Badlands beauty
While visiting Wall, be sure to take in the beauty of Badlands National Park. The park is open year-round, and the main entrance is about 10 miles south of Wall on S.D. Highway 240. This road, also known as the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, will take you on a 38-mile scenic drive showcasing the park’s tinted spires and multicolored rock formations — mostly created by wind and water erosion.
Buffalo, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mule deer and prairie dogs may be glimpsed throughout the park.
The road has many pullouts for scenic vistas and offers marked hiking trails. One of the most popular trails is the 1/4-mile Fossil Exhibit Trail, which is wheelchair accessible. Along the trail are exhibits of some of the 30-million-year-old fossils of three-toed horses, saber-toothed cats and giant rhinoceros-like beasts called titanotheres that have been discovered among the rugged landscape of the Badlands.
Within the park, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center includes natural history exhibits, books about the area and a film highlighting the park. Next door, Cedar Pass Lodge offers a gift shop with pottery, beadwork and jewelry, as well as the traditional souvenirs of postcards, T-shirts and coffee mugs.
During the summer season, the lodge’s restaurant serves Indian tacos, trout, steaks and buffalo burgers. (There’s even a campground and small cabins for rent; call 433-5361 for more information.)
The Badlands Loop Road connects with I-90 at Exit 121. This is the east entrance to the Badlands. Just before you reach the interstate, you’ll see the Prairie Homestead, which is on the Register of National Historic Places and is one of the only original sod dwellings on display in South Dakota. The homestead gives a glimpse of pioneer life on the prairie and is open daily in the summer. Admission is charged. An adjacent gift shop features an extensive selection of Sioux pottery.
More to do
While in Wall, also consider visiting the Wounded Knee Museum, open 8:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m. daily, admission charged. Through a narrative format with photos and exhibits, the museum tells the story of the U.S. and American Indian conflict in the late 1800s, and the resulting massacre on Dec. 29, 1890, of Lakota men, women and children. New exhibits are being added to the museum, including a children’s corner that will teach about Lakota life.
Wall is also home to the National Grasslands Visitor Center on Main Street two blocks south of Wall Drug. The center includes an exhibit room with information about the grasslands and wildlife common to the area. Educational videos about the region are also shown on request. Open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission is free.
For more information about other area activities and amenities, go to www.wall-badlands.com/pages/attract.html.
For Murdo attractions, go to www.1880town.com or www.pioneerautoshow.com
Badlands National Park is 160 square miles of otherworldly and beautiful landscape. The Badlands Loop Scenic Byway is about 30 miles of paved road. The entrance fee for a passenger vehicle, which is good for seven days, is $10.
Renovated in 2005, Ben Reifel Visitor Center is open year-round. Features include a theater, upgraded restrooms, an expanded bookstore and new exhibits.
There are numerous marked walking and hiking trails in the Badlands. A trail map is available for purchase at the visitor center.
Cedar Pass Campground, also near the visitor center, provides 96 sites, with a fee of $10 per night. The campground is operated on a first-come, first-served basis.