|
 The
Badlands are a work of art still in progress. Water and wind continue to sculpt
the pliant soil into sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires that resemble
medieval castles made of sand. It's in the golden light of sunrise or sunset
that the artistry is on full display, when the duff-colored soils glow in shades
of red, pink, and purple.
Hikers, backpackers, cyclists, and casual wanderers can explore this
Byzantine labyrinth of shifting sands and experience the vast expanse of azure
sky and forbidding land that greeted — and ultimately defeated — the
earliest settlers. Each panorama offers a glimpse into millions of years of
geologic history, paleontology, and the inevitability of a changing earth.
Hike 35
Million Years into History
The park's seven short trails sufficiently penetrate the diverse terrain found
within the Badlands — easy loops through wooded prairie give way to steep
hikes along precipitous Badland formations. The Fossil Exhibit Trail is a
quarter-mile loop that allows visitors to see fossils dating from the late
Eocene and Oligocene epochs — often referred to as the Age of Mammals. The
Door Trail allows visitors to break on through to the other side — the
"door" is a break in the wall of wickedly eroded Badlands.
Ride Herd
with Buffalo
It's hard to miss the massive 2,000-pound bison that graze on prairie grass in
the Badlands — with a herd 600 strong, chances are good that you will see
American Buffalo (as they're popularly called) if you drive along Sage Creek Rim
Road. And there's always a chance that you will catch a rare glimpse of the
25–30 black-footed ferrets living in the park. They're the most endangered
mammal in North America.
Backpack
with the Baddest
To relieve the unbearable urge to explore, which overtakes many Badlands
visitors, try backpacking the backcountry. You can camp anywhere on this
244,000-acre expanse so long as you're at least a half-mile away from any road
or trail. The Sage Creek Wilderness in the park's northern region provides
64,250 acres of remote wilderness where backpackers can get lost and found with
the aid of topographical maps. Bad-to-the-bone backpackers can test their limits
in this parched terrain where other living creatures barely survive by
subsistence.
Cycle the
Badlands
Although forbidden on hiking trails, cyclists can ride along the park's paved
loop road. Get someone to shuttle you up to Pinnacles Overlook and you can
cruise downhill for 22 miles to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. The closest thing
to off-road action is gravel — the Sage Creek Rim Road along the northern
boundary of the park snakes its way from the Pinnacles Overlook past a prairie
dog town, and on to wonderful views of the Badlands Wilderness Area.
Drive
through Hostile Country
A drive along the Badlands Loop Road evokes some of the same emotions
experienced by early settlers crossing this ominous and forbidding terrain in
horse-drawn caravans. French-Canadian trappers described this area as les
mauvaises terres , or "bad land to travel across." The Lakota
translated this into their language as mako sica, or "land
bad." Several overlooks offer visitors the opportunity to pull over and
behold this paradox — the sheer beauty of a potentially hostile and barren
landscape. |
