Der Badlands-Nationalpark liegt im Südwesten South Dakotas. Er besteht aus einem als Badlands bezeichneten Typ von Erosionslandschaft, die für Landwirtschaft ungeeignet schien, daher der Name Badlands – schlechtes Land. Neben dieser durch Erosion geprägten Landschaft gehört auch die größte geschützte Gras-Prärie zum Nationalpark. Zwei Einheiten des Nationalparks, die Stronghold Unit sowie die Palmer Creek Unit liegen innerhalb der Pine Ridge Reservation. 2012 wurden die Voraussetzungen geschaffen, dass die beiden südlichen Gebiete künftig als National Tribal Park in Kooperation zwischen dem National Park Service und den Oglala-Lakota verwaltet werden. Dazu werden bevorzugt Sioux-Indianer als Ranger und Park-Wissenschaftler ausgebildet und eingestellt. Das Gebiet hieß seit den 1750er Jahren in Lakota Makȟóšiča. Andere nannten das Gebiet Paha Ska, auf Deutsch "Weiße Hügel".In diesem Gebiet befindet sich der Ort der Geistertanz-Bewegung von 1890.
Im Park gibt es auch reiche Fundstätten an Fossilien, wie etwa von prähistorischen Pferden, Schafen, Nashörnern oder Schweinen. Dazu gehören 11.000 Jahre alte Funde menschlicher Zivilisation. Das Gebiet wurde 1939 zum National Monument erklärt und 1978 zum Nationalpark aufgewertet.
Der Film Der mit dem Wolf tanzt mit Kevin Costner in der Hauptrolle wurde 1990 zu großen Teilen im Nationalpark und dessen Umgebung gedreht.
What a wonderful place to stop honestly. It’s great having a road go through here to see and experience everything around here. It was a very good place to stop and I recommend this be a place for you to stop on a road trip for sure.
Gorgeous national park. Definitely a must see. There are about 15 stop offs in the loop and it took us about 2 hours. There is also a lodge that you can stop and eat at as well. My friend and I had my almost 3 year old with us and we definitely had to keep hold of him tightly because the drop offs at the stops are extremely dangerous so use caution when bringing small children who want to run around.
We are traveling the country and I have to be honest, this is my least favorite National Park so far. The dirt piles just look like a construction site to me. The coolest part of our stay was the severe weather. It was exciting. Two trailers in the park got flipped over in the storm.
What an incredible opportunity to see God’s majesty! We drove the scenic loop and finished just after sunrise where we found a good overlook to watch as the stars emerged from their invisibility. Simply wow! We didn’t have a good camera to capture the Milky Way but trust us! It was an incredible sight to behold!! Well worth adding it to your trip!
The striking scenic drive with layers of eroded sedimentary rock would make this park a must go alone. The park also excels in overviews, visitor center and general infrastructure, plus the wildlife is present and incredible along the loop.
This was our first trip to the Badlands National Park and it was quite the journey in this terrain. We traveled on miles and miles of rock road and the Badlands appeared to be endless. It is a wonderful park to behold with its rugged and eroded area of buttes and gullies in Southwestern South Dakota. This area was first established as a National Monument in 1939 and became a National Park in 1978. I can’t believe it took so long to become a National Park. I have since found out there is a Badlands Loop that we missed. We will rectify that situation on our next adventure out west.
We explore a lot and this is definitely the best park for small kids! I loved how they structured the park to accommodate those who wanted to see it too but maybe had Mobile issues or were just tiny little humans that needed some extra time. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is more for hiking, Badlands in my opinion is more for families.
Great Experience at the Beautiful Park. I went to this place on 1990 with my cousing and I came back again with my son on August 2021 during a Road trip. Awesome time. 🥰🥰