This was our first visit to Badlands National Park, and we were stunned by the beauty. In early June, the temperatures were pleasant, the grasslands lush against rainbow-hued rock formations, wildlife was abundant, and wild roses bloomed on the trails. (Wild roses? In the Badlands? Not exactly what we expected.)
The South Dakota Grasslands
Although we enjoyed good weather, this is not a gentle place. Temperatures vary wildly, with extremes in summer and winter; winds can be fierce any time of year; there’s no potable water, and the terrain is rugged. The Lakota, who used this area for hunting grounds, called it “mako sica,” meaning “land bad.”
The term “badlands” has evolved to become a geologic term, referring to barren areas in which soft sedimentary rock has been extensively eroded by winds and water into fanciful forms. It’s a harshly beautiful land, with the peace that comes from being surrounded by nature with no sign of civilization as far as the eye can see. It’s good medicine for the soul.
The Badlands Loop Road
The Badlands Loop Road winds 31 miles through the heart of the park. The scenery is spectacular all along the way, traveling through a photogenic array of ancient geologic formations. There are numerous lookouts to pull over to soak up the views.
The Big Badlands Overlook
The Yellow Mounds area (through the windshield, which is never optimal)
Exquisite colors at Panorama Point
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep near the Ancient Hunters overlook
Velvet covered hills in Sage Creek Basin
The best times of day to capture the colors of the Badlands are at dawn and late afternoon, during the “golden hour.” Despite our good intentions, we never captured sunrise in the Badlands and didn’t manage much at the golden hour, either. Still, it was gorgeous.
Hiking In The Badlands
Although much of the beauty of the Badlands can be seen on the scenic drive, getting out onto the trails provides a more intimate experience of the landscape. We walked the easy Window and Door Trails, looped together the Castle and Medicine Loop Trails for a six-mile hike, and climbed the ladder on the Notch Trail for a short but fun 1.5-mile adventure.
Click on any photo for a larger image
All of the trails were interesting and worthwhile with the exception of the Saddle Pass Trail, which is a ridiculous trail. It’s a steep 1/4 mile climb up a slippery gravel slope, and descending was impossible without sitting down and sliding.
Wildlife In The Badlands
We were serenaded by birdlife on our hikes, from the flutelike melody of the Western Meadowlark to the buzzy trills of Rock Wrens. Along the scenic drive, we spotted groups of female Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (mostly hanging out by the Ancient Hunters Overlook).
In the Sage Creek Wilderness Area in the northern part of the park, we saw lots of bison and their young. In June, the bison have shed much of their winter coats and look like they’re wearing moth-eaten fur blankets.
But the most exciting sighting of all for me was a Burrowing Owl. Every year I have a short “wish list” of creatures that I’d like to see. Burrowing Owls have been on my list for years. We knew the owls use burrows made by prairie dogs and are active during the day, so we searched the prairie dog town with our binoculars. Sure enough, among the squeaking little rodents stood a taller, long-legged, feathered creature with enormous eyes. I was thrilled.
Burrowing Owl
About The Campground
Although our first choice is generally to stay at campgrounds within the park when we’re visiting national parks, after reading reviews of the campground in Badlands we chose a private park instead. Badlands Interior Campground is just one mile outside the entrance to Badlands, with the same view that the national park campground has, just a bit further away.
The RV Park has full hook-ups, showers, laundry, dark night skies, weak Wifi, good Verizon, and the sites are much better than most in the national park campground. We drove through the national park campground to check it out for future reference, and the sites are close together, awkwardly laid out, and the road was pot-holed. We would happily choose the private park again.
Eric took this photo of our site at sunrise one morning. Makes me wish we would have gotten up to head into the park for very early morning photography. Maybe next time.
Badlands Interior Campground
The brilliant green made your pictures look positively surreal!
We love burrowing owls…their faces make them look so condescending as they sit perfectly still staring at us! We’ve seen them a few times now and it’s always the highlight of our day.
It did look surreal, Sue. The grasslands were such a vibrant green! Certainly not what we expected. I loved seeing the owls. :-)
Wow it was green! We enjoy the burrowing owls. They don’t startle very easily and make a hissing sound like a rattlesnake.
Debbie, I didn’t realize that Burrowing Owls make a hissing sound. Maybe next time I can get close enough to hear them!
You were absolutely in the Badlands at the perfect time. I LOVED the park and the place. “Harshly beautiful” and “medicine for the soul” describe it very well. It’s just such a stunning place as your fantastic pictures show. The colors make me want to rub my eyes. Is it real? So happy to see your trail pictures and the stairs. They bring back such wonderful memories for me. What a thrill to see the burrowing owl. Your picture of him standing straight and tall is great! We stayed in the park and thought it was great. Not sure what you heard. It was wonderful being right there especially at night. Love your tipi. Did people actually stay in it?
Sherry, we did luck out at being in the Badlands at the perfect time. The weather was great, and the colors were fantastic. I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos. I wish we had made the effort to get out at sunrise and had gone back into the park at sunset for more photography—next time!
We drove through the national park campground and didn’t care for how crowded it was, but there were a few sites on the outside loop facing the mountains that looked nice. We were happy with the private park where we stayed, especially because it also had very dark night skies and a wonderful view of the badlands. The tipi is for rent, but no one was there during our stay. I think it added to the ambiance of our site. :-)
Always look forward to your blogs! You are an excellent writer, photographer and traveler! You provide enjoyable and valuable information. Appreciate the campground photos and info too. Hopefully in a couple of years we will be hiking, biking, kayaking and travelling the US like you two. Thank you and keep the posts coming!
Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts. Good luck with your planning—it took us a few years to decide to make the leap into fulltiming, but we’re really happy we did.
This in my “mind” is my very favorite location for hiking & Jeeping ….
outside CA. Your photos show such beautiful locations around the area…
Thank you both for your lifestyle! Really!
Seems most of the people younger and our age seem to enjoy their laptop & TV
than enjoying the outside. So sad!
Sure enjoy all your photographs!
Bob, just like you, being outdoors in nature always makes us happiest. Thanks for following along with us, and keep on enjoying your adventures and photography!
Nice! Great photos and reporting
John
Wonderful post Laurel… The badlands are on my must see list and that slip and slide trail looks like a hoot.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Brenda. The Badlands are definitely worth seeing, and we were really happy we were there when the colors were so vibrant. That slippery Saddle Pass Trail was ridiculous! Even with our hiking poles, we couldn’t get any traction. The only way I could get back down the trail was sliding on my butt. Don’t miss the Notch Trail, though.
Thanks, John. We would love for you and Judy to hitch up that cute little Shasta and join us for another adventure. :-))
The Badlands is such a unique place to explore. Love when we would happen upon color in the formations. The Notch Hike and that ladder is “interesting” isn’t it! Better going up than down. Love all the wildlife. The sheep were out for us, as well. The burrowing owls are so adorable in the prairie dog holes. They are so tiny.
Pam, yes, the Notch Hike was interesting! I wasn’t crazy about going down that ladder but once I was up there, it was the only way down! My mind makes things worse than they really are. :-)
It was fun seeing such a variety of wildlife, and most especially the adorable Burrowing Owls.
Wow, the badland is green! And look at all those wildlife, June must be a good time to visit. During our time I only saw some little frogs. That Notch Trail is something else :) but it was fun going up not much going down, right?
Beautiful capture of a place we’ve been through your eyes.
Thanks, MonaLiza. :-) June is a wonderful time to be in the Badlands—but I would say very early June, to avoid the heat. The grasslands were such an intense green, and the birds and other wildlife were abundant.
Haha, yeah, that Notch Trail—going up was definitely better than coming down. I didn’t like looking over the edge at the ladder.
Just beautiful and I now realize how quickly we drove through years ago. Thankfully we’ve learned to slow down and will have to make our way back through one of these Junes. Thanks so much
Leah, the longer we travel, the more we’ve slowed down, too. It makes such a difference! We only spent three days in the Badlands, but it was plenty of time to hike almost every trail in the park and to really soak up the beauty. Early June was a wonderful time to be there.
I hope you’re enjoying your slow-paced travels this fall.
I love badlands, in all their forms and hues. I find such stark nature so appealing. Badlands NP is still on our list and one day I hope to check it off. Glad a burrowing owl was kind enough to pose for you. I just adore them. I first discovered them while going to university in AZ. A family of them made their home a drainage ditch that ran underneath the sidewalk. I love your header photo. It took me a few moments to see you in that photo. :)
LuAnn, that’s such a fun story about the Burrowing Owls! I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to finally see one in the wild.
I find badlands fascinating, too—there’s something serene in such stark beauty. You have a sharp eye to find me in that photo. ;-))
I love that place. Last time we were there, the skies were filled with smoke from fires in the west. Therefore, I was unable to capture the beautiful images you’ve shared here. Guess I need to return.
Ingrid, the blue skies and beautiful weather we had definitely made it easier to photograph the badlands. I just wish we had been more motivated to go out at sunrise or to find the perfect location for sunset!
How absolutely glorious!! Who knew? Dakota?!?? Wow.
Such dramatic landscape and the hike while looking rather challenging with those steep trails and steps, seems like it was totally worthwhile for all that wonderous wildlife you encountered. That owl ! wow. And that bighorn sheep, so beautiful. You guys always do the best hikes!!
Peta
We were surprised at how beautiful the Badlands are, too, Peta. We really enjoy our hiking adventures—the Notch Trail ladder was kind of scary, but mostly in my mind. I just didn’t look down while I was on the ladder. :-)
So great you got to spot one of your “list” critters, always very exciting when that happens! Looks like you were there at a perfect time, and your lovely photos inspire me to want to plan a return trip ourselves.
we loved our stop in the Badlands this past summer… thanks for letting us remember those times…
So glad we could take you back for a visit. :-) It’s one of those places we would be happy to return to…there are so many of those!
Joodie, I was delighted to see one of my “list” critters! I still have moose on my list—they’ve eluded me for years. We really did luck out being there at the perfect time for great weather and lush grasslands.
Oh those colors are wonderful!! What an amazing palette in such a rugged place. One of those must-see places high on our list. Love your owl – that you got to see it, and that you were able to get a pic to share with us!!
Jodee, we were really surprised at the astonishing colors. There’s so much more to explore in the Badlands—all of the fossils, for example. You and Bill will love it!
We loved the Badlands, too. We boondocked in Sage Creek and were the only big rig. We were surrounded by tents, bikers and Priuses (Priuii?) We had to run our generator a few times so we just offered to the charge phones and computers of those around us. Unsurprisingly, no one complained about the noise. Also, this is the only place in our travels where I was awakened early in the morning by bison peeing right outside my bedroom window. They were LOUD!
Linda, boondocking in Sage Creek sounds adventurous! I’ll bet your neighbors were thrilled to have you charging their phones and computers. :-) I’ve never been awakened by bison peeing—that’s quite a story!
We were amazed the first time we saw the badlands too. We kept saying…How would you like to be exploring this area 150 years ago. I wish there was a photo of back then.
Outstanding photos as usual! I remember hiking but don’t remember that huge ladder. Egads, looks dangerous to me, but I know, Laurel, you mastered it in no time….hehe
Marsha, I was a bit apprehensive when I approached that ladder, but I’m glad we did it. Coming down was the worst—I was hugging the ladder so tightly I ended up with bruises on my shins (I’m such a chicken, haha!).
I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. :-)
Surrounded by Nature with no sign of civilization? That’s my kind of place!
So far we haven’t made it to South Dakota but the Badlands is definitely on our radar. Great photos as usual and we love the burrowing owls!
Thanks, Henry! I feel certain you and Loretta will enjoy the Badlands—and you don’t have to go east of the Mississippi, LOL!
We really want to visit the Badlands, but the only time I think we can get there next year (given other obligations) would be April, and I’m pretty apprehensive about the weather there that time of year. As you said, it’s all extremes….. I’ll have to do some more research because it truly looks like a fantastic place to explore. I love all the color variation in your photos and the hikes sound like fun (we’ll go ahead and skip the butt slide one though.😁). Thanks for the tip on the campground too. I’ve heard mixed reviews about staying in the park and know some people who boondocked nearby only to get stuck in the mud… seems like a good place to opt for the full hook up campground instead.
Laura, the first of June was pretty perfect, and already getting warm mid-day. I think it can still be snowing in April. But who knows? Everything is changing.
If you can get a site on the outer loop in the national park with an amazing view of the Badlands—that would be great. But most of the sites we saw were not so great. We were really happy at the private RV park—again, it depends on the site you get. Go for one on the outer edge of the park closest to the Badlands. :-)
Hi! We just discovered your blog and we love it!! Thank you so much. The photos are spectacular. We have just started birding and traveling (part time) in our class B van and would be interested in knowing what type of camera and binoculars you use for birding. Could you share that information?
Thanks for your kind comment, Pam. Happy to have you join our adventures. :-)
Both Eric and I have Canon Power Shot SX 60HS cameras. They’re easy to use and allow us to zoom in for wildlife photography without having to deal with extra lenses. And they seem to be pretty durable because we take them everywhere hiking/biking/and kayaking. However, I wouldn’t get them wet (I killed a Canon SX50 in a rainstorm).
As far as binoculars, we have the Nikon Monarch 5 8×42 model. They’re waterproof and reasonably priced with good optics.