I recently had the pleasure of adding South Dakota to the list of states I’ve visited and not one, but two national parks – Wind Cave and Badlands! It was a fun and interesting experience and I’m excited to go back.
Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs, SD
The first stop on my road trip was Wind Cave National Park. It’s located 7 miles north of the town of Hot Springs, SD. It’s also located near several other spots of interest – just 8 miles from Mammoth Site, 37 miles from Mount Rushmore National Monument, and 113 miles from Badlands National Park.
I arrived late at night so I didn’t get to experience much sightseeing on my way into the park. Upon waking in the morning, I can confirm the campground is very pretty. It is a paid campground and cost me $24 dollars, but I appreciated that I was able to reserve my site in advance. This was my first trip testing out car camping in my every day driver so that was one less thing to have to worry about. I was a little surprised at just how compact the campground was, so keep that in mind. If you’re looking for wide open campsites with far away neighbors this is probably not the campground for you.
Once I packed up and got dressed, I made my way to the visitor center. Even though this park is all about the cave, the scenery is stunning. I saw so much wildlife, it was a treat! Unfortunately, I ran into trouble once I got to the visitor center. You see, there are limited tickets to enter into the cave. I forgot about this and as a result, I didn’t reserve my ticket online. But fear not – you can buy same day tickets in person. That’s what I set out to do and they even had the time and cave I wanted. Then, my card was declined. After troubleshooting and a trip to Hot Springs, I came back with cash only to discover I’d have to wait several hours for the next tour.
I decided I’d maybe come back the next day since I’d be nearby still, so I bought my souvenirs and out to photograph some wildlife. With no itinerary, I had a blast being able to slow down and spend as long as I wanted just taking pictures. I also checked out a farmer’s market in Hot Springs, where I enjoyed a German-style iced coffee, some dill crackers, and bacon-garlic almonds. Hot Springs, SD is a true gem – its so pretty! I wish I could’ve stayed longer, but I did need to make my way to my next destination.
Badlands National Park, Interior, SD
Badlands National Park is massive and the Badlands themselves stretch all the way into North Dakota. I arrived on what was the hottest day of the year thus far, and without air conditioning I was feeling it! Originally, I had planned to arrive, check out the visitor center, and start hiking, but with it as hot (105 degrees F) and unbearably humid as it was, I had to change course.
I began with stopping at the visitor center and then I enjoyed the AC while checking out the fossil lab. It was really awesome to be so up close and watching them dig out fossils. To hear the amount of hours these folks had put in with what looked like very little progress (to a layperson), was astounding! I highly recommend stopping in the fossil lab for awhile because it’s definitely worthwhile.
Once I finished up there, I took a few photos of the scenery and then decided to get some lunch. There is a lodge and cafe on site, making it very convenient. The selection wasn’t outstanding by any stretch of the imagination, but my bison frybread taco was still pretty good. It felt great to get a cold drink, too.
From there, I spent a while outside under one of the few shade trees just cooling down and biding time until the day started to cool off. Unfortunately, the only trail that I took was the Cliff Shelf boardwalk. It was just too hot and its important to know your body, so instead I drove through the park. I got to photograph wildlife to my hearts content and I stopped at all the viewpoints. It truly is a beautiful place, even if it is called the “badlands”.
After getting my fill, I headed back to the amphitheater to wait for their evening programs. This was a real treat and my first ranger talk I’ve experienced at any National Park. I realized how blessed I am when various people recalled remembering seeing the Milky Way for the first time, or even it being their first time seeing it while at the ranger talk! Growing up in rural Colorado meant I had access to the Milky Way pretty much always. I never considered there were people who had never seen it.
Once the Ranger Talk was over, they also had an astronomy talk. I learned a lot more than I thought I would. I decided to call it a night a little after 10 and made my way to the campsite. That’s two nights in a row that I was setting up camp in the dark! I also saw something that I can’t explain on the way to my campsite. I’m still looking for answers. Sign up for Patreon and you can read about what happened HERE.
The second night setting up for car camping went much smoother than the first night, despite any spooky occurrences. Come morning, it was extremely windy, about 58 degrees F, and drizzling! It was welcome after 2 days of humid 100 degree temps.
And that was my trip to South Dakota! I did make my way to Wall, SD to check out Wall Drug. That was an entire adventure in itself and I had so much fun! I also checked out this chainsaw art gallery and shop, which I think everyone should visit because the art is so good. I would’ve loved to buy something had it been in my budget!
Have you been to Wind Cave or Badlands National Parks? Would you go back? What was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments!
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