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An Otherwordly Wonder Meant For Exploration

This striking South Dakota landscape boasts a maze of buttes, canyons, pinnacles and spires. Skeletons of three-toed horses and saber-toothed cats are among the many fossilized species found here. Wildlife abounds in the park’s 244,000 acres and can often be seen while hiking, camping and traveling the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway.

Keep reading for more trip planning tools & frequently asked visitor questions to help you plan your next great adventure to Badlands National Park!

 

Badlands
Plan Your Visit

Step boldly into this surreal landscape.

Badlands map location

25216 Ben Reifel Road
Interior, SD57750
United States

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the closest airport to Badlands National Park?

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What is the driving distance to nearby U.S. cities from Badlands National Park?

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What is the best time of year to visit Badlands National Park?

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 What are the busiest times of week to visit Badlands National Park?

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What is the climate, geographic information and history of Badlands National Park?

Driving through the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway
While You're Here
Drive through the Badlands

Pile in for an unforgettable scenic drive through Badlands National Park. Be prepared to break for multiple vacation photos along the Badlands Loop Road. 

Badlands
While You're Here
Fossil Exhibit Trail

Walk the boardwalk path as you go back in time. View fossil replicas of extinct species that once inhabited the Badlands.

Ben Reifel Visitor Center Badlands National Park
While You're Here
BEN REIFEL Visitor Center

Learn about the park, sign up for a Ranger-led or other special park program or shop for a beautiful souvenir at the gift shop. 

Stars and Milky Way Badlands National Park South Dakota
While You're Here
Nighttime Stargazing

Let the stars be the only light you see.

Hiking Badlands National Park South Dakota
While You're Here
Hike the Badlands

Explore trails and otherworldly formations that are millions of years in the making. Get up close to the painted landscape on hikes ranging from flat stretches across the prairie to uphill climbs through the Badlands terrain. 

Minuteman Missile Silo Minuteman Missile National Historic Site South Dakota
While You're Here
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Visit this nearby top-secret and restricted site that was key to maintaining world peace during the Cold War-era even though it held the power of nuclear armageddon. 

 
An ancient sea floor rises and swallows the rolling plains. Colorful, dramatic and surreal, the sculptured pinnacles and painted gullies preserve the past in layers of colorful sediment.
IT TOOK MORE THAN 75 MILLION YEARS TO CREATE THE BADLANDS. YOU CAN'T RUSH PERFECTION.
Great 8
Badlands National Park

This striking South Dakota landscape boasts a maze of buttes, canyons, pinnacles and spires. Skeletons of three-toed horses and saber-toothed cats are among the many fossilized species found here. Wildlife abounds in the park’s 244,000 acres and can often be seen while hiking, camping and traveling the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway.

badlands national park
Badlands
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Mount Rushmore National Memorial

America's Shrine of Democracy, Mount Rushmore National Memorial features the 60-foot faces of four great American presidents who represent the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country. 

Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
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Jewel Cave National Monument

The third-longest cave in the world features a variety of tours below the surface and a 1,279-acre park with nature trails above ground.

Jewel Cave Interior
Jewel Cave
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Custer State Park

Few truly wild places remain in this country. Custer State Park is one of them. Nearly 1,300 bison wander the park’s 71,000 acres, which they share with pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain goats and a band of burros.

Needles Highway
Custer State Park
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Historic Deadwood

Walk in the footsteps of historic Old West legends like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock. This 1870s gold rush town became a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Today, it teems with Black Hills entertainment and things to do including concerts, casinos, museums, historic sites, spas and parades.

Deadwood
Deadwood reanactors
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Missouri River

History and adventure abound along and on the waters of the Mighty Mo’. Free-flowing sections and four reservoirs — Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case and Lewis & Clark Lake — are prime for fishing, boating and water recreation.

Missouri River Fishing
Pierre Missouri River
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Wind Cave National Park

The first cave to be designated a national park, Wind Cave National Park features the world's largest concentration of rare boxwork formations along with 33,851 acres of forest and prairie on the surface, creating a sanctuary for wildlife.

Wind Cave National Park
Wind Cave
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Crazy Horse Memorial

Korczak Ziolkowski began work on Crazy Horse Memorial in 1948. Once complete, this tribute to the Lakota leader will be the largest mountain carving in South Dakota, and the world. The on-site Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Educational & Cultural Center also provide opportunities to learn and explore.

Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse
Badlands
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Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore icon
Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave icon
Custer State Park
Custer State Park icon
Deadwood reanactors
Deadwood icon
Pierre Missouri River
Missouri River icon
Wind Cave
Wind Cave icon
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse Icon
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Hiking Badlands National Park South Dakota
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Start your South Dakota exploration in Badlands National Park

Trip Planning Resources
Illustrated image of three bison grazing in Custer State Park. The Needles rock formation is visible in the background.
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Feeding a burro
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The Travel

South Dakota Stories Podcast

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South Dakota is where buffalo roam, gunslingers entertain, and mountains and monuments stand tall over open land. Produced by the award-winning Armchair Productions and recorded on-location throughout South Dakota, this audio adventure podcast is designed to do more than just let you hear what it’s like to be there! 

Available now on SpotifyApple and Amazon.