Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park, an astonishing place that surprised us at every step and every blink of the eye, at every hour of the day and night. It greeted us with the most spectacular lighting storm we have ever seen. The endless quietness and incredible landscapes all around offered us new places to explore and relax. Bugs and birds, snakes and bighorn sheep were all there, while you would only hope to see them from a distance!
The heat of the day and violent afternoon lighting storms made us start our daily hikes early morning, even as early as 4 am for the longer trips, like the one on the Castle Trail. Too much beauty not to postpone sleep for a later time!
Park Trails and the Badlands Loop Road
Except for the Fossil Exhibit Trail, which was closed for rework while visiting the Park, we had the extreme pleasure to wonder all the trails, and collect a great number of picturesque memories!
The Door and Window Trails
These two trails combined are no more than a mile round trip and the nice part is that they both start from the same parking lot. A short walk took us to see majestic views of the park, including the Badlands Wall, a central feature of this area.
Saddle Pass
The Saddle Pass Trail is a short climb up the Badlands Wall and, once at the Pass, it gives away some truly spectacular views of the White River Valley.
The Castle and Medicine Root Trails
The Castle Trail connects with the Medicine Root Trail at about 1.5-miles from its eastern trailhead and combined make up the longest pseudo loop trail in the park: 10 miles. From the Castle Trail, you can also reach Saddle Pass and the Fossil Exhibit Trail. We had to watch out for ticks and rattlers and had a great surprise to see a family of bighorn sheep baking in the sun on one of the rocky formations.
The Notch Trail
This 1.5-mile round trip takes you through a canyon and then up a fun wooden ladder, then over a ledge to the Notch from where views of the White River Valley are endless and extremely spectacular.
The Cliff Shelf Trail
The Cliff Shelf Trail is a refreshingly short trail through a juniper tree forest on a very well-maintained boardwalk. Views and wildlife are abundant, too.
The Badlands Loop Road
Badlands National Park in July is a very hot place, thus we decided to hike as early as we could every morning which left us with lots of free time for the mid-day and afternoon hours. We spent all that time driving through the park on the spectacular Badlands Loop Road that runs East to West through the park and provides lots of vistas to check out.
Yellow Mounds
The Yellow Mounds are one of the best views along the Badlands Loop Road!
Sunset in the Park
We spent our nights right in the park at the beautiful Cedar Pass campground from where the views were changing at every blink of an eye. The sunsets in particular were pretty spectacular.
Happy Trails!
Badlands National Park, with its own unique way, has surprised and touched us from the very first moment we stepped onto its grounds. We will never forget the incredible views, the peaceful mornings, the mid-day heat, the powerful afternoon thunderstorms, the large ticks, and the majestic bighorn sheep that we had the chance to see there. Like all our national parks, this is a place that one must visit and explore more than just once in a lifetime!