Badlands National Park

"It is about a 2-hour drive from Mt. Rushmore to Badlands, so I appreciated a short drive, but also happy to have had more time at Badlands since we had driven through the night. All of the national parks we visited were breathtaking, but Badlands is extremely underrated. It doesn't take long to drive through the entire park, and there were a lot of buffalo throughout the park, we even woke up to three on our campground. The town outside the park had so many pet friendly stores. Definitely recommend checking out Wall, SD while you're visiting Badlands. We got out some camping chairs and hung out at an overlook before heading to our first come first serve campground. In the morning we started our drive back to Cincinnati. Along the way we stopped in Omaha and St. Louis and stayed with friends before we finally made it back home after two weeks of being on the road. This trip crossed off so many bucket list moments for me, and I was extremely grateful that my golden retriever got to tag along for the ride!"

"Land of Stone and Light The rugged beauty of the Badlands draws visitors from around the world. These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient horses and rhinos once roamed here. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today. "

"The rugged and otherworldly beauty of the Badlands makes it unique. The striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. While I would not consider this park a "hiker's destination," the scenic drive and few short trails make this park worthwhile."