Badlands National Park

The Badlands' dramatic erosional landscape was formed from sediments deposited between 75 and 28 million years ago, when the area was a flat floodplain and shallow sea, and has been carved by the White River and its tributaries over the past 500,000 years. The sedimentary layers, exposed by erosion, contain one of the world's richest fossil records from the Oligocene epoch (roughly 34 to 23 million years ago), including early mammals like the titanothere, a rhinoceros-like animal, and Hyaenodon, a predatory mammal. The park's paleontological resources are so significant that the National Park Service maintains a dedicated fossil preparation lab at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, where visitors can watch scientists at work. Fossils have been collected from the Badlands since the 1840s and are now housed in institutions around the world. The erosion that exposes fossils continues at a rapid rate — the Badlands may erode by as much as an inch per year, meaning the landscape will eventually disappear entirely, but it also means that new fossils are exposed regularly. The park's fossil collection includes over 4,000 catalogued specimens, and visitors are not allowed to collect fossils; they should report any finds to park staff.

The Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240) is a 39-mile paved scenic drive that runs through the park from the northeast entrance near Interstate 90 to the Pinnacles entrance in the west, with 14 designated overlooks and several trailheads. The road is one of the most scenic drives in the National Park System, with dramatic views of the badlands formations around every bend. The Door Trail, a 0.8-mile round trip, is the park's most popular hike, leading through a break in a wall of badlands formations onto a boardwalk and then onto an open badlands surface with views of the eroded landscape; the trail continues on an unmarked route across the badlands. The Window Trail, 0.25 miles, offers a framed view of a badlands valley through a notch in the rock. The Notch Trail, a 1.5-mile round trip, is more adventurous, climbing a 50-foot ladder up a cliff face and following a ledge to a dramatic overlook — it can be hazardous in wet or hot weather and is not recommended for those afraid of heights. The Castle Trail, 10 miles round trip, is the park's longest day hike and crosses mixed grassland and badlands formations to a viewpoint. The Saddle Pass Trail, 0.5 miles, is a steep climb to the top of a badlands wall.

Badlands is one of the best national parks for wildlife viewing, thanks to its combination of grassland habitat and relative lack of forest cover. The park is home to a herd of roughly 1,200 bison, reintroduced in 1963 after being hunted to near-extinction in the 19th century, and they are frequently seen in the Sage Creek Wilderness Area in the western park, particularly along the Sage Creek Rim Road. Bighorn sheep, also reintroduced, are often spotted on the cliffs along the Loop Road, and pronghorn, the fastest land mammal in North America, are common on the grasslands. The park's most significant conservation success is the black-footed ferret, considered one of the most endangered mammals in North America and once thought extinct; a small population was discovered in Wyoming in 1981, and the species has been reintroduced to Badlands, where a self-sustaining population now exists. The park is also a dark sky park and a destination for stargazing, with the Sage Creek Basin offering some of the darkest skies in the northern Great Plains. Prairie dog towns are common and are important habitat for the ferrets, as well as for burrowing owls and other species.

Badlands is located about 75 miles east of Rapid City, South Dakota, and is easily accessible from Interstate 90. The park's main entrance is at the northeast, near the town of Wall, home of the famous Wall Drug store, and the Ben Reifel Visitor Center is about 8 miles from the entrance. The park has two developed campgrounds: Cedar Pass Campground, near the visitor center, with 96 sites that can be reserved, and Sage Creek Campground, a primitive campground on the west side with 22 first-come, first-served sites. The park is open year-round, though winter can bring cold temperatures and snow; summer is the busiest season, with temperatures often in the 90s and limited shade, so hikers should carry plenty of water and avoid midday hikes. The Stronghold Unit, in the southwest park and co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is a remote area accessible by dirt roads and includes the Stronghold Table, a sacred site where Lakota people sought refuge after the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. This unit is less visited and offers a more rugged experience; visitors should be aware of its cultural significance and respect tribal regulations. The entrance fee is $30 per vehicle, valid for seven days.