2 Best Sights in Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Ben Reifel Visitor Center

Open year-round, the park's main information hub has brochures, maps, and information on ranger programs. Check out exhibits on geology and wildlife, and watch paleontologists at work in the Fossil Prep Lab (June--September). View the film, Land of Stone and Light, in the 95-seat theater, and shop in the Badlands Natural History Association Bookstore. The facility is named for a Sioux activist and the first Lakota to serve in Congress. Born on the nearby Rosebud Indian Reservation, Ben Reifel also served in the Army during World War II.

Visitor Center
Badlands National Park, South Dakota, 57750, USA
605-433–5361
Sights Details
Rate Includes: June–mid-Aug., daily 7–7; mid-Aug.–mid-Sept., daily 8–5; mid-Sept–May, daily 8–4

White River Visitor Center

Open in summer, this small center serves almost exclusively serious hikers and campers venturing into the Stronghold or Palmer unit. If that's you, stop here for maps and details about road and trail conditions. The center is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. While you're here you can see fossils and Lakota artifacts, and learn about Sioux culture.

Visitor Center
Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA
605-455–2878
www.nps.gov/badl
Sights Details
Rate Includes: Memorial Day–Labor Day, daily 10–4. Hrs may vary