Badlands National Park covers 244,000 acres, or 381 square miles, of southwestern South Dakota about 80 miles west of Rapid City. Camping is available within the park boundaries and is one of the best ways to vacation at Badlands National Park. Plan your trip ahead of time to ensure you get a chance to explore and learn the many secrets of the region.
Significance
Badlands National Park holds the distinction as the origin of the science of vertebrate paleontology, or the study of fossils. The park includes historical and spiritual places to the Lakota Sioux Nation, and is one of the country’s biggest, protected mixed-grass prairies. Camping in Badlands National Park gives you a chance to experience the distinctive natural surroundings that hold the clues to life from centuries ago in the form of fossils and formations. The intriguing landscape erodes around 1-inch per year, which creates an ever-changing setting in the park.
Campgrounds
You can choose from two campgrounds at Badlands National Park--Cedar Pass and Sage Creek Campgrounds. Cedar Pass Campground features 96 campsites close to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center just inside the northeast entrance of the park. Plan to spend your Badlands camping trip here, if you would like access to flush toilets and running water. Select Sage Creek Campground that offers primitive camping as long as you do not need running water or mind pit toilets. The isolated road leading to this campground is not recommended for large RVs. The road is unpaved and often closed or inaccessible during the rainy season in the spring and during the winter months.
Backcountry Camping
You do not need to obtain a backcountry camping permit or pay any fees to camp in the backcountry and wilderness areas of the Badlands National Park. However, you should stop by the Ben Reifel Visitor Center or the Pinnacles Entrance Station to speak with the park’s staff before you hike into these regions of the park. Also, remember that pets and bicycles are not permitted on the trails in the park, and campfires are prohibited within the park.
Weather
When you are planning your camping trip, you should keep a few important details in mind. The Badlands National Park is open all year long, but the park’s facilities and special programs are only available during the summer season that runs from the beginning of June to the middle of September. Weather is always vital to campers and hikers so check ahead and prepare for the expected and unexpected conditions. Summers in the park are dry and very hot, but severe thunderstorms are possible. Tornados and hailstorms can occur at this time and the wettest month is June. Winter temperatures can fall well below freezing and 12 to 24 inches of snow is not uncommon.
Features
The Badlands National Park offers visitors several ranger programs during the summer throughout the park covering interesting topics. This includes geology walks, fossil talks, junior ranger programs, prairie walks plus a night sky program and evening program. The park features five marked trails to follow or you can explore the other areas of the park by foot or by horseback riding. Horses are permitted in the Sage Campground and in all other areas of the Badlands National Park, except in developed regions or on highways, roads and designated trails.
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