Park Planner National Park Service U.S. Department of Interior The official newspaper of Badlands Visitor Guide Badlands National Park 2012 Issue Photo by Sara Feldt, Badlands National Park employee Welcome to Badlands Things to See and Do Hello and welcome to Badlands National Park—a geological landscape of buttes, spires, and rolling grasslands. We’re part of an immense Plan Your Visit ecological and cultural region that offers this part of South Dakota as a • Drive the Highway 240 Loop Road (60 minutes). destination to our nation’s historical, geological, and paleontological • Take a side trip down Sage Creek Rim Road to Robert’s Prairie Dog Town to see past. Together, places like Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks, the wildlife and experience spectacular views of the park (30 minutes). Black Hills National Forest, Custer State Park, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mount Rushmore • Hike a trail (see page 8 for a map of the trails that include descriptions, distances, and amount of time to allow). National Memeorial, offer meaning to the American experience. NPS Photo • Attend the Night Sky Program (June - mid September) (60 minutes). Located on the edge of our country’s Great Plains, we are part of the largest undisturbed mixed- prairie rangeland remaining in the United States. Within the park’s 244,000 acres is the Badlands • Attend a ranger program, program listing on page 12 (June - mid September) Wilderness, 64,000 acres of pristine National Wilderness where you can see bighorn sheep, coyotes, (20 - 60 minutes). black-footed ferret, swift fox, bison, and mule deer. Whether you enter the park from the Pine • Stop by the Ben Reifel Visitor Center to watch the award winning park video Ridge Oglala-Lakota Indian Reservation, the towns of Wall, Interior, or Kadoka, the rolling sea-of- and tour the exhibits (30 - 60 minutes). grass that surrounds Badlands is one of our country’s largest grasslands—known as Buffalo Gap • Take in a sunrise or sunset. They can be viewed and/or photographed from National Grasslands—which is the home of our continent’s largest free roaming mammal: the any of the overlooks or campgrounds located in the park (20 - 30 minutes). American bison. • Stop by the White River Visitor Center (hours of operation on page 2) This is a heritage area with a long ancestry that traces its history from prehistoric hunters and which is staffed by members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (45 minutes - 1 hour). gatherers to today’s tribes of the Great Sioux Nation, and later homesteaders, ranchers, and • Tour the South Unit of the park. Be sure to get permission from landowners farmers. Together with our partners the Oglala-Lakota Tribe who manage the Badlands South before crossing private land. A list of contacts is available at the White River Unit, we welcome you to visit our White River Visitor Center on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and the Ben Reifel Visitor Center on the Badlands Loop Road in the north. Sometimes called Visitor Center (45 minutes - all day). Mako Sica by the Oglala, the great eroded spires that define the Badlands call us back to a time • Visit the tipi village located between the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and when brontotheres, oreodonts, camels, and entelodonts walked the swamps and savannahs that the Cedar Pass Lodge. are today’s Great Plains. Take a moment to hike or walk a trail, and enjoy 65 million years of geological history. You can now “like” us on Facebook and share your experience with our other Follow us on: Index Facebook fans. Welcome! Visitor Facilities & Local Services...........2 Eric J. Brunnemann Accessibility........................................2 Superintendent Rules, Regulations, & Safety ..................3 Park Contact Information.......................3 Remember These Numbers . Horse Use.................................................4 Traveling Distances..................................4 Paleontology & Geology.........................5 Hiking & Weather....................................6 Park Map.................................................7 Junior Rangers & Fees..............................8 6 7 45 100 Exploring the South Unit.................8 Maximum length of the Number of days your Maximum speed limit on Minimum distance in yards Badlands Natural History Assoc..............9 leash (in feet) that must passenger vehicle park roads. Lower speed you should keep from park be on your dog if it is in entrance pass permits limits are posted in heavy wildlife. Any time an animal US Forest Service....................................10 the park. Look for more you to explore the traffic areas. reacts to your presence, you Minuteman Missile NHS.......................11 regulations on page 3. Badlands. Stay a little are too close. Ranger Programs..................................12 longer! Road Construction Information...........12 Quick Facts about Visitor Facilities Badlands National Park Ben Reifel Visitor Center Cedar Pass Campground Cedar Pass Lodge The only lodging and restaurant in Badlands • Established as a National Monument in Located at park headquarters the Ben Located near the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, Cedar Pass Campground National Park, Cedar Pass Lodge provides 1939 Reifel Visitor Center reopened in 2006 has 96 sites. Summer camping fees are visitors a distinctive collection of regional with new exhibits, a 97 seat, air conditioned • Redesignated Badlands National Park $16 per night per campsite (no hook- and handmade gifts, Native American crafts, theater, a new park film, Land of Stone in 1978 ups) and $28 for campsites with electrical and offers a memorable stay in this unique and Light, and improved classroom and hook-ups. Winter camping fees are $10 per destination. restroom facilities. Badlands Natural History • Acreage: 244,000 night per campsite. The campground is Association sells postcards, books, posters, operated on a first come, first served basis Gift Shop Hours of Operation • Wilderness: 64,144 acres and other educational materials. Open year and has a fourteen day limit. Cold running April 15 - May 15 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. round. water, flush toilets, covered picnic tables, May 16 - May 28 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and trash containers are available during the • Visitation: approximately one million Hours of Operation visitors each year from all over the summer. Covered picnic tables, and trash May 29 - September 3 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. world April 15 - May 26 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. containers are available during the winter. A September 4 -September 30 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. dump station is available for a $1.00 fee per October 1 - October 15 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Key Resources: May 27 - September 8 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. use. Campground hosts are on duty during • Largest expanse of protected prairie the summer to assist with registration and The dining room closes 30 minutes before the September 9 - October 27 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ecosystem in the National Park system provide information. Look for them in the gift shop. October 28 - April 2013 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. afternoon and early evenings at the For additional information: campground entrance booth. Open campfires www.CedarPassLodge.com or write Cedar Pass • Considered one of the world’s richest Badlands National Park is in the Mountain mammal fossil beds are not permitted. Lodge, 20681 Hwy 240, Interior, SD 57750; (605) Time Zone. 433-5460; fax (605) 433-5560 Group Camping • 50% of Badlands National Park is White River Visitor Center Four campsites are available in the Cedar Accessibility co-managed with the Oglala Lakota Located on the Pine Ridge Pass Campground for organized groups with • The Ben Reifel Visitor Center and White Nation, the eighth largest American Reservation off Highway 27, this a designated leader. The nightly fee is $3.00 River Visitor Center are both accessible to Indian Reservation in the United States visitor center is operated by the Oglala per person with a minimum fee of $30.00. wheelchair users. Examples of fossils and rocks provide a tactile experience for all Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority and Advance reservations can be made by who enjoy handling objects, and is • Badlands National Park and the Buffalo is staffed by Tribal members. In 2007, new contacting Group Camping Reservations at: appropriate for the visually impaired. Gap National Grasslands are one of the exhibits were installed by the National Park www.CedarPassLodge.com or write to: most successful reintroduction sites Service. Contact (605) 455-2878 for more • The Window Trail and the Door Trail are Cedar Pass Lodge both accessible to wheelchair users. for the black-footed ferret, one of the information. The White River Visitor Center 20681 Hwy 240 world’s rarest mammals. is only open seasonally, for information Interior, SD 57750 • The Cedar Pass Campground has two during the off season please call park (605) 433-5460; fax (605) 433-5560 accessible campsites. All campground restrooms are accessible. One group Key Management Issues: headquarters at 605-433-5361. campsite is accessible. • Visitor and employee safety Sage Creek Primitive Hours of Operation • The Cedar Pass Lodge dining room and • Reduction of exotic plant species Campground gift shop meet accessibility standards. June through August 10 am - 4 pm • Protection of fossil resources • Maintenance of park facilities Open year round, access to this • Several summer ranger programs, campground may be limited in including all talks and portions of the • Preservation of over 50,000 artifacts Geology Walk, are accessible to Picnic Areas winter and during the spring rainy season and specimens in museum collections wheelchair users. Others include Picnic tables are located at due to road conditions. The Sage Creek adaptations for visual or hearing • Reintroduction of native wildlife Bigfoot Pass and Conata Picnic Areas Rim Road is remote and unpaved. It is not impaired visitors. (pictured below) in addition to tables at the Ben Reifel Visitor recommended for large recreational vehicles. Center and the White River Visitor Center.