Badlands National Park

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Badlands National Park

Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America. The Stronghold Unit is co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances. Established as Badlands National Monument in 1939, the area was redesignated "National Park" in 1978. Over 11,000 years of human history pale to the ages old paleontological resources. Badlands National Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old. Scientists can study the evolution of mammal species such as the horse, sheep, rhinoceros and pig in the Badlands formations.

IN DEPTH

Planning Your Visit PLAN YOUR VISIT The park's main visitor center, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, is open daily all year, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. During the summer months, ranger-led...read more

Park Regulations & Safety Permits Badlands National Park's rugged beauty and spectacular scenery lead many to consider its use as a backdrop for filming, organized activities, or wedding ceremonies. A special park use...read more

Black Footed Ferret The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is considered to be the most endangered land mammal in North America. Thought to be extinct in the 1970s, a small colony of...read more

Did You Know : The Sioux The Sioux called this harsh terrain mako sica, literally "land bad." French-Canadian trappers, the first white men to see the area, labeled it les mauvaises terres Ã traverser, or...read more

Frank Wright "Let sculptors come to the Badlands. Let painters come. But first of all the true architect should come. He who could interpret this vast gift of nature in terms...read more

In A Nutshell The stunning panorama of Badlands National Park rests just an hour east of Rapid City on I-90 (exits 110 or 131). This 244,000-acre landscape is both barren and beautiful....read more

Oh, Ranger! Growing up I spent a considerable amount of time outdoors and it was this experience that gave me a strong appreciation of the natural world. My father and uncle...read more