Badlands National Park Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Badlands National Park [1] is a United States National Park that is located in southwestern South Dakota. This park is marked by rugged terrain and formations that resemble a science fiction landscape of another world. These rock formations take on the shapes of domes, twisted canyons and slanted walls, often striped in different colors. The formations contrast sharply with the rolling hills and prairies in which they stand.
In addition to the rock formations, the park contains the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. The most endangered land mammal in North America, the black footed ferret, was re-introduced to the 64,000-acres Badlands Wilderness Area. The park also contains the world's richest fossil beds from the Oligocene epoch, dating back around 20-35 million years.
Contents |
Understand
History
During the youth of the Rocky Mountains, about 60 million years ago, large number of streams carried eroded soil, rock and other materials eastward from the range. These materials were deposited on the vast lowlands which are today called the Great Plains. Dense vegetation grew in these lowlands, then fell into swamps, and was later buried by new layers of sediments. Millions of years later, this plant material turned into lignite coal. Some of the plant life became petrified, and we can find large amounts of exposed petrified wood in the badlands. While sediments continued to be deposited, more streams cut down through the soft rock layers, carving the variety of mesas, buttes, rock formations, pinnacles, spires and valleys are the features of the badlands seen today.
Landscape
Flora and fauna
While the badlands terrain may appear to be barren, there is a great variety of wildlife and plant life here. The minimal annual precipitation feeds the grasses and wildflowers of the badlands. The brilliant colors of the blooms add to the palette of grays, browns, reds, ochres and greens of the land. The wildlife includes nearly two hundred species of birds, deer, prairie dogs, elk and bison.
Climate
Get in
Fees/Permits
An entry pass good for one year is available for $20. Otherwise, people who drive a non-commercial vehicle can buy a 7 day pass for $10. Hikers, cyclists and motorcyclists can get a 7 day pass for $5, though additional motorcycle passengers pay an additional $5 each.
Members of the Oglala Sioux tribe can buy the 7 day pass at half price, but the year pass is still $20.
A National Parks Pass is available for $50 that allows entry into any National Park for one year. There are also Golden Age/Access/Eagle Passes available to the disabled and persons over 62 years of age that allow lifetime access to all national parks.
Get around
See
Do
Buy
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Lodging
Cedar Pass Lodge, (605) 433-5460, [2]. The the only permanent lodging within Badlands NP.
Camping
There are two campgrounds within the Badlands NP.
- Cedar Pass Campground. Costs $10 for a site in the summer (Memorial Day through Labor Day), and $8 for a site in the winter, all sites first-come, first-served.
- Sage Creek Campground. Free campground, all sites first-come, first-served.
Backcountry
Backpackers can camp anywhere in the park that is at least one half mile from the road. Open fires are not permitted within the park. All backpackers are urged to stop at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, to better plan your trip and to alert the National Park Service to your presense.
Stay safe
There are two major threats to safety in the Badlands.
- Weather. With temperatures that can range from 100+ degrees fahrenheit and severe thunderstorms move in quickly during the summer to well below zero on winter nights, Badlands NP visitors need to be prepared for the seasonal weather.
- Wildlife The animals in the park are less of a threat to visitors who pay them the proper respect. However, ending up on the wrong end of a bison can end in the hospital, or death for the park visitor. Visitors should also be wary of the poisonous (but seldom deadly) prairie rattlesnakes, a subspecies of the rattlesnake.
Get out
Nearby towns include:
- Wall. Home to the famous Wall Drug store.
Nearby monuments and parks in South Dakota include:
- The Chief Crazy Horse. A massive sculpture that is still being built on the side of a mountain to honor a famous Indian chief.
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The faces of four famous American presidents carved into the side of a mountain.
- Custer State Park. Home to a large herd of bison as well as other wildlife.
- Jewel Cave National Monument.
- Wind Cave National Park.
- Black Hills National Forest.
Driving west into Wyoming, sites include:
- Devils Tower National Monument. America's first national monument, this massive volcanic core was featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
- Yellowstone National Park. America's first national park.
- Grand Teton National Park. Home to massive and craggy mountains.
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