What is the closest airport to Badlands National Park?

Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) is the closest major airport, just 55 miles from Badlands National Park and a convenient drive to numerous park overlooks. Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta, United and Boutique Air all fly into and out of the airport in Rapid City.

What is the driving distance to nearby U.S. cities from Badlands National Park?

Badlands National Park is in western South Dakota, 62 miles from Rapid City, 370 miles from Denver, 276 miles from Sioux Falls, 452 miles from Omaha, Nebraska, and 502 miles from Minneapolis.

What is the best time of year to visit Badlands National Park?

July and August are considered the busiest months for travelers to Badlands National Park. However, the park's vastness means that you're unlikely to encounter crowds no matter the time of year. To avoid the hottest summer days, visit during spring (April-May) and fall (September-October).

What are the busiest times of week to visit Badlands National Park?

With so much natural beauty to explore and wildlife to spot over its 244,000 acres, Badlands National Park has visitors all year, though it is busiest in summer. The park is open 24 hours a day, with more people visiting midday. Yet, with so much open space for hiking, cycling and scenic drives, it is easy to avoid crowds, if there ever are any.

What is the weather, geographic information and history of Badlands National Park?

Badlands National Park is rugged country. Weather conditions are highly changeable, with the possibility of heavy rains in spring and summer and blizzards in winter. Check the forecast before you venture into the park. Plan appropriately and you’ll be fine. Geographically, part of the park is prairie land, where you’ll find an abundance of grasses and wildflowers. However, you’ll also find towering buttes, pinnacles and spires — the scenery that makes for truly inspiring travel. Badlands National Park, steeped in Indigenous (specifically, Lakota) and French explorer lore, was founded in 1929. When it was originally proposed to the South Dakota Legislature in 1909, the petition for creating the park said, “Nature has carved the surface of the earth into the most unique and interesting forms and has exposed to an extent perhaps not elsewhere found.” Time to see it for yourself.

Badlands National Park | South Dakota's Great 8 Landmarks

Plan Your Visit

A couple looks out over rock formations at Badlands National Park in South Dakota

Things to Do

A man sets up a tent on top of an SUV at a scenic campground in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Places to Stay

Planning Tips

Top Experiences

Take in unforgettable sights and spot wildlife on the Badlands Loop Road.

Park visitors walk along a boardwalk on the Fossil Exhibit Trail at Badlands National Park. Interior, South Dakota. — Step back in time on the Fossil Exhibit Trail, a 1/4-mile accessible boardwalk.

The Ben Reifel Visitor Center is where you’ll find park information and a working fossil preparation lab, along with special programs and events.

Near-zero light pollution gives stargazers a rare glimpse of the cosmos.

A family rides horseback atop a ridge in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. — Whether on foot or horseback, explore trails and otherworldly formations that are millions of years in the making.

On the edge of the Badlands, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site was key to maintaining world peace during the Cold War, even though it held the power of nuclear armageddon.

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An ancient sea floor rises and swallows the rolling plains. Colorful, dramatic and surreal, the sculptured pinnacles and painted gullies preserve the past in layers of colorful sediment.

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Start Your South Dakota Adventure in Badlands National Park

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Episode 8: Where Bad is Good

Once the site of an ancient ocean, Badlands National Park is one of the world’s richest fossil beds and a haven for wildlife of all shapes and sizes. Dive in to discover why these so-called "bad lands" inspire wonder in everyone who visits.

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