Badlands National Park is located in southwest South Dakota, only an hour away from Wind Cave National Park. This national park gets its name from the geologic formations called badlands. Badlands were created after sediments were slowly deposited on the landscape until about 28 million years ago. Following the deposition, around 500,000 years ago the ancient mountains started to erode due to rivers running through the area. As you drive through the park its as if you are taking a drive back through time. The badlands themselves are multi-colored with different layers representing different time periods, the sediments on the bottom being older than the ones on top.

While you can get plenty of views of the badlands along the road, there is something special about actually hiking among them. There are an array of hikes that you can go on to experience this for yourself.

Saddle Pass Trail: 0.7 miles long and you gain 300 feet. This is a moderate hike that takes you up on top of some badlands

Door Trail: 0.9 miles round trip. This is a very easy hike that takes you to a panoramic view of the badlands

Notch Trail: 1.5 miles round trip. This trail takes you to a wooden ladder that is nailed to the badlands which you will need to climb up. Once on top you will follow the ridge line of the badlands.

The badlands is a great place to search for wildlife. Bison are relatively easy to spot as you drive the main roads. You can find them far out in the fields or even right up next to the road. Other animals that you might see are bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelopes, coyotes, and different bird species.

The Roberts Prairie Dog Town is one of the largest prairie dog towns in the badlands. You can find this town right next to the road along the Sage Creek Rd (this is a gravel road).

In the Ben Reifel Visitor Center there is an active paleontology lab. You can watch the paleontologist work on studying, cleaning, and categorizing fossils. This also gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have to the experts. The lab is only open from June until September during the hours of 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.

There is one lodge located in the national park called the Cedar Pass Lodge that you can book if you prefer to stay in the park. The closest town to Badlands National Park is Wall, South Dakota. Wall is only 10 minutes away from the park entrance. There are plenty of places to stay and is the location of the iconic Wall Drug. You can also find a place to stay in Rapid City, South Dakota which is about an hour away. Rapid City is a much larger city and is most likely the place you would fly into if you are coming to the Badlands by plane.