Trip Notes: My First (Solo) Trip to Badlands National Park

Rebecca Souther
Feb 8
3 min read

Updated: Mar 18

A morning rainstorm passes by in the distance from a viewpoint on the Door Trail.

Badlands National Park had been on my bucket list for the better part of the past 10 years and was so excited to cross this one off on my way to the west coast for work this past summer!

When I first arrived in Wall, SD on a Monday in July, I had zero plans for lodging as my campground reservation didn't start until the next day. I was so excited that I hauled it from my sisters in Chicago to get there as soon as possible. After driving through town and by the famous Wall Drug, I decided it was finally time to find a place to rest for the night.

I had considered setting up in one of the dispersed campgrounds for the night, but since I was tent camping alone and it was close to sunset, opted for more modern lodging for the evening. I was honestly surprised to find hotel rooms available this close to Badlands during peak season, and after price checking a couple of the national chain hotels, decided to take a chance on Welsh's Motel at the edge of Wall, and I'm glad I did.

I'll never forget Kelly, who was there to greet me as I arrived. The room rates were half the cost of the national chains, with small town charm at no extra cost. We talked for a bit about where we were from, and then recommended heading to the Pinnacles Overlook for sunset. I took her advice, and after finding my room, immediately made my way into the park. I recommend getting to this overlook early as it's a popular destination for sunset and the parking lot can fill up quick- the view being well worth the wait, however. I was excited that a family of big horn sheep decided to join us just after sunset making for a warm welcome into the park.

I was able to beat the heat (and crowds) by starting my days early (4:30am) and hitting an overlook for sunrise before spending the rest of the morning hiking some of the trails in the park. Once the sun reached its peak, I made my way to Wall, SD to check out Wall Drug and then made my way back to camp at the Cedar Pass Campground to rest and hydrate while waiting for the summer temps to drop and head back out for sunset. After sunset I opted to attend the nightly 9pm Ranger Program at the park’s amphitheater where we learned about the history of the park & our night sky which was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Before heading out I made sure to hit the Ben Reifel Visitor one last time to check out the Fossil Lab and was able to talk to park Paleontologist about fossils found in and outside of the park which was another highlight of this adventure for me.