We arrived at Badlands Hotel and Campground in Interior South Dakota (Population 94) on 31 Aug 2024 for four nights. We were in Rapid City South Dakota last year (2023) in August, but we had to cut our time short when Steve’s dad got sick and passed away. After Steve’s high school reunion in Iowa the last weekend in August 2024, we made our way back to South Dakota to see the Badlands. We got set up and had lunch by around 1:30pm (we had gained an hour when we crossed into Mountain Time Zone on the way to Interior) so we decided to check out the Visitor Center and scope out the hikes we might want to do while there. We saw a poster for an “Adventure Hike” with a park ranger at 8:30am on Labor Day. After inquiring more about it and learning that it’s 4-5 miles led by a park ranger, we signed up. We had also seen night programs going on at 8:30pm that night at the Amphitheater in the park’s campground. We went for a drive on the Badlands Loop and were starting to get a little tired after the trip there that day so we didn’t take many pictures. It was the day we arrived, after all. We would have three other days to drive the loop. The programs the night of 31 August were interesting. The first one was on snakes and the second one was on Astronomy. Both were over by 9:30pm. There were three telescopes set up for folks to look through after the programs. There were about 150 people there, so we only waited in line to look through one of the telescopes and headed home. It was a long day and we both slept like logs that night.
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
We didn't want to arrive before check-in time so we killed some time here.
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
South Dakota Visitor Center 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Bighorn Sheep
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Badlands Loop drive 31 Aug 2024
Male Bighorn Sheep
On Sunday 1 Sep 2024 we went to mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Wall South Dakota. Online it said mass was at 10:30am, but when we arrived we saw that mass was at 11am. We had a half hour to kill, so we drove around the town and saw Wall Drug, which we planned to walk through after lunch. We had seen billboards for Wall Drug on Interstate 90W for about 300 miles so when we saw that the church was in Wall too, we had to check out Wall Drug.
The Wall Drug website says:
One of the world’s most well-known tourist attractions, it’s hard to believe Wall Drug Store got its start with something many wouldn’t even turn their heads at today … the promise of free ice water. But in fact, the Husteads turned free ice water into a million-dollar idea with a little determination, quick thinking and a lot of signs.
Signs with catchy jingles like “Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . turn next corner . . . Just as near . . To Highway 16 & 14. . . Free Ice Water. . . Wall Drug” drew weary travelers into the small-town drug store to enjoy a refreshing break. Today, more than 2 million visitors a year stop at the popular roadside attraction for a meal or activity, 5 cent coffee, and ice water – which is still free.
Located in Wall, South Dakota, Wall Drug has always been a popular stop on the road to the more populated areas like Mount Rushmore or Rapid City. As a matter of fact, when the United States Air Force operated the Minuteman missile silos east of Wall, the Hustead family offered free coffee and donuts to the service personnel as they traveled to and from Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City. Wall Drug honors the men and women in the armed services by providing them free coffee and donuts to this day.
We enjoyed walking through Wall Drug. We found the old Soda Fountain and each had a scoop of ice cream.
After Wall Drug we drove back to the campground via the Pinnacles Entrance to Badlands National Park on the Badlands Loop. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting our camel packs out of storage for our hike on Labor Day.
St. Patrick Catholic Church Wall South Dakota 1 Sep 2024
St. Patrick Catholic Church Wall South Dakota 1 Sep 2024
Wall South Dakota 1 Sep 2024
Soda Fountain inside Wall Drug
Wall South Dakota 1 Sep 2024
Badlands Loop drive 1 Sep 2024
Prairie Dog
Badlands Loop drive 1 Sep 2024
Big Horn Sheep
Badlands Loop drive 1 Sep 2024
Bison
On Labor Day 2024, we met up with the park rangers and 5 other hikers at Conata Picnic Area at 8:30am for our “Adventure Hike”. Four of the five other folks looked to be our age, so Anita was relieved that she wouldn’t be slowing the group down. It turned out to be somewhat of a nature walk off trail. We saw lots of bison prints, deer prints and even coyote prints. The rangers, Mark and Lydia also pointed out fossils along the way. We spotted a bison way off in the distance so the group turned left and walked away from it. Little did we know that another 2,000lb bison was around the rock we were heading to. We spotted it before getting too close but we got a picture. It was cool to see it in its natural environment. I’m not sure if it was the same bison or yet another one that had walked to an area where he felt trapped, so next thing we know it’s running toward us before turning to its left to get to the open field. We were amazed at how quiet such a large animal ran and that it ran so fast! Lydia, the park ranger, said they can run 35-40mph! We were all excited after seeing that!
Badlands Ben Reifel Visitor Center Adventure Hike 3 Sep 2024
Badlands Ben Reifel Visitor Center Adventure Hike 3 Sep 2024
Badlands Ben Reifel Visitor Center Adventure Hike 3 Sep 2024
Badlands Ben Reifel Visitor Center Adventure Hike 3 Sep 2024
Badlands Ben Reifel Visitor Center Adventure Hike 3 Sep 2024
Us, Ranger Mark and Ranger Lydia
After we parted ways with the rangers and other hikers, we drove to the Stronghold (South) Unit of Badlands N P and onto Sheep Mountain Rd, which was gravel for about 10 miles and stopped at the top overlook to have lunch. It was getting hot (100 F) by the time we finished lunch, so we decided we didn’t want to do any more hiking that day. We drove home through the town of Scenic, which wasn’t scenic at all (ghost town), then on to Interior via SD 44 E. Our campground was on SD 44, so by the end of the day we had driven an even bigger loop than the Badlands Loop.
Sheep Mountain Road Badlands South Dakota 2 Sep 2024
Hwy 44 Badlands South Dakota 2 Sep 2024
Hwy 44 Badlands South Dakota 2 Sep 2024
Hwy 44 Badlands South Dakota 2 Sep 2024
Hwy 44 Badlands South Dakota 2 Sep 2024
It was a little windy...
Sunset from our campsite in Interior SD 2 Sep 2024
Our plan was to get up to drive to Pinnacles Overlook for the sunrise on Tuesday 3 Sep, then do a couple of short hikes before the temps got too hot. We executed our plan and left at 5:30am to see the sunrise at 6:14am from the Badlands Loop on Tuesday morning. It was definitely worth the lost sleep! We saw lots of wildlife, and the sunrise brought out colors in the badlands that we had not seen at other times of day driving the loop. We got our pictures of the sunrise, then stopped at a few of the overlooks for pictures, then on to our few short hikes. We were hiking by 9:15am. We did the Fossil Exhibit Trail first which is .34 miles round trip and rated Easy. That was our warm up for the Notch Trail which isn’t long 1.25 miles round trip), but is rated Moderate to Strenuous with a rope ladder to climb. After the Notch Trail, we did the Door Trail which is rated Easy and only .26 miles round trip. Our last hike was on the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, rated Moderate and .86 miles round trip. We had not packed lunch, planning to be home by lunch time. After our last hike we went out to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. We saw their film about the Minuteman Missile program and we both realized we’re a little too young to remember the cold war. We didn’t have the nuclear attack drills in school. We stopped at the Historic Homestead site on our way home, but didn’t want to pay $12 each to walk through when we were so tired already and had used our “America The Beautiful” national park pass everywhere else for entrance.
Badlands Sunrise 3 Sep 2024
Badlands Sunrise 3 Sep 2024
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Mule Deer
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Mule Deer
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Early Morning
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Male Bison
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Pinnacles Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Pinnacles Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Big Horn Sheep
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Yellow Mounds Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Yellow Mounds Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Yellow Mounds Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Yellow Mounds Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Needed a jacket at 7am...
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Homestead Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Homestead Overlook
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Fossil Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Barn Swallow nests
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Cottontail Rabbit at the end of the Fossil Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Notch Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Notch Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Notch Trail - Rope Ladder
Picture taken after we had both come down...
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Notch Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Notch Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Door Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Door Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Cliff Shelf Nature Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Cliff Shelf Nature Trail
Badlands 3 Sep 2024
Cliff Shelf Nature Trail - Juniper Trees
Philip South Dakota 3 Sep 2024
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Philip South Dakota 3 Sep 2024
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Philip South Dakota 3 Sep 2024
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Philip South Dakota 3 Sep 2024
Prairie Homestead National Historic Site
Philip South Dakota 3 Sep 2024
Prairie Homestead National Historic Site - Picture of the sod homestead
Philip South Dakota 3 Sep 2024
Prairie Homestead National Historic Site
We were inside in air conditioning for the day by 1pm when the temperature was already at 95. Tuesday 3 Sep was forecast to be the hottest day while we were in the Badlands, expecting to rise to 103.
We enjoyed our time in the Badlands very much. We would have only had a day trip from Rapid City last year to see the badlands so we're both grateful for having 4 days to enjoy the sites and hikes. We move to Hot Springs South Dakota tomorrow (4 Sep 2024).
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