yahoo travel did a recent article on the 5 worst National Parks. Badlands, and Wind Cave were both on the list. As we are planning a trip to S. Dakota in June/July, I was wondering if any of you agree, or disagree? Are they worth our time? We were for sure going to give the Badlands a visit. Wind Cave not so much. We have 5 nights reserved in the game Lodge CG in Custer SP. Opinions please. Thanks,

Went to both last summer with our three youngest grands. We stayed 4 days in Custer, and did the park and the caves in the area and moved on to Wall and did the Badlands. The park is great for younger children that aren't quite ready for Yellowstone. They like the caves, and the Badlands were a bit different although I don't think their favorite part. The buffalo in Custer seemed to be the highlight for the boys, and Rushmore for the girl. All in all it was a good area for their ages. We have been there many times , the year before with the teenaged grands. The little ones horsebacked rided at Blue Bell. I don't know about staying in the park as we stayed in Custer. I think it is a busy area, we went in June and there were quite a few people there. We always try to go right after the kids are out of school to beat the crowds.

I love stopping at the Badlands. It's not that big, and therefore limited in variety of "things to do", but bad?? No way! Not a destination park, but definitely a layover location.Can't speak to Wind Cave - been to Black Hills too many times years ago, so tend to skip the whole area these days in favor of further west locations.

Badlands are Good. You can spend a day there or drive through in about an hour.If you are in the area, it's on the must do list.Brian

We spent a week at the Badlands KOA just outside the park a few years ago and had a good time. We are day hikers tho so we get out of the truck and explore the park. It's not one of the greatest parks but we had a good time. The Rangers were friendly and helpful. So I don't get the bad part. Maybe they were talking about the CG which really is awful. WE stayed there once maybe ten or twelve years ago. It is a bare patch of dirt and gets really hot during the summer. That's why we used the KOA last time we stayed there. We didn't do Wind Caverns that year but we have in the past and I don't recall any problems with it. It isn't Carlsbad but we had a good time there too.

We spent about a month in South Dakota this spring. Loved Custer State Park. Sat in the middle of a herd of about 200 buffalo on a dirt road for 30 minutes while the buffalo grazed past our vehicle. Amazing. Herds of Big Horn sheep grazed right past our RV at Game Lodge Camp Ground. Would go back to Custer State Park before going back to Yellowstone.Enjoyed the Badlands too, hundreds of prairie dogs and the rock formations were pretty cool too.Wind Caves was a drive by, but we didn't go to the caves, we just checked out the camp ground.Don't miss South Dakota, a fantastic place to visit.

Badlands, and wind cave S. Dakota that bad? | Good Sam Community

Drbolasky
Explorer
Feb 07, 2015
danpreszler wrote:
They are both unique and well worth a trip.

Same opinion here. Badlands is on our list; we had to bypass on our trip in '04. We find that kind of topography fascinating.

Wind Cave is also fascinating. We had also planned to do Jewel Cave but I got sick halfway through that day and we had to return to the CG.

Enjoy & safe travels.
skyflyer
Explorer
Feb 07, 2015
The Badlands are amazing and appear out of this world.

Wind cave is also very cool is a neat place to visit.
D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Feb 07, 2015
I think that article was "tongue in cheek" and should be viewed as such. We have been to all the Parks mentioned and Congaree is someone's IDEA of a joke. It's a bloody swamp and not worth the designation of "NP".

I can't wait to get back to the Badlands.
redwingfans
Explorer
Feb 07, 2015
dewey02 wrote:
Here is a suggestion for the Badlands:
Don't just do the paved loop off of I-90 that goes from Exit 131 to Exit 110. This is the most traveled and therefore tends to have the least amount of wildlife. Be sure to do Sage Creek Rim Road (590 - a gravel road)that runs to the west end of the north unit of the park. We did this last fall and this is where we saw all the great wildlife - Buffalo, Big Horn Sheep, Pronghorn Antelope and Mule deer. The only wildlife we saw on the loop road were the Prairie Dogs.

This is not to say that you won't see any wildlife on the loop road, but that was our experience. The loop road has constant cars going either direction, while we saw only a few cars on the Sage Creek Rim Road. )

X2
We stayed 3 night on the Sage Creek Rim Road primitive campground. It is free!! Had buffalo in the campground grazing for a couple of hours each day. Seen a herd of 200 buffalo slowly graze out of the hills and down into the dry river bed. They were within 100 yards of our camper. The main loop is best to see on a sunny day. If possible wait it out til you have a sunny day.
lfloom
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
We drove through Badlands on our way to Custer. It was summer, so no way we could stay, but it was very cool. The whole area around Rushmore have a lot of caves, and many are operated by private for profit companies. Two are operated by the US Park Service, including one at Wind Cave. I thought the park service ones were better preserved and gave better tours than the private ones. Also, there was a cool area of wind cave that was populated by ferrets - that was cool.

I have been to a lot of National Parks - including the big name ones. I have never been disappointed. Sure, some are more spectacular than others, but they all preserve lovely places with integrity.

Meanwhile, although Custer is a State Park, it felt a lot like a National Park.
Padlin
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
We spent one night in the Badlands CG headed home from the Tetons, not a bad place to stay in transit, for 1 night. Half a day was enough for us to see the park and do a few short hikes.
atreis
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
We went to Badlands and loved it. The rocks are very unique and beautiful. It's good for a 2-3 day stop. There's not all that much to do, but they do have nice ranger programs. It's a great place to stargaze.

The longer hikes are VERY difficult (and there are few of them) due to the lack of shelter/trees. Be very careful about heat/sun stroke and carry lots of water - enough that you can poor some over your head if needed.
Uppercrust
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
My daughter and I did the Badlands last July and loved it. Not sure what the trail was but it lead to a wooden ladder that you climbed and beautiful trail at the top of the ladder. Wind cave is also a good visit, book early and do the candlelight tour.
GREGORYJ
Explorer
Feb 09, 2015
We liked the Badlands but it may depend on what time of year you would be there.
We were there during the first half of June and it was great with some nice hikes and lots of "green".
A couple of days was enough , the KOA was just fine. Lots to see in the Blackhills as well.
tatest
Explorer II
Feb 09, 2015
Sounds like one author's biased, likely uninformed, opinion.

What's "good" or "bad" about places to visit is often subjective, and what you like depends on your own interests.

Before accepting this ranking, I would like to see the author's reviews of each park in the system, details about what was liked and not liked. Assuming that the author actually visited them.