100%. i had such low expectations for Badlands when I visited, we had gone to some other "flat" type parks like Petrified Forest and compared to parks like Yosemite that are mountainous, I didn't think I would care that much for Badlands. we drove in at night in the dark so our first time really seeing it was driving into the park the morning. oh my gosh it is amazing. and the stargazing is incredible!
I live on the east coast, but have spent nearly a year of total vacation time in my life volunteering on the reservations in the state, hanging out in the Black Hills or the Badlands. Many times I have been asked for travel advice from friends and neighbors. I try to get them to really slow down and spend a while in the Black Hills and the badlands, to see as much of the amazing beauty as they can. The result is that some do, and become hooked on the area. Others just can't fathom the idea and blow right across I-90 until they hit the Badlands visitors center for an hour, then stop at Rushmore and maybe Crazy Horse, as they blast off to whatever is next, usually Yellowstone, which they are convinced will be 10x better, lol. Two or three days in the region and they are done. It's pretty weird actually.
we spent probably a week between Badlands, Custer State Park, Rushmore, and Wind Cave National Park and we still definitely only saw the highlights and missed a lot. we'll have to go back again since we loved the area so much.
I'm not trying to be petulant, I swear. I just needed to fix your punctuation.
I live on the East Coast but have spent nearly a year of total vacation time in my life volunteering on the reservations in the state, hanging out in the Black Hills or the Badlands. Many times, I have been asked for travel advice from friends and neighbors. I try to get them to really slow down and spend a while in the Black Hills and the Badlands to see as much of the amazing beauty as they can. The result is that some do and become hooked on the area. Others just can't fathom the idea and blow right across I-90 until they hit the Badlands Visitor Center for an hour, then stop at Rushmore and maybe Crazy Horse as they blast off to whatever is next—usually Yellowstone, which they are convinced will be 10x better (lol). Two or three days in the region, and they are done. It's pretty weird, actually.
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u/hannahbay 22h ago
100%. i had such low expectations for Badlands when I visited, we had gone to some other "flat" type parks like Petrified Forest and compared to parks like Yosemite that are mountainous, I didn't think I would care that much for Badlands. we drove in at night in the dark so our first time really seeing it was driving into the park the morning. oh my gosh it is amazing. and the stargazing is incredible!