National Park Road Trip: The Badlands (Part 4)

For our family’s first full day in the Badlands National Park, we got an early start and headed out to start exploring via the Badlands Loop Road.

Almost immediately we found a small pull-off, and started exploring the large formations and crevices. What was surprising was one would expect the formations to be made out of rock, but upon closer inspections, they were compacted dirt and stones. Therefore, exploring outside of designated trails was cumbersome with loose falling debris and subject to eroding away the structures. So we packed it in after some photos ops and stuck to designated trails further down the route.

An additional aspect that was quite surprising was that amidst so much barren outcrops was also lush green foliage that displayed yellow flowers. This same western wheatgrass is brown most of the years, but due in part to the very wet spring and early summer, the grass was thriving and beautiful to see throughout the region.

One of the cooler hikes we opted to take the boys was the Saddle Pass Trail. The short 1/4 mile climb was quite high and provided for some spectacular views of the Badlands. For safety of the kids, we stopped about 3/4 of the way up, but then safely transcended back down to the vehicle.

While the Badlands might not be one of the most popular National Parks, we found it highly enjoyable and beautiful. For peak summer months, crowds were relatively low and we never had any issues with parking, etc.

While in the Badlands, we encountered various fields of bison and many locations with prairie dogs.

Besides just the aspect of being in the National Parks, one idea all of our kids really embraced throughout the trip was completing the Junior Ranger programs in each of the parks. Each visitor center offered a book for the kids to complete with tasks that varied per age. Once complete, they were sworn in and received a park specific Junior Ranger badge. It was a really cool program and fun to see the kids learn about each of the parks while receiving a cool souvenir.

Wall Drug

Another roadside attraction everyone said we had to visit was Wall Drug north of the Badlands.

While Wall Drug is an interesting stop to see, it was little more than a glorified shopping center. Yes there were some interesting themed elements like an animatronic dinosaur and outdoor splash pad, but honestly nothing we must see again.

We opted to eat at the Wall Drug restaurant, which was decent and offered a veggie burger that was nice of them to offer given I had low expectations of being able to eat vegetarian/vegan at many places out west.

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Under most circumstances, visiting anything military related is not at the top of our family’s to-do list, especially on this trip which focused on parks. However, we happen to be driving by the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and decided to learn what it was about.

Do yourself a favor and factor into your travels at least stopping at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site visitors center. This was one of the most fascinating, and scary, parts of the trip. While we did not make advanced reservations to visit the actual missile site or command center, the visitor center provided a terrific background on the system and history.

Call me naive to knowing much details about our military powers, but I had no idea what type of resources we still have active and ready to fire at a moments notice. I found it interesting that we used to have over 1,000 missile sites available but today only have around 400 after the START treaty was signed. I was also baffled how we signed a treaty to disarm an entire fleet of missile sites yet we still have hundreds of more powerful sites active.

After watching the visitor center video, it was also quite alarming to see how many false alerts have almost caused us to fire said missiles at fake reports of an attack on both the Russian and U.S. side. Thankfully, no missiles were fired, but it is quite scary to know how close we could be to a nuclear attack with only moments notice. For that we are thankful that our military is keeping an eye to the skies 24/7 to keep us safe.

Prairie Homestead

One of the things our kids really wanted to do on this trip, and particularly in the Badlands, was feed the prairie dogs. So we elected to stop at the Prairie Homestead on the outskirts of the National Park, for what we believe is the only location guests are actually allowed to feed the wild animals.

After purchasing our $1 bags of peanuts, we headed out to the field to feed the scavengers. We happen to be visiting in the late afternoon, so many of the animals had probably already gotten most of their fill earlier in the day. However, there still were some prairie dogs interested in coming over for a bite to eat. Some of the animals had no issues taking the entire peanut and peeling open the shell, while we found some others much prefer the peanuts outside the shell.

The Prairie Homestead was a fun little stop to experience.

Afterwards, we headed back to our cabin at the KOA for dinner and relax before heading back into the Badlands for an evening tour.

Badlands at Sunset

It is hard to describe just how beautiful the Badlands is and pictures do not do it justice. After seeing it in the morning, we made an effort to go back out near sunset to explore some new areas and see the sunset over the formations. Worth. Every. Penny!

As the sun set and the temperatures started to drop, we began to feel the sadness of having to leave the next morning. The Badlands are simple yet stunning, and we would not hesitate at coming back again.