Black Hills/Badlands/Becker/South Dakota Pic Heavy

J

jonc123

Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
234
These are random pictures from a ten day trip. The trip wouldn't have been half as good without the three Trails Illustrated National Geographic maps. They have one that covers the Badlands and 2 that cover the Black Hills. I sound like I am advertising these maps but I hike and backpack often and they have enough detail on them to do that with. They have all of the trails on them. The tunnels in the pictures were on the Flume Trail near Sheridan Lake. If anyone has questions just ask. I would try to stay away from the Black Hills and the Badlands in season...if your wanting quiet you won't get it. These are popular places. Wife and I went the last week of April and part of May. It was completely dead...campgrounds were basically empty.

Weather can be iffy out there in the spring; they had a warm spell that melted 95% of the snow before we got out there.

The last 5 pictures are in the Badlands.


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Love those places. Have been there 3 or 4 times.
 
Oh wow, those shots are breathtaking. Thanks for sharing, you live in a gorgeous slice of the country :thumbup:
 
Nice!
I've been trying to talk my wife into a vacation in the Black Hills since we just moved to Minnesota, and South Dakota wouldn't be too far of a drive.
 
We've only been out there twice and we always camp. A couple tidbits of info if you do like to camp:

In the Badlands National Park they have 2 campgrounds. They are Sage creek and Cedar Pass. Cedar Pass is the more crowded of the two. We prefer Sage Creek. Neither of these campgrounds have showers or running water; just pit toilets. In Interior, SD they have a private campground that does have showers and water.

In the Black Hills you basically have Custer State Park (a huge state park) and the Black Hills National Forest. As far as I know none of the Forest Service Campgrounds have showers, at least the ones I have been to. All of the Forest Service Campgrounds I have seen are wonderful and often are close to nearby trailheads.

We usually stay at Custer State Park. The only campground that was open in it was the Game Lodge Campground and it did have water and showers. The rest of the campgrounds open up sometime in May.

They have a bunch of private campgrounds all over the place; they were mostly all closed for the season. On our last night in the Black Hills we did manage to stay at a KOA near Mount Rushmore on it's first opening day of the season (the picture of the campfire and truck is there). I normally prefer state and federal campgrounds, but this place was really nice and very empty. Just a handful of campers. They have about 5-600 sites. It was a BIG campground with a capacity of 3,000 people I am told.

Whatever you do don't miss driving the "Needles Highway" and "Iron Mountain Road". These are both in the Black Hills. People come to the Black Hills often to do just that. These roads do contain very narrow tunnels; the narrowest was within about 3" on both sides of my truck mirrors. The Badlands has a loop road that runs through it, both ends terminating at the interstate.

All of these roads are on the maps I described in my first post but are also on the state maps also.

Near rapid City they have a large petting zoo called "Old MacDonalds Farm". It was closed on our trip but we did see it on a previous one. I'm not one to go to a petting zoo, but that place was fun. Large variety of animals and photo ops. I can't tell you much about museums, Mount Rushmore, etc. We tend to stay outdoors and avoid things that cost money. If I'm hiking down a trail I have all I need. You have wonderful views of Mount Rushmore from the highway.
 
Looks like a helluva time. I'm fairly close, so I have no idea why I've never been there. Going to have to make a trip one of these summers.
 
wow just wow!! man thats some awsome country there thank you for sharing!
 
Thanks for sharing! We've hiked / camped in Montana a lot, but never stopped to actually hike the Badlands. Looks like that will have to change.
 
Here is a long distance shot of the Sage Creek Campground in the Badlands. My truck is there somewhere!!

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For those coming from areas with lots of shade trees, remember that you'll find very little shade in the Badlands. It does get quite hot in the summer and can be very hot in almost any season. Do some research on the climate before you make plans. I promise you that you will probably require more water than normal if hiking any distance and some sunscreen.

Don't underestimate the sun & heat.

Be prepared for crowds and have motel/campground reservations if you need them. These places do get busy in season.
 
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