Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park in South Dakota
USA
Badlands National Park located in South Dakota is known for its striking geological rock formations. The park spans over 240,000 acres of rugged terrain. The area features deep canyons, sharp peaks, and several grasslands.
We stayed the night in Rapid city and made the approximately 1 hour drive over to Badlands National park and the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway drive.
Our first stop was at the Big Badlands Overlook that was just a short walk along a ridgeline for sweeping views of the famously steep and jagged geological formations. The dramatic rock formations, and sweeping grasslands seemed to stretch on forever.
We then made a short stop at the Door trail where you walk along a short boardwalk path that leads to an opening in the badlands wall known as the door. After walking just off the end of the boardwalk the ground becomes rugged, loose, and uneven.
On the next trail we sought out some shade under the steep rock formations as the suns rays were very strong even during our visit in the fall. It was surprising how much cooler the shade was when compared to the direct sunlight.
After a brief rest we then stopped at the Cliff Shelf Nature trail and hiked the 0.5 mile loop that had stunning views and a small Juniper forest.
The white river valley overlook and Panorama point really showcased the colourful striations in the rocks across the landscape.
The Yellow mounds truly lived up to their names and provided a pop of colour across the landscape. The viewpoint was right from the parking lot.
The last stop on our day was the Pinnacles Overlook where the late afternoon sun cast long shadows on the landscape.
Badlands National park has some absolutely stunning landscapes that you need to see in person to truly appreciate. The viewpoints are easy to reach with many being adjacent to the parking lots.
With such vast views its worth putting Badlands National park on your visit list, happy exploring!
