Peak Season: Summer
Off-Season: Spring - Fall
Cedar Pass and Sage Creek (year round)
My expectations of Badlands National Park weren't that high. I was just thinking to myself "what in the world can be good about South Dakota?" Well, there's a lot and it all starts in the Badlands.
My preparation was obviously way off course for this stop, and even had I been expecting the vibrant red and pink rock layers, the sandstone notches and peaks, I still would have understated the geographic uniqueness of this hot, dry, and windy desolate area. It's climate is as strange as its geography. The days are hot, dry and windy, the nights are cool, calm and quiet. I didn't stay long, but I stayed long enough to jog a few miles along the park loop road, and to hike a few miles of trails through the Badlands. I can't believe that this place was hiding out in South Dakota. A few years back a few friends and I raced right on by to stop by the presidents carved in rock. For my mileage, I would have much rather stopped at Badlands National Park or Wind Cave National Park.