Maybe we got lucky, but the best part of about the Badlands was the thunder storms. There is an amazing free dispersed camping area just outside the national park, up on a plateau where you can see in 40 miles in every direction. We had some amazing lightening and hail storms, and at night you could see a lightning strike in the distance about every 60 seconds all night long. Check out the pictures.
My favorite activity in the Badlands was doing a 28 mile bike ride past about 1000 bison, 10,000 prairie dogs, and about 1,000,000 grasshoppers, along with some amazing scenery. I got stuck behind about 100 bison on the road, but luckily a big truck with a very loud horn came along and scared them all off.
And what trip to the Badlands is complete without a brief stop at Wall Drug in Wall SD. It’s just as touristy and tacky as you imagined.
The nearby Minuteman Missile Museum was cool, but unfortunately most of it was closed due to COVID-19.
Full set of photos are here.
