South Dakota Badlands National Park

Consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States

John's Comments

This drive-thru park shows one, multi-layers of sandstone/shale where normally grass fields would be. Makes for great pictures but after viewing 2-3 stopovers, that was enough for me. The rock (sand/shale) formations are quite different than the surrounding countryside and the colors in the rocks are very striking. The Badland National Park has a park road that goes thru the middle of it that allows for easy viewing from your vehicle. The area has also at least a dozen stops along the way, that allow one to get out of the vehicle, take a very short walk, and see the Badlands close up.

John`s Recollections - 2009

Large area with a sense of sameness caused less enthusiasm on my part, but since this was our first National Park visit the purchase of the yearly pass saved hundreds for the remainder of our journey. Colors are mainly grey intermixed at times with shades of green and yellow to highlight time periods.

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Wall

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Best Western Plains Motel
712 Glenn Street
Wall, SD 57790

Other Area Attractions
Drive - Mitchell to Badlands

Corn Palace

Mount Rushmore

Crazy Horse Memorial

Stay at this Wall, South Dakota hotel and enjoy convenient access to Badlands National Park, National Grasslands Visitor Center and Minuteman Missile Site. Spend an afternoon enjoying the great outdoors at Badlands National Park. Visit the awe-inspiring Mount Rushmore. Tour the nearby Wild West Wax Museum. The Best Western Plains Motel often hosts guests in town to attend local rodeos and the Sturgis Rally.

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