Badlands National Park Travel Guide
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Photo: Andrew Mace, Fodors.com member
So stark and forbidding are the chiseled spires, ragged ridgelines, and deep ravines of South Dakota's badlands that Lieutenant Colonel George Custer once described them as "hell with the fires burned out." Although a bit more accessible than the depths of the underworld, the landscape is easily the strangest in the Great Plains. Ruthlessly ravaged over the ages by wind and rain, the 380 square mi of wild terrain continue to erode and evolve, sometimes visibly changing shape in a few days. Prairie creatures thrive on the untamed territory, and animal fossils are in abundance.
Badlands National Park Hotels
Badlands National Park is oft visited by families on a vacation to see the American West, but very few opt to stay overnight here, especially when there's...read more
Badlands National Park Restaurants
Dining on the prairies of South Dakota has always been a casual and family-oriented experience, and in that sense, very little has changed in the past century...read more
Things To Do in Badlands National Park
Explore the best sights, entertainment, and shopping with our top choices and insider tips.
Travel Deals in Badlands National Park
- $148* & up -- Nationwide Flights thru Fall on American, R/T American Airlines
Badlands National Park Experiences
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Fossils: From the mid-1800s, the fossil-rich Badlands area has welcomed paleontologists, research institutions, and fossil hunters who have discovered... Read more
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Much of the credit for setting aside South Dakota's badlands as public lands is owed to Peter Norbeck, a powerful politician who was also largely... Read more
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The park's sharply defined cliffs, canyons, and mesas are near-deserts with little plant growth. Most of the park, however, is made up of mixed-grass... Read more
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In late December 1890 the men of the 7th Cavalry, armed with a federal mandate (and some light artillery), intercepted a group of 350 Lakota... Read more
News & Features
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Trip Ideas
From backpackers to businessmen, luxury seekers to religious pilgrims, all kinds of travelers are draw ... Read more
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Trip Ideas
Ask around and most people will tell you to spend as short a layover as possible in Athens before booking... Read more
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News, Hotels
When an Aman Resort opens, we come running.... Read more
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· Forums Trip Reports
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Hubby and I just returned from a week’s vacation in the Mt. Read more
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Thanks so much for helping me plan my trip to South Dakota. Read more
·Arizona Forum, California Forum, South Dakota Forum, Utah Forum
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I am planning a trip out west for our family of 5 plus my parents and possibly my in-laws...so a total of 9. We are planning on traveling the first 2 weeks of July, 2014. We feel like this will be the only Read more
