@NP.Adventuring - Badlands

Badlands National Park Website

Park number 4 of the 2018 road trip was Badlands. We had no idea what to expect at this park and didn't really research it that much, we kind of wanted to keep it a surprise. At it did surprise us, all of us really loved this park. But before we even started this park visit we started off with a Pit Stop - Feeding the prairie dogs at the Badlands Ranch Store just outside the North East entrance to the park. It was $1 for a bag of peanuts to feed the prairie dogs and the kids had fun trying to bait the little guys into being caught. (which didn't work)

This park is a mix of prairies and badlands, which is a geologic feature of soft rock that is easily eroded. So you get a mix of really green grass and stratified eroded sandstone bluffs. It's a very unique landscape and we enjoyed exploring it. Most of the dedicated hiking routes are within a couple miles of the visitor's center, but this park has an Open Hike policy, so you are allowed to go off trail anywhere that you feel is safe in the park, you just have to stay away from the animals. Speaking of animals we saw quite a few in the park. There are Bison, Bighorn Sheep, Ferrets, Prairie Dogs, Pronghorns, and numerous birds and reptiles.

We did a couple hikes out into the badlands and the kids really loved it because they were able to scramble and climb all over the rocks and bluffs, jump over small ravines, and explore anything that might be a cave. It was super windy and that made it hard to keep the food on the plates during our picnic lunch we brought. We mainly stuck to the main Loop Road in the north section of the park (going East to West), but that had plenty to keep us busy for the day.

This park rates at 5 out of 5 stars based on our standard criteria.

Rating Criteria: Fun, Scenic, Ease of Travel, Wildlife, Crowds

Pit Stop #2 - We couldn't leave the area without going to the world famous tourist trap, Wall Drug Store!

Pit Stop #3 - We didn't get to go to this one but the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is on I-90 right outside the park.