SLOW SALLY & CREW

Badlands National Park is a wild and rugged place, tucked away in southwest South Dakota. People visit this park for all sorts of reasons: its rugged rock formations, glowing green grasslands, rich fossil collection, dark starry nights, and interesting cultural history as a nuclear launch site. But weren’t there for any of those things… we were there for the wildlife! More specifically, we were on a mission to see American Bison (which I called Buffalo during the entirety of our visit… apparently there’s a difference, eye-roll). In the very first blog post of our 2023 adventure, we listed the epic destinations we would visit, and included “Badlands National Park – to ogle some bison”. Yup, this experience was a long time coming.

In this post, we share our adventures in Badlands National Park, which were anything but bad. We also share our recommendations for a memorable vanlife adventure in this special place – including wildlife viewing, camping, and hiking. After driving thousands of miles to reach this far-flung destination, did we finally get to ogle some bison? You’ll have to read on 😉!

The Wildlife

Prairie Dogs

Our first glimpse of wildlife in the park was of the prairie dogs. These little guys are so abundant that you can’t miss them, not even if you tried. They have several colonies in the park, but the best one is Robert’s Prairie Dog Town. Yes, they’ve laid claim to their own town within the park limits… something not even humans are allowed to do. My absolute favourite thing about the prairie dogs was their “jump yip”, where they jump onto their back feet, stretch into the air, and let out two yipping screams. Walter watched from the van as hundreds of squeak-toys ran about the ‘town’… he could barely contain himself.

Bison

Encounter #1: We’d been told by other campers that if we turned right on Sage Creek Road after entering the park, we’d be guaranteed to see bison. We were skeptical but hopeful. Sage Creek was a bumpy dirt road and as always in Slow Sally, the going was… slow… adding to the building anticipation. At the first look-off, I spotted bulky black blobs in the distance. I whipped out my telephoto lens, zoomed in on the blobs, and confirmed what we hoped – we’d found a small herd of bison! I captured a few photos and declared the day a success. We had no idea what was in store for us.

Encounter #2: Just down the road from the overlook, 2 huge male bison wandered along the roadside, lazily chewing grass and soaking up the sun, while hyper little prairie dogs darted around them. We took SO MANY photos from the safety of the van. They were so close that even our iPhone photos turned out great. It was magical.

Encounter #3: As we looped back down Sage Creek Road, we spotted the same two male bison (they don’t go anywhere fast) and decided to stop at the nearby look-off to admire them from across the road. The bison, bored with their grass-chewing, took a keen interest in us and decided to wander across the road and check us out. They maneuvered to block our exit and proceeded to lazily scratch their itches on the parking lot posts and wander around the van, giving us a sniff. Click the link below to check it out!

By this time, we were feeling like they’d come a little too close for comfort. We didn’t dare make too much noise lest we upset them. We were trapped in our overlook – ecstatic and in awe but also a little nervous – for a good 20 minutes! It was a bit of a relief when they got bored of us and wandered off.

Other Badland Creatures

After being swarmed by bison, it really didn’t matter what else happened that day. We had won sightseeing and could check ‘ogle wild bison’ off our bucket list. We decided to spend the remainder of the day exploring what the park had to offer by driving the Badlands Loop Road. It seemed that every time we turned a corner, we saw a new herd, pack, gaggle, or flock of something. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such exotic and varied wildlife in one place. It was incredible.

The Scenery

It was the wildlife that really captured our hearts in the Badlands, but I would be remiss not to mention the scenery. It’s otherworldly. The Badland Loop Road winds through rugged rock formations and grasslands, sometimes grey and barren, other times bright and colourful. We stopped at each overlook to admire the scenery, always hoping to see another bison or a new species of wildlife. Our hopes soared when we thought we’d found the biggest bison herd yet. We were pretty disappointed when I got my telephoto on them, and discovered that they were boring black cows in disguise.

The Camping

Our home while we explored Badlands National Park was the dispersed camping area in Buffalo Gap National Grassland, which sits at the doorstep of the park. The camping area was relatively crowded but there was space for everyone along the rim of the grasslands, and each campsite had a spectacular view of the iconic rock formations. Best of all, the camping here is free!

We parked Sally right on the rim, getting as close as we dared, and had the best morning coffee and evening happy hour views. The sites are located along a 5-km dirt road, which doubles as an excellent hiking trail. We were very grateful for this, as Walter wasn’t allowed on any of the trails in the National Park.

The Hiking

Unlike most of the National Parks we’ve visited, Badlands isn’t known for its trails. We did take took turns hiking and enjoying a few of the shorter trails (they aren’t dog-friendly). Our favourite was Notch Trail, which had a great log ladder obstacle leading from the canyon floor to the upper ledge. A good obstacle always makes a trail more fun!

The best hiking in the area was in the neighbouring Custer State Park, less than 2 hours away. This park is nestled in the Black Hills and is characterized by a landscape that is completely different from the Badlands. The Black Hills are full of streams, lakes, and towering pines. The cooler temperatures and plentiful shade were so welcome after many sun-scorched weeks in Utah. We spent an afternoon hiking in Custer State Park and loved the dog-friendly, scenic, challenging trails. And guess what, you can find bison here too!

Our Recommendations

Badlands National Park exceeded our expectations, especially for wildlife viewing, and we highly recommend visiting. We think you’ll love it. Here are our recommendations for an unforgettable experience:

• Bring binoculars and/or a telephoto lens. Your experience will be so much richer for it.
• Camp in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, just north of the Pinnacles entrance.
• Drive west (from the Pinnacles entrance) down Sage Creek Road for the best bison and prairie dog viewing.
• Take the Badlands Loop Road to experience spectacular scenery and an opportunity to glimpse all sorts of wildlife.
• Hike the Notch Trail for interesting terrain, views, and a fun ladder obstacle. While you’re at it, hike the short and scenic Window and Door trails, accessible from the same parking lot.
• If you enjoy hiking and have some extra time, visit nearby Custer State Park.

Stay Tuned

Stay tuned for the final post from our 2023 adventure (better late than never), where we had fun recreating one of our favourite movie scenes by throwing Walter into a woodchipper!