Nature Travelers
Contact Us​
  • Welcome
  • About
    • About Us
    • About NatureTravelers.com
  • Our Travels
    • USA Travels Overview
    • 31 Days In Iceland
    • 15 Days In The Galapagos >
      • Galapagos Resources
    • 28 Days In South Africa
    • 43 Days In Costa Rica
    • Travels In Canada
    • Cruises
  • Travel Journals
    • USA Journal
    • Iceland Journal
    • Galapagos Islands Journal
    • South Africa Journal
    • Canada Journal
  • Photo Galleries
    • USA Photo Gallery
    • Iceland Photo Gallery
    • Galapagos Islands Photo Gallery
    • South Africa Photo Gallery
    • Costa Rica Photo Gallery
  • Future Travels
  • Welcome
  • About
    • About Us
    • About NatureTravelers.com
  • Our Travels
    • USA Travels Overview
    • 31 Days In Iceland
    • 15 Days In The Galapagos >
      • Galapagos Resources
    • 28 Days In South Africa
    • 43 Days In Costa Rica
    • Travels In Canada
    • Cruises
  • Travel Journals
    • USA Journal
    • Iceland Journal
    • Galapagos Islands Journal
    • South Africa Journal
    • Canada Journal
  • Photo Galleries
    • USA Photo Gallery
    • Iceland Photo Gallery
    • Galapagos Islands Photo Gallery
    • South Africa Photo Gallery
    • Costa Rica Photo Gallery
  • Future Travels

Introduction to Badlands National Park - South Dakota

5/14/2012

0 Comments

 
We took a leisurely approach to the first day of our first visit to Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The unusual landscapes were unlike anything we had seen before, and we saw a little wildlife as well.
Picture
Badlands National Park - South Dakota

We pulled into Badlands National Park in South Dakota for the first time. We would be staying a few days and checking out the park.

The Badlands are unusual, interesting, and uniquely pretty.  Driving through was enticing.  We ended up at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and got some information.

 

 

The best time to visit the park is early in the morning and in the early evening when the light is less harsh and the crowds are down (there are lots of school field trips during the day during the week).  So, after getting settled, we headed out around 6:00. 

This is the view from the campground drive.

 

 

That time of day, the entrance booth was closed but you could drive on in.  This is a view from the park road between the Cedar Pass Campground and the visitors center.

 

 

The visitors center and the campground are on the floor of the plains.  Then there is a climb up to a higher plateau.  We pulled off in the middle of the hill on the way up for a view of the random formations jutting up through the green grass.

 

 

 

In a curve, most of the way up, is the parking lot for the half-mile Cliff Shelf Trail.  Our timing was good as we were the only ones there.

It's a loop trail with a nice walkway ....

 

 

that climbs about 300 feet.

 

 

There are some pretty nice views from the top.

 

 

Oh, and we saw our first Badlands mammal - I believe this is a Desert Cottontail.

 

 

We saw lots of those this evening. 

From the top of the trail, we descended down a gravel path through a juniper forest.  Usually, I pinch a piece of juniper to smell that wonderful fragrance, but it wasn't necessary here - juniper was in the air.

I zoomed in a little and took one more shot before leaving the Cliff Shelf Trail.

 

  

From there we drove to a large parking area which serves four different trails - the Door Trail, the Window Trail, the Notch Trail, and the Castle Trail.  The parking lot was pretty full when we came through earlier but, as you can see below, there were just a few people there this evening.

 

 

The Castle Trail is a 5-mile one-way trail, so we skipped that one.  The Notch Trail is a 1.5 mile trail requiring sturdy boots and we were just in our tennis shoes, so we passed on that one for now as well.

We started with the very easy, quarter-mile, boardwalk Window Trail.

 

 

That little sign is a warning to watch for rattlesnakes, and the signs are everywhere.  I'm not sure if they are more to warn of snakes or an added incentive to get people to stay on the trails.

The trail ended abruptly at this bench with a railing.

 

 

From there, we had this view.

 

 

Not bad.

On our way back to the parking lot, we saw our second Badlands mammal - a Least Chipmunk feeding in the shadows.

 

 

From the parking lot, we walked toward the Door Trail.

 

 

The Door Trail is a quarter-mile boardwalk trail ....

 

 

that leads out to a couple of benches for more views of the Badlands.

 

 

However, near the end of the boardwalk, you can exit and take a half-mile hike out amongst the rocks.  You follow these yellow poles ...

 

 

out for a variety of different views ....

 

 

 

 

until you reach the edge of the canyon.

 

 

 

We sat out there for several minutes.  With no wind and no people, the phrase "the silence was deafening" took on a very literal connotation.  Only the songs of the distant meadowlarks and our vista-sharing Rock Wren broke the silence.

 

 

We walked back into the setting sun which silhouetted the formations between us and the parking lot.

 

 

Before exiting the trail, I took one last shot.

 

 

Back in the Jeep, we headed toward the campground.  But we didn't get far before seeing some Mule Deer grazing and had to stop.

 

 

This one was off by itself.

 

 

As I was about to get back in the Jeep, three more crossed the road behind us.

 

 

On our way again.  But then we found eight more deer right by the road as we descended toward the visitors center.

 

 

 

Here's a shot focusing on the background.

 

 

Okay, one more shot before exiting the park.  

 

 

Now, we're done. That was a nice little introduction to Badlands National Park.

 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Interests - Backpacking
    Interests - Bird Watching
    Interests - Boat Tours
    Interests - Caves
    Interests - Fishing
    Interests - Hikes
    Interests - Paddling/Float Trips
    Interests - Scenic Drives
    Interests - Waterfalls
    Interests - Wildlife - Alligators/Crocodiles
    Interests - Wildlife - Bears
    Interests - Wildlife - Beavers
    Interests - Wildlife - Bighorn Sheep
    Interests - Wildlife - Bison
    Interests - Wildlife - Coyotes
    Interests - Wildlife - Deer
    Interests - Wildlife - Dolphins/Porpoises
    Interests - Wildlife - Eagles
    Interests - Wildlife - Elk
    Interests - Wildlife - Javelinas
    Interests - Wildlife - Manatees
    Interests - Wildlife - Moose
    Interests - Wildlife - Mountain Goats
    Interests - Wildlife - Otters
    Interests - Wildlife - Owls
    Interests - Wildlife - Prairie Dogs
    Interests - Wildlife - Pronghorn
    Interests - Wildlife - Seals
    Interests - Wildlife - Whales
    Interests - Wildlife - Wolves
    National Conservation Areas
    National Conservation Areas - Red Rock Canyon
    National Monuments
    National Monuments - Bandelier
    National Monuments - Chiricahua
    National Monuments - Grand Staircase Escalante
    National Monuments - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
    National Monuments - Vermilion Cliffs
    National Monuments - White Sands
    National Parks
    National Parks - Acadia
    National Parks - Arches
    National Parks - Badlands
    National Parks - Big Bend
    National Parks - Bryce Canyon
    National Parks - Canyonlands
    National Parks - Capitol Reef
    National Parks - Carlsbad Caverns
    National Parks - Cuyahoga Valley
    National Parks - Everglades
    National Parks - Glacier
    National Parks - Grand Canyon
    National Parks - Grand Teton
    National Parks - Great Basin
    National Parks - Great Sand Dunes
    National Parks - Great Smoky Mountains
    National Parks - Hot Springs
    National Parks - Isle Royale
    National Parks - Joshua Tree
    National Parks - Lassen Volcanic
    National Parks - Mammoth Cave
    National Parks - Mesa Verde
    National Parks - North Cascades
    National Parks - Petrified Forest
    National Parks - Redwood
    National Parks - Rocky Mountain
    National Parks - Saguaro
    National Parks - Theodore Roosevelt
    National Parks - Voyageurs
    National Parks - Waterton Lakes (Canada)
    National Parks - Yellowstone
    National Parks - Yosemite
    National Parks - Zion
    National Preserves
    National Preserves - Mojave National Preserve
    National Wildlife Refuges
    National Wildlife Refuges - Ash Meadows
    National Wildlife Refuges - Bosque Del Apache
    National Wildlife Refuges - Laguna Atascosa
    National Wildlife Refuges - Okefenokee
    State Parks
    State Parks - Adirondack NY
    State Parks - Anza Borrego CA
    State Parks - Dead Horse Point UT
    State Parks - Del Norte Coast Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Goblin Valley UT
    State Parks - Hocking Hills OH
    State Parks - Jedidiah Smith Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Kodachrome Basin UT
    State Parks - Palo Duro Canyon TX
    State Parks - Patrick's Point CA
    State Parks - Prairie Creek Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Quoddy Head ME
    State Parks - Valley Of Fire NV
    States - Alabama
    States - Arizona
    States - Arkansas
    States - California
    States - Colorado
    States - Florida
    States - Georgia
    States - Kentucky
    States - Maine
    States - Michigan
    States - Minnesota
    States - Montana
    States - Nevada
    States - New Hampshire
    States - New Mexico
    States - New York
    States - North Dakota
    States - Ohio
    States - South Dakota
    States - Tennessee
    States - Texas
    States - Utah
    States - Washington
    States - Wyoming

    Archives

    September 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    January 2015
    June 2014
    May 2014
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    August 2011
    July 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    October 2010
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    January 2009
    November 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008
    February 2008
    October 2007
    July 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    February 2007
    November 2006
    March 2006
    October 2005

Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy our website.

Contact Us

Nature Travelers  •  Howard & Linda Payne  •  Howard@NatureTravelers.com  •  www.NatureTravelers.com

All content, photos, and videos - Copyright © Nature Travelers.  All Rights Reserved.
Website Designed by: WCWDesigns