hiking
no dogs
walking
kid friendly
views
wild flowers
Badlands National Park in southwest South Dakota offers buttes, pinnacles, and spires in one of the largest prairies in the United States. It has the world's richest fossil beds from the Oligocene epoch and wildlife including bison, bighorn sheep, black-footed ferrets, and swift fox.
Great information and reference about the rock layers and fossils. Short but very informative
The trail is listed as moderate to strenuous, however, the only mildly difficult portion involves climbing a log ladder up at an awkward angle. There are 2 different viewpoints near the end. A great hike if you only have a few hours in the park!
Marvelous trail. Takes a good amount of effort. But worth every step at the end.
Short Trail but great vistas at the end. Lots of roaming available. Impressively quite, even when others are around.
Easy warm up hike. Some nice views at the end. Easy for kids. We didn't see many people using the whole trail. We had the back 3/4 almost to ourselves.
Loved this trail. I would rate it as easy, even with kiddos. No packs needed. Our two toddlers walked the whole thing easily. 12 posts including end of trail marker. Lets you get a feel for the geography of the park.
If you went to the Visitors Center you can skip this.
Lots of beautiful views of the Badland formations on a well marked and fairly easy trail. The only thing that makes it difficult is the heat which reached 103 the day we hiked. Saw a couple of mule deer. Overall enjoyable but wouldn't hike the full trail again unless as it gets somewhat monotonous on the way back.