Badlands has been my favorite National Park I have visited so far. Badlands National Park is located in South Dakota, near Wall, SD. The coloration of the mounds and rock formations was beautiful. Badlands is home to many different wildlife including, but not limited to: Bison, Elk, Mule Deer, Black-Footed Ferret, Prairie Dogs, Bighorn Sheep, Pronghorn, Cliff Swallows, Prairie Rattlesnake, Bull Snakes, Painted Turtles, Great Plains Toad, Red Tailed Hawk, Golden Hawk, & Burrowing Owls. I visited Badlands in October and was able to see Bison, Prairie Dogs, Mule Deer, & a Golden Hawk. Robert’s Prairie Dog Town in Badlands is a great place to see Prairie Dogs! As a reminder, it’s important to maintain a safe distance from wildlife. National Park Service requires that you stay at least 100 feet away from wildlife and do not approach the wildlife. See the photos below for the pictures I took of the Bison and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs.

I would consider Badlands one of the most underrated National Parks in the United States. It was beautiful and not very busy at all. One unique feature of Badlands is that you are able to hike on/up the mounds as Badlands is considered an open-hike park and you can hike off trail. Badlands is located in a more rural part of South Dakota, so just be aware of that. Also, if you’re in South Dakota, you could stop by Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, and/or Wind Cave National Park too!

While I was in the area, I went somewhere called Bear Country USA located in Rapid City, SD. It’s about an hour drive from Badlands, but I visited on my way back home. Bear Country USA is a drive through wildlife park featuring Black Bears, Arctic Fox, Bison, Elk, Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Reindeer, Timber Wolves, & Arctic Wolves and many more! It was such a neat experience and one of my favorite drive through wildlife parks I’ve been to. They have a nice gift shop and they have a wildlife walk area. The Bear Country USA website is linked here.

Let me know in the comments: If you’ve been to Badlands, what wildlife did you see? If you haven’t been to Badlands yet, what wildlife would you want to see?