Bryce Nat. Park, Glen Cyn. Nat. Rec. Area/ Badlands Nat. Pk.

Thanks for all the replies.. it will be Utah this year and South Dakota next year with a later departure date.

2gypsies wrote:
Here's an excellent blog post from a gal who worked a season at Badlands Nat'l Park:

http://www.interstellarorchard.com/2017/06/02/tips-for-visiting-badlands-national-park/

Interesting post, that was the year we last visited BNP, we arrived in late JUne and stayed thru the 4th of July in Scenic at the KOA. Which, and I am no KOA fan, was an excellent campground. We even watch the 4th fireworks in Scenic, which was put on by their volunteer Fire Dept, and it was a scene right out of the Keystone Kops. Very memorable, my oldest son had one firework hit the ground about 8 or 10 feet from him.

But yeah the park was green, a couple of weeks before they had record high temps IIRC, but it had cooled off to a more normal high in the upper 70's and lower 80's when we got there. So we had a great time.

The private RV parks or campgrounds will usually not open until closer to Memorial Day because that is when the majority of tourists show up, it has nearly nothing to do with the weather.

By early April you may encounter snow, or even a snow storm, but they are really quite rare by that time of year, except up here in the northern Hills, which has a better chance, but the snow doesn't stick around long by that time of year here either. We have gotten some heavy snows into May, so it still pays to watch the weather and plan accordingly.

f you haven't been to South Dakota before, it would be worth while coming later in April and spend more time in the Black Hills, also don't forget about Wind Cave NP. You can see more animals there than the wildlife loop in Custer state park. I am not taking anything away from Custer SP, it is a national park caliber state park, I just prefer Wind Cave NP more because of the wildlife viewing and less crowded roads. There is much more to that park than the cave.

Here's an excellent blog post from a gal who worked a season at Badlands Nat'l Park:

http://www.interstellarorchard.com/2017/06/02/tips-for-visiting-badlands-national-park/

The Badlands (and crossing any of South Dakota) may be a bit chancey for weather ealy in April. Daytime averages are in the 50's, nights around 30. But there is a pretty good chance of colder early in the month. And even some snow, but probably not much. The park campground opens April 1, but the also pretty nice nearby KOA doesn't open until April 28th. So gives a clue as to what the locals think the "season" is. Late April should be much better.

I guess that may be the difference, those who don't get out and explore and those who do. We found Badlands to be moderately interesting and well worth a few days of hiking. And the surrounding area is worth exploring too, Wall Drugs and at the time the Minuteman NM which was doing tours of one missile silo. I've heard that was stopped and don't understand the logic behind that. W/o the tour the NM is worth a 20 minute stop at most. There is also a National Grasslands and a Homestead NHS area.

The Black Hills has the two caves which we've been to. They are worth a visit but compared to the major caves: Mammoth and Carlsbad don't amount to a lot. Rushmore we were underwhelmed by, it will appear a LOT smaller than you are imagining right now, it will be packed with people, and the parking is an expensive PITA. They charge for parking even if you have a park pass BTW.

Crazy horse amounts to even less than Rushmore and was expensive on top of that.

Rapid City was of interest to us since they have a major mineral museum on the college campus and we are rockhounds.

But this all varies depending on what is your major interest. Lots of people really like Rushmore for example. But spending a week or more exploring the Black Hills makes no sense to us, but if you like Dollyworld it may be your spot.

I am not an avid hiker. I will walk a mile or so on a decent trail to see something unusual (waterfall for instance) or a spectacular view. For me the Badlands was "one big erosion" (who forgot the silt fence) and with stops at three or four overlooks and a slow drive thru, I spent about all of two hours. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the scenery immensely, but I was ready to move on to the Black Hills.

The Black Hills is another story, I could have spent another week there exploring the area, I simply didn't have the luxury of time to see everything. I will get back there eventually.

Charles

I think a late April/early May trip to the Badlands would be about right. Should be warm enough to hike and there should be lots of babies in the park. Just be prepared for changing weather. We have been to Bryce in late February and were able to do some of the trails so I would think April would have more open. Enjoy!

Really????

I don't think any of us have a weather enabled crystal ball, so no one can tell you which year would be better for a park visit.