Badlands

Though I have done side trips off of Route 20, they have all been in-state side trips until now.

South Dakota

I made a right turn off Rte 20 in Merriman, Nebraska, and headed up to the Badlands of South Dakota.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

I stayed overnight in a hotel, then on July 6th, I spent the morning at Badlands National Park.

I walked out into the Badlands on the Door Trail. I got to touch the rock (some of which was crumbly) and peer down into crevices. There were yellow markers to guide me, but there was no path to follow; it was great to explore on my own and see the odd formations of sedimentary rock! I arrived at the door after a walking about a mile.

Door through the Badlands, near the end of the Door Trail

The Window Trail was even shorter, resulting in a nice view through a “window” in the rocks.

View of the Badlands, through the Window

The cliff shelf trail took me around the edge of a bowl-shaped oasis full of vegetation, between the lower prairie and the high Badlands cliffs.

It began to rain quite heavily right after I left the visitors’ center, but stopped again within ten minutes.

I pulled over in the Yellow Mounds Overlook.

Yellow Mounds Overlook, Badlands, SD

Driving along, I saw some bighorn sheep by the side of the road.

Bighorn Sheep grazing; note the one up on the rock face!

Finally, before leaving the park and continuing on my way back to and along Rte 20, I stopped at the Pinnacles Overlook for a beautiful, broad view.

Pinnacles Overlook, Badlands, SD

More of my pictures from Badlands National Park can be found here.