The Badlands

The Badlands National Park

Badlands NP was the first stop on our 16 day trip out West.  It was a LONG and boring drive from Georgia to South Dakota and there is nothing interesting to see throughout the Midwest.  Beanfield, cornfield, beanfield, cornfield.  Cow!

FINALLY, after 22 hours, we made it to our destination and man was it a pleasant surprise.  The sun was just setting over the Badlands as we arrived and we had to pass through the NP to get to the KOA Campground that we were staying at for the night.  The scenery was surreal as we passed through the park.  Small plateaus with bright green grass atop welcomed us like little gnomes with green flattops.  Behind the plateaus was a canyon, lined with the most amazing mountainous rock formations.  Welcome to the Badlands!!!

First Impressions

So, as we were initially driving through the NP, I found myself questioning whether one day was really enough to even get a taste of the park.  There are several pull offs alongside the road to get fantastic views.  By the time I had this thought, we were already at the park exit.  I was surprised at how short the distance from entrance (via Interstate 90 East entrance) to exit (towards Interior), but don’t let that fool you at how grand the park really is.  The park actually runs East to West, splitting off near visitor center and heading towards Wall Drug Store for about 45 miles or so.

Time To Hit the Trails

So, after relaxing for a short bit by a fire that night at KOA, we hit the sack after a long days’ drive.  The following morning, we were pulling out of the campground by 8:00 and hit our first trail by around 8:15 (I must say, the KOA was conveniently close, but nothing else to write home about).  We started at the most popular trailhead, which contains three hikes: Window Trail, Door Trail, and Notch Trail.

Window Trail

The Window Trail is a great easy hike for all ages.  It is only .25 of a mile round trip, only 10ft elevation gain, and has a boardwalk
leading right up to the window of the canyon.  It’s the easiest of the three trails.  The view is quite amazing and definitely worth the short stroll, even for the avid hiker.  Our kids were more interested in climbing rock than the view, but there’s definitely a takeaway for all ages.

 

 

Notch Trail

The Notch Trail is the hardest of the three trails, but the reward is great.  This trail is roughly 1.3 miles round trip and has no boardwalk.  You trek at the bottom of two ridges on a sand path that leads you through grasses, junipers, and scrub brush.  About half way in, you’re faced with a 50 rung, log ladder that ascends up the ridge on your right.  I must say (probably to the benefit of all), the ladder wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it would be.  The slope is very gradual until you come to the last 8ft or so.  Everyone in our group (ages 7-40) made it up with ease.  That being said, the next part was pretty intimidating.  At the top of the ladder, you’re standing at the top of a ridge with a cliff on both sides of you – the ridge is about 10-15ft wide, so that part isn’t so bad.  About 50 yards in, there is a small pathway (about 2-3ft wide) with a pretty significant cliff to the left of you.  We had 6 rambunctious kids with us, so we decided to leave the kids behind with their mothers.  My brother and I finished it alone, but don’t make this mistake.  That sketchy section is only about 20 yards or so and then it opens back up with plenty of land to spread out on.  Afterwards, we wish we would have taken the whole family further, but didn’t know what to expect the rest of the trail to be like until it was too late.  At the end of the trail, you have the grand view of the White River Valley, which is such a great viewpoint.  You also can see the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail below.   After taking in the scenery, head back the same way you came.

Door Trail

The Door Trail is about 3/4 of a mile hike round trip and has a viewing platform about 1/8 mile in.  A boardwalk leads you to the view  and then the trail continues via a path taking you along the canyon edge.  For the sake of time, and by choice of the kids, we decided to skip this hike, unfortunately.  It seems just as incredible as the other two.

Jeep Ride in Badlands

Since my brother had his travel trailer hooked up to his truck, we decided to pile all 10 of us in the Jeep for my four nephew’s first Jeep ride.  What better place than at the Badlands?  We pulled the windows out of the rear and flipped the soft top down.  3 in the front, 4 in the middle, and 3 in the rear – that’s legal, right?  “Outlaws in the Badlands”.  We rode the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway for about an hour and stopped at several of the pull offs along the way.

 

 

Saddle Pass Trail

On the Jeep ride back, I had the crazy idea to hike up Saddle Pass.  I said we could be up and  down within 20 minutes, if they would just wait for me in the Jeep.  So, my brother and I sprinted up the mountain (for all of about 30 seconds) and then hiked rather quickly for the remainder.  The .25 mile hike round trip may seem easy, but let me tell you, it is straight up the ridge.  That being said, we did finish under 15 minutes (up/down) and even posed for a picture up top for a few minutes before heading down.  We did have the opportunity to climb a bit higher for a more awesome(er) picture, but I’ll just say that it was the small waiting line that ultimately persuaded us to stay on track and head back down.  That’ll save us a little pride vs saying we were intimidated by the height of the last sketchy stretch.  😜

 

 

Cliff Shelf Nature Trail

From Saddle Pass, we chose one last trail to hike.  Cliff Shelf Nature Trail is an easy 0.5 mile loop trail that only has 300’ of elevation change.  I felt like it was a pretty easy trail, although it does have a few stairs to climb.  The hike leads you through a small juniper forest and overlooks the green prairie of White River Valley to the south and views of the Badlands Wall to the North.  From the platform, and high above you, you can see “The Notch” (an opening in Badland Wall), which is accessible by hiking to end of Notch Trail.  Both trails give the same view, just from different elevations.

Wall Drug Store

After hooking the Jeep back up to the motorhome, we headed down Badlands Loop Scenic Byway towards Wall Drug Store on I90.  We only drove a portion of this on our Jeep ride and turned around, as we knew we were headed back this way to exit the park.  The drive is a beauty and has many pull offs to take in the views.  We did see our first small herd of buffalo at the end of this route prior to getting to Wall Drug Store.  Must say, was pretty neat seeing these in the wild for the first time.  By end of trip, this was an everyday occurance (on a much grander scale), so you quickly get immuned to the excitement of buffalo.

Wall Drug Store is a pretty neat place if you like old towns and shopping and want a home cooked meal.  If not, I’d personally skip it, unless you just have ample time to kill.  We were on a pretty strict timeline with all the National Parks on our list and I could have foregone this stop to allow more time at the campground.  After a long drive and big day at the Badlands, more time was needed for the kids to ride their bikes and for me to decompress by a campfire.  If you’re on a much slower pace, I could see where this would be a nice stop, however, I’m never going at a slow pace, so places like this don’t interest me.  I guess the donuts are good, though (so I’ve heard).

Great One Day Visit

All-in-all, I was very satisfied with our visit to Badlands NP and I felt like we were able to see a pretty good portion of the park in a one day visit.  Sure, there were a few trails that we didn’t get the opportunity to hike, but I felt like the ones we did, gave us a pretty good sampling.  The park offers great views and great hikes for families with kids.  It’s a great place for kids (big kids, too) to climb rocks and be adventurous.  Definitely not a park you would want to skip.