• Badlands formations against the blue sky; photo by Rikk Flohr

    Badlands

    National Park South Dakota

Things To Do

The Badlands provide considerable opportunities for discovery and exploration. From camping and hiking to bird watching and auto-touring, visitors to Badlands National Park can enjoy countless outdoor adventures.

 
Group hikes a trail in the Badlands

Did You Know?

The rich hue of the Yellow Mounds paleosols

The yellow and red layers in the badlands formations are fossilized soils, called paleosols. Fossil root traces, burrows, and animal bones found within the soils provide scientists with evidence of environmental and climatic changes that occurred in the badlands over time.