A Brief Guide To Visiting Badlands National Park

Years ago we made the trek from Michigan to the Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

It was quite the drive, but so very worth it.

A few years after that initial trip we made the drive again because we loved it just that much.

WHAT TO SEE AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

The Badlands are simply amazing. Beautiful.

The images just don’t do it justice. It is one of those things that just have to be experienced.

If you only have time for one drive in the park pick The Loop Drive, it was our favorite drive.

There is so much too see with lots of turnouts. We were able to pull over and enjoy so many amazing views.

I think we would have done more hiking, but these signs kept up fairly close to our car. Snakes freak me the hell out!

WILDLIFE AT BADLAND NATIONAL PARK

The Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of wilderness. According to the information in the newsletter you should see bighorn sheep, coyotes, ferret, fox, bison, and mule deer.

Emma and I only saw prairie dogs and pronghorns, oh and an owl.

Em has great eyes and can spot the wildlife. She pretty much excels at it.

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK LANDSCAPE

According to the national park site “These geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here.”

WHERE TO CAMP AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

This was our first night pitching a tent. We had a spot at the KOA in Interior, SD.

The KOA also has a putt-putt course, laundromat, clean showers, and a nice pool.

The area where we camped had a kitchen sink/cooking area which was so much easier for clean up.

One of the best things about having a site in the KOA “tent city” was the privacy fence on 2 sides of us. The first night we camped there was a terrible storm. Lighting, thunder and a torrential downpour.

I began to wonder if we weren’t going to get blown away because the winds were so strong. However, we made it through the storm and the tent stayed in one piece.

We really enjoyed the Badlands.

We spent 2 days driving around looking at the wonderful landscapes and trying to spot wildlife. We kept lots of water in the car and had lunch packed so that we could enjoy our time in the National Park.

This is such a gorgeous area to visit. If you are planning a visit to this area be sure to include some time to drive through and enjoy the Badlands.