVID-19.
Restrooms, trashcans, and a gift shop are also all available at the visitor center. Rangers and volunteers are available at the information desk to answer any questions you may have.
On this trip we decided to eat at the Cedar Pass Lodge restaurant located beside the visitor center. Jamey has really been wanting to try an Indian Taco, sometimes called navajo tacos, for a while now so he ordered one and said it was delicious. I just got chicken fingers and fries which were yummy.
We hiked the Window and Door Trails again as well as the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail which we missed last visit. The Saddle Pass Trail and Notch trails are a little more challenging and we enjoyed them during our last trip so decided to hike them again.
For more details on anything I listed above just click on the link. You can check out all my posts on Badlands National Park here.
Badlands is a great park with some amazing views and geological formations. Wildlife especially prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, and bison are abundant in the area. If you’ve never been it’s an incredible destination.
