Road Trip Day 4: Badlands National Park

View from an overlook along the Sage Creek Rim Road in
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

The fourth day of our road trip across the country was really the first day where we didn't need to worry about putting lots of miles behind us. This was a planned day of "rest" sightseeing at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Badlands is a big place and I'm going to break it up into several parts. One of the things we hoped to do when we came out west was to see wildlife that simply isn't present back east.

One of the smaller of these is the prairie dog. Although small, prairie dogs serve a vital role in the prairie eco-system as a food source for a variety of mid-sized predators, like foxes, badgers, raptors, bobcats, and the endangered black-footed ferret. They also help churn and aerate the soil with their prolific burrowing. But, this is a blog about sightseeing and not about wildlife management, so I'll skip the details about prairie dogs (which, in Badlands National Park, by the way, are of the black-tailed variety,  specifically of the species Cynomys ludovicianus).

• See my prairie dog pictures here 

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Prairie dogs are visible in several spots around the Badlands Loop Road, but the best place to view them is near the Pinnacles Entrance along the Sage Creek Rim Road. Shortly after entering the park, there will be a right hand turn-off marked Sage Creek Rim Road. It's a dirt road, but it is well-groomed and easily passable by any car during the dry season at least. There are several scenic overlooks in the first few miles along this road, and you should definitely take the time to stop and look out over the landscape here. At the five mile mark, however, is Roberts Prairie Dog Town.

Here, on flat level ground, far enough away from any ledges to let the kids walk around without worrying, there is a parking area and a little walkway into the prairie dog town. The town consists of many, many prairie dog burrows. You'll see prairie dogs sitting as sentinels near one of the two entrances to each burrow around the field and others grazing on the grasses seemingly without a care in the world.

At this location within Badlands National Park, the prairie dogs seem accustomed to people and didn't startle as easily as those in other locations I visited. Even so, never feed wild animals even when they seem tame. Prairie dogs don't drink water at all, so they need to get the right mixture of water and food through the grasses they eat. Adding dry crackers or other artificial foods to their diets can throw off their balance, especially if they contain salt. Additionally, once they start to expect food from humans they seek out people and may spend more time in and around the road near the parking area exposing them to additional risk.

A Prairie Dog crouching in the entrance to its burrow at
Roberts Prairie Dog Town in Badlands National Park, SD

Feel free to wander into the prairie dog town, watch them go about their activities, and take all the pictures you want, just watch out for the holes in the ground and the occasional wandering bison. While we were there, one lone bull bison was grazing a couple hundred yards away from the parking area. We kept a wary eye on his position lest it approached closer than the 100 yard minimum distance recommended by the park rangers. It never did.

Money-saving Tip

If anyone in your group is 62 years of age or older, they can buy a lifetime senior pass for just $10. This pass let's them and anyone else in the car into any National Park for FREE-- just another reason to travel with the in-laws.  At some national monuments and other sites, it offers a discount on admission as well. (Mount Rushmore is the exception - no discount for senior passes there.) Otherwise, Badlands National Park admission is $15 per car load, but that admission is good for seven days.