Part 1 of 3: Badlands, South Dakota
As it often seems to be, our plans don’t always turn out as we expect. August 2017 we were excited to be going to Yosemite National Park, and sadly, the forest fires in the area kept us from the park. Our reservations were cancelled about a week before, so we had to come up with a new plan. Since we live in Iowa, we decided we would take a short road trip and do some hiking at the Badlands and Black Hills in South Dakota, located in the southwest corner of the state.
This was Steve’s first trip to the Black Hills. I have been there a few times. This was my first time hiking the BlackHills. I Googled relentlessly until I found some Black Hills hiking we would both enjoy.
Badlands National Park
We left before sunrise. It is about an 8 hour drive from our home. First stop was the Badlands. Although not in the Black Hills, it is also located in southwest South Dakota. It was on the way and definitely worth visiting.
The badlands are made of layered rock formations which were formed over millions of years through erosion and sediment deposits. Driving through the park is so cool. It’s like being on another planet. The landscape is sensational! Layered rock formations surround the terrain, some with spires and pinnacles giving the area a treacherous look. For more information on the park you can follow their link. https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm
Hiking the Notch Trail, Badlands National Park
We decided the Notch Trail would be a fun trail for us to get out and move about. It is 1.5 mile out and back round trip trail. This trail travels through a short canyon first, then you climb a ladder to the bluff above. Next, you will follow a ledge around the bluff which finally takes you to the view of the landscape below.
Walking though the canyon is easy. Such beautiful landscape and rocks. The ladder didn’t seem bad until I looked down from the top!
Walking along the ledge seemed a bit treacherous to me as the rock path isn’t necessarily packed down well, like a dirt trail. Even though the rocks were dry, they seemed slick to walk on, and careful footing was needed. I expect this is very slick when wet. The view from the top was hazy but the landscape was still amazing.
Regardless, it was a beautiful short hike, just enough to get us rejuvenated for the rest of our drive.
Drive Through Badlands Park
We continued driving through the park while stopping to see the vistas and take pictures. The Pinnacles Overlook is a short walk from the parking lot. It is pretty cool and worth the stop. You can look down and see sharp rock pinnacles stretching before you nearly extending to the horizon.
The beautiful Yellow Mounds seemed to appear out of nowhere as we drove along. They were probably my favorite because of the dramatic yellow color with pink stripe was a stark contrast to the grey and off white formations.
We also saw a Prairie Dog Town. The prairie dogs were a lot of fun. Watching those little guys pop up out of their holes was entertaining.
We love the Badlands and would have enjoyed spending more time hiking there, but it was getting to be late afternoon and we had reservations at The State Game Lodge at Custer State Park in the Black Hills. We headed that way continuing on our Black Hills road trip and ready for more hiking.
Follow the links below for more of our Black Hills Hiking and Road Trip which includes more hiking, Mt. Rushmore, scenic drives, kayaking and wildlife viewing.
https://thegenxtravels.com/2019/07/11/our-black-hills-hiking-and-road-trip-part-2/.
https://thegenxtravels.com/2019/07/18/our-black-hills-hiking-and-road-trip-part-3/
Great photos – looks like a wonderful place to visit & hike!
It was a lot of fun!!
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing! I might get the chance to visit later this year (fingers crossed!) so I’ll be referring back to this if it all works out.
Great!!! I hope you make it!!!
I guess i have to go back to Badlands and do some hiking! We stopped there to camp when my dad and I were doing a long drive from Madison, WI to Bozeman, MT. We wanted to spend our time along the Beartooth Highway instead and never had time to explore Badlands.
This was the fourth time I have been to Badlands and first time I hiked here! I was amazed at how much more there was!
Awesome photos! I can’t wait to see/read more on your blog. I can already tell it will provide great inspiration for future trips!
Thank you, Marsi! So nice of you to say. I hope so! I am still working at learning all of the ins and outs of blogging, computers, SEO, etc. etc.
Me too! Your blog looks great!
The more time I spend on learning what I really need to, the less time I spend writing. Tough trying to find a balance. One day perhaps I’ll be ambitious enough to learn HTML. Hahahaha…probably not…
I totally agree!! It is a lot more work than I anticipated but I’m still enjoying it!!
Amazing!
Thank you!!
Looks like a great trip. I haven’t been to the Badlands in 30 years. Your post makes me think I’ve got to get back there.
It was a lot more fun than I remembered from past trips!!
Looks interesting! Very rocky and arid looking. We might go check it out since it’s not too far from us
It was a good quick trip for us to go to and there was a lot to do in a short time. I liked that once we arrived there, nothing we wanted to see was very far away.
We also enjoyed the Badlands! Beautiful scenery. I wish we had done the Notch Trail – it looks beautiful. Maybe we will try that on our next trip out there! (small world…we are from Iowa, as well! Although if the Badlands is only 8 hours for you, I’m guessing different sides of the state since it took us 11 hours.)
We really enjoyed the Notch Trail. We are from Des Moines area.
Great post! We did that hike a few years ago. That ladder was something else…
I didn’t think the latter was bad until I looked down after I got to the top!!!
That’s what I thought, too!
Wow, incredible natural beauty!
I agree, it is very unique and fun to wander around at!
Never been to South Dakota. Badlands looks tempting. That ladder looks scary from the top. Adding to my travel list. Thanks
Heena
It was a lot of fun!!!
Enjoyed reading – I had plans to ride through on my bike on a long trip I have planned soon. Nice to see pictures and a description that make me happy to include the area đŸ™‚
Glad you like it! I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it there I’ve been there when my kids were little but we never explored it up close like we did this time!!
We visited about 30 years ago, and it was like being on another planet. We also visited the prairie dog town, and I will never forget it. One was run over in the street, and its family stared, keening, at its dead body. The park ranger there explained they are highly social and familial animals. It was so heartbreaking and I will never forget it.
Oh my! I did not know they were so social!! They are so cute though!!!
Great post !!
Thank you!