BLACK HILLS & BADLANDS REGION Badlands National Park BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK A TIMELESS LAND OF WIND, SKY & ROCK There’s a fascination with landscapes composed only from the starkest elements of nature. They speak to the fundamentals of our planet: wind, rock and sky. Ready to deepen your appreciation of the very essence of nature? Take a drive through the Badlands. It’s desolation at its truest, where you can look for miles and see no sign of civilization. Disconcerting, maybe, but the meadowlark piping in the morning cool and the darting pronghorns seem company enough. There are no obstructions to mar the horizon. And the land un-folds unceasingly until it meets the sky. It is a land close to the sun, replete with some of nature’s finest forms. The Badlands will sneak up on you. Even after you enter the gateway to Badlands National Park , the monoto-nous grasslands of the High Plains seem to continue. Stop at the very first scenic overlook you encounter and get out of your car. In a matter of inches, the ocean of prairie transforms into a vast and jumbled wilderness of impenetrable Badlands. Visually, the Badlands are most picturesque early or late in the day when deep shadows define their forms. At 36 visual images are totally foreign to any past experiences. If you are thoroughly smitten by the Badlands, hike the Saddle Pass Trail or the Castle Trail. The Fossil Exhibit Trail, a National Scenic Trail, is one of the most heavily used of all park facilities and gives visitors a glimpse into the park’s distant past. SAGE CREEK AREA For more high adventure, strike out into the 64,000-acre Sage Creek Wilderness Area. You may hike just about anywhere in the park, but you must keep your vehicle on the road and leave rocks, animals, and plants as you find them. In spite of all this, the marvels of Badlands topography are not the region’s only claim to fame. It is likely to see eagles and turkey vultures, deer and antelope, and sometimes a wily coyote. first, neither eye nor mind can comprehend because the
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