There aren’t a lot of places on Earth that look like Badlands National Park. Set an hour or so west of South Dakota’s beautiful Black Hills, the canyons hills pinnacles badlands look like they belong on another planet. Or perhaps like they arrived here from one.
NATURE: MIGHTY FINE
An Oddity in the Prairie
Erosion has created some incredible places, and Badlands is one of them. This isn’t the Grand Canyon or Zion, though, where a powerful river carved out a magnificent canyon. Neither is it Yosemite or Kenai Fjords, which were carved by glaciers. The uniqueness of Badlands lies in that most of it appears to rise out of otherwise flat ground—an assortment of rock walls and pyramids sitting on top of a prairie. The Badlands don’t cover an especially large area, and these rock formations aren’t massive. Nevertheless, they’re abundant and fascinating.
EXPERIENCE: RESPECTABLE
Some Short Hikes but Not Much Else
The explorable area within Badlands is fairly small, and from what we saw, fairly homogenous. The Castle Rock Trail is the featured hiking experience, and it’s a mostly flat trek from one road to another that weaves around the rock formations. There are also some shorter paths next to a large parking lot to lead to named formations like “The Door” and “The Notch.”
Camping overnight may be the next best thing to do in Badlands, as the rocks make a scenic backdrop for an impressive night sky.
VISITING: EASY
Close to Rapid City and the Black Hills
Inside the park, everything of interest is easily accessible from the main road, making exploration straightforward for most visitors. On top of that, this region of South Dakota has several notable spots worth visiting beyond Badlands. For a scenic weeklong road trip, you can group this park along with Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, the city of Deadwood, and Spearfish Canyon.
STUPIDITY INDEX
The Stupid May Get Hurt
It gets hot here, and with heat comes the risk of dehydration. Also, there’s the potential for tornados in this part of the country. You don’t have to be stupid to get hurt by those.
CATSBY’S TAKE
It Was Fine
It was hot at night, and it reminded me of summers in our old apartment.