Badlands National Park with Kids

Badlands National Park deserves a spot on your bucket list. An area that transformed from an ancient sea bed to raised prairie and then slowly formed by erosion. It is a harsh environment that gets baked in the summer sun and then frozen in the winter. Exploring the Badlands National Park with kids is a fun and rewarding experience for the entire family.

Our Experience at Badlands National Park with Kids

We went in mid-August as part of our first family RV trip. We had driven 8 hours the day before from visiting Grandparents in Minnesota to the Buffalo National Grassland were set up camp at “The Wall” just north of the Badlands. August in South Dakota is HOT! We knew we’d have to get an early start to try and beat that heat as the day we planned to explore Badlands National Park with kids was going to be over 100 degrees.

We entered on the Western side of the park because of where we had camped and drove the 30-ish mile scenic byway (SD-240) back to the East side of the park to the hiking trails we had planned. Even though we arrived only an hour or so after sunrise, there were already a lot of people at the trailhead. We spent a couple of hours hiking the Notch Trail and the Window Trail before heading back to the RV.

Read more about hiking the Badlands with kids.

We decided not to drive up to the one overlook that was past the trails and instead headed over to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center to grab Junior Ranger booklets and then loaded back up to drive the rest of the Badlands Scenic Byway once more. There are designated overlooks along the road that allow you to observe and explore different parts of Badlands National Park with kids. Many of them have boardwalks built, making them wheelchair (or stroller) accessible.

Badlands Overlooks from West to East

Big Badlands Overlook
Fossil Exhibit Trail* (not really an overlook but a great one for kids)
White River Valley Overlook*
Big Foot Pass Overlook
Panorama Point*
Prairie Wind Overlook
Burns Basin Overlook
Homestead Overlook
Conata Basin Overlook
Yellow Mounds Overlook*
Ancient Hunters Overlook
Pinnacles Overlook*
*designates family favorites

Photos from Overlooks: Badlands National Park with Kids

 

That is where we exited the park to drive up to Wall Drug (a roadside attraction I highly recommend visiting after exploring the Badlands National Park with kids). Beyond there, the road is a little rougher and we didn’t want to drive the RV down it. There are three more designated overlooks and Roberts Prairie Dog Town along this road. Next time we visit, I want to have a smaller vehicle to explore that part of the Badlands.

Hay Butte Overlook
Badlands Wilderness Overlook
Roberts Prairie Dog Town
Sage Creek Basin Overlook

We’ll have to return to Badlands National Park with kids to explore the rest!

Next up on our trip was the Black Hills.

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