Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park was the last park we visited on our road trip and was Day 22 of our trip. We had planned on doing a little hiking, but we had some rain so we changed our plans and went to the overlooks instead. Badlands was unlike any other park we visited on our national park road trip.
I had no idea we were going to see buffalo at the entrance. They were spectacular!
Since we were coming from Wall Drug, we entered Badlands at the Pinnacles Entrance Station. Badlands National Park has 4 main entrances. Pinnacles Entrance is the east gate. We used my America the Beautiful Pass to enter the park. To read about the America the Beautiful Pass, click here.
Badlands Loop Road or SD 240 is a 2 lane paved road that covers about 40 miles through Badlands National Park. At times, the road is curvy and steep. Our first stop was at the Pinnacles Overlook where we got our first look at the incredible Badlands.
After leaving the Pinnacles Overlook, we found an amazing place to pull over that wasn’t an official overlook so there was no one else there. Logan had just graduated from high school the month before so we surprised him by pulling out his graduation cap and gown and did a little photo shoot. It was a bit windy, but we got a few good pictures. People passing us in cars beeped and yelled congratulations.
As we drove Badlands Loop Road, we saw amazing scenery and got some beautiful pictures.
Next we stopped at the Conata Basin Overlook. At this overlook, there is an approximately 500 feet boardwalk you can walk out on to get the best pictures.
As we were driving along Badlands Loop Road, we saw a lot of activity happening with several cars stopped along the road and people with cameras looking at something. As we learned in Yellowstone National Park, this usually means wildlife is near. Sure enough, a beautiful bighorn sheep had made its presence known. We got out and took some pictures (at a safe distance).
We made stops at Panorama Point and White River Valley Overlook. We were in awe of the scenery.
We parked and did a little exploring. We really wanted to see what consistency the mounds were.
The storm clouds rolled in, followed by rain, so we were not able to hike the Notch Trail like we had planned.
We headed to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center where I got my ink stamp for my National Park Passport Book. To read about the National Park Passport Book, click here.
Located next to the visitor center is the Cedar Pass Lodge which includes a restaurant, a gift shop, and lodging.
We really enjoyed Badlands National Park. It was absolutely worth visiting and is extremely unique compared to the other national parks we visited on this road trip. I definitely recommend seeing the Badlands.
