Badlands Below Zero: Tips For Visiting The Badlands In The Winter

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Badlands National Park is awesome in the summer, but I wanted to see it in the winter, covered in snow.  Now that I’ve seen (almost) all the parks between Utah and Wisconsin in the spring or summer, it’s time to see them in the winter.  Everything just looks so different with a layer of snow.

We were driving from Wisconsin back to Utah and figured we might as well make another stop at the Badlands.  When would we be going this way again in the winter?  We didn’t know, so we went.  And boy, was it an experience.

It was super snowy the day before we got there.  Then the day we left was nice and sunny, but it was super windy and the interstate was a little too icy and we almost did some unwanted off-roading. 

Thankfully we didn’t, but it was a nerve-wracking drive from Wall to Rapid City.  So, you want to visit Badlands National Park in the winter?  I gotchu!

National Park Pass + Other National Park Deals

• If you’re planning on visiting multiple parks (3 or more) on this trip or within the year, I would highly recommend getting a national park pass. It’s $80 and you can get it at the park entrance. It will pay for itself in about three parks. It’s so worth it and I buy one every year! They’re also great for gifts for the park lovers in your life.
• To help plan the best national park trip ever, this Ultimate National Park Planning Bundle is perfect! You get two ebooks and a planner, saving 50% by getting them as a bundle! If you want all the details, this is the bundle for you. Buy the Ultimate bundle here.
• This National Park Planner (one of the ebooks from the bundle above) is perfect if you just want some guidance in your planning. Buy the planner here.
• Get yourself a little National Park notebook to write all about your adventures while you’re on the road. These from Field Notes are all very cute! If you want one for all of the NPS sites (400+!) then this one is for you!
• Before your trip, get some national park apparel for your trip! Homage is donating 5% of sales from the national park collection to the National Parks Conservation Association this year. Buy national park shirts here.
• Consider reading some of these books set in national parks before your big trip, on your adventure, or once you get home to take you back to the parks until next time.
• Planning a big national park trip? Check out these other posts: National Park bucket list, Make the most of a National Park trip, National Park camping packing list, My favorite National Park hikes, More National Park hikes I love, Underrated National Parks.

It will (probably) be very cold

The average temperature in the winter is right around 11 degrees, but it can get a lot colder than that.  We had a windchill of 30 below the day we went. 

That’s not super enjoyable, but it was still worth it to go through to take pictures.  Just make sure you’re prepared with lots of warm clothes, especially if you want to do any hiking.

It will (probably) be very windy, too

South Dakota is just a windy place.

The Ben Reifel Visitor Center is only open 8-4

They have longer hours in the summer, but they close earlier in the winter since it probably isn’t as busy.  The gift shop in the visitor center is also closed for the season. 

It may be closed if the weather is really bad, too. The White River Visitor Center is closed for the season.

There are no ranger programs

The ranger programs are only offered in the summer months, so plan another visit to pass through when it’s a little warmer if you can.

Some hotels and restaurants in Wall are also closed

It’s just not as busy in the winter, so a lot of businesses close for the season.  The Econolodge looked closed and a few restaurants were, too. 

Food choices there are few and far between in the winter.  The town near Mount Rushmore (Keystone) is the same way, except I think the whole town is pretty much closed.

You can still camp at the Cedar Pass campground

There is a section of the campground that is still open in the winter.  Good news is you’ll probably have a good chance at getting the spot you want.  I’m sure you won’t run into too many other people.

Some trails might be closed

You can still hike in the winter, but due to bad weather, trails may close.  Stop in the visitor center to check on trail conditions in the park. 

Also, remember you probably won’t have phone service, or good service, in a lot of the park, so let someone know where you’re going if you’re hiking.

Where to stay at Badlands in winter

Wall

We stayed at the America’s Best Value Inn in Wall and it was actually really nice.  The rooms looked new and we had a nice view of the blizzard raging outside. 

There aren’t tons of hotels in Wall, so you may want to call ahead to make sure they’re open when you’re visiting, and possibly make reservations if your plans are solid.  Wall is going to be the closest place to stay to the Badlands.

Rapid City

While Wall is closer to Badlands National Park, Rapid City will have a lot more hotel options and restaurants that are actually open. 

We haven’t stayed here, but we do eat at the Panera a lot.  Let me know if you have any good restaurant recommendations for Rapid City.

Other tips for visiting Badlands in winter:

• Make sure you find out about road closures before heading to the park.  If there is or has been heavy snow in the last day or so, it may be closed.
• Keep extra blankets in the car in case you break down.  It will be super cold and you don’t want to be stuck in that.
• Don’t forget to bring an ice scraper and snow brush to clean the car off, just in case!
• Definitely, dress in layers.  You’ll want a warm jacket, base layers, hat, gloves/mittens, warm socks, warm boots, and probably hand and foot warmers.
• Bring snacks and maybe some other food.  Most restaurants were closed when we went, so we were stuck with Subway and gas station food.

So, are you convinced to visit the Badlands in the winter?  It’s a totally different experience than a summer visit and totally worth it if you’re in the area, just be prepared and enjoy!

Have you been to Badlands National Park?  What did you think of it?  Would you ever go in the winter?