National Park Road Trip: Traveling to The Badlands (Part 3)

After a couple days of amusement parks on our first leg of our cross country national park tour, it was time to get into the root of the trip and start connecting with nature. Our first park on the trip was the Badlands in South Dakota, which meant a long day of driving from Minnesota.

On our drive out of Bloomington, we randomly came upon Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. Under normal circumstances, we normally might not have stopped given we live near Sweeties in Cleveland, which is a huge candy complex. However, we decided to make the stop, and we were glad we did.

Once inside Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store, we were impressed with the level of themes inside the facility with everything from superheros to an animatronic candy band. As a result of being thoroughly entertained, the bill for candy at the end hurt given three boys with eyes wide open. Fortunately we gave them each a cap on expenditures, though note they only take cash or check, which was a surprise to see given almost all places accept credit cards today.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

During the planning stage of our trip, we used the RoadTrippers program to recommend a stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Located in the middle of the town is a gorgeous set of waterfalls where the Big Sioux River tumbles over a series of rock outcrops. The trip was worthy of some photo ops and stopping for a quick lunch.

While in Sioux Falls, we also decided to stop and eat at Phillips Avenue Diner, which offered some decent food before getting back on the road.

Corn Palace

Having never traveled out west before this trip, we made plans to see several iconic roadside attractions. One of those was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

The outside of the theater venue is covered in corn, depicting a different theme each year.

Was it something different? Sure. While slightly interesting, I also saw it as a waste of crops. We were in and out of the facility within a short period of time, and then back on the road.

Dignity: of Earth & Sky

Before our final destination of the Badlands on this portion of our journey, we elected to make a pitstop at the Dignity: of Earth & Sky memorial. The 50-foot high stainless steel statue by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Lamphere depicts an Indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt.

Not only was the statue impressive, but the views of the valley and Missouri River were also beautiful.

Sadly, the visitor center was closed for the day on our visit, but it was still well worth the stop.

The Badlands

The overall drive from Minnesota to The Badlands was a little over 7 hours, not including our scheduled stops listed above. By no means was this necessarily considered a long day of traveling for our family (wait until you see what we traveled in one day later in the trip), as our kids have become quite accustomed to being in the car for long periods of time. However, as you travel through vast prairie lands in the middle of the country, it does feel like it takes forever to get anywhere.

That being said, when we finally arrived at the Badlands, it was quite a surprise and contrast to the fields we had been viewing for the majority of the day.

As we pulled into the Badlands National Park and got our picture with the first park of our adventure, we were greeted with a gorgeous rainbow and contrasting skylines as one looked from the storm front to the sunny skies.

We will dive more into the Badlands on the next part of our journey, as we needed to make our way to our campground to set up shop in our cabin for the night.

Badlands KOA

With the idea of “trying” to save some money on this multi-week trip, our idea was to try and rough it where needed and really connect with our environment. Unfortunately, the more we researched traveling to National Parks, particularly out west, we learned tent camping or soft sided trailers was not really feasible given the threat of bears. So we new if we were going to be staying at campgrounds, it was the cabin life for us.

We opted for the Badlands / White River KOA just on the outskirts of the park and booked the 1 Room Camping Cabin (w/o Bathroom) for two nights. At a rate of roughly $80/night and to be so close to the Badlands, this KOA was a gem!

Now keep in mind, the cabin includes minimal accommodations as the only thing inside was the beds and a small table. Fortunately, the cabin did also include air conditioning. Guests had to provide their own bedding (or one could rent them from the campground).

Restrooms facilities, including showers, were provided close by at the main registration and camp store.

The campground also provided a decent size pool for the kids to take a dip, and small adjacent playground.

Since we were cabin camping and without food or cooking facilities, we opted for several meals to try the food prepared at the Cook Shack. The owners of the KOA can often be found at the Cook Shack and provide great conversation on all kinds of topics. More importantly, the food they cook was all really terrific. We highly recommend the Indian tacos, which are made on a thicker fry bread.

Tomorrow we dive deep into the beauty of the Badlands National Park.

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