Badlands Loop Road, Scenic ByWay, South Dakota ,Route 240

Badlands Loop Road, Scenic Byway,
South Dakota, Route 240, Sightseeing
in a National Park With An Eroded
Landscape

Sightseeing

The Badlands National Park Loop Road is a scenic highway that runs parallel to the main east west
interstate, Route I-90. The loop road, located in the southwest corner of South Dakota, with an eastern
start about 60 miles east of Rapid City and Mount Rushmore, offers some stunning views of landscapes
eroded by natural forces.

Viewpoints and Parking for Hikes

Frequent pull-outs and viewing areas along the road offer sightseeing and trailheads of six designated
hikes into the landscape. Below the loop road, spreads an eroded landscape of stratified layers of
variously colored deposits encompassing a huge area of grasslands, The largest preserved grassland in
the US.
Enter the loop road from Route 90, the East Coast to West Coast Interstate highway at either the east end
where you find helicopter rides or at the west end in the area of the Town of Wall. The east /west loop
road is just a small portion of the immense Badlands National Park.

Campgrounds, Tent and RV

At the east end of the loop road, Badlands National Park offers Tent and RV camping for $15 per night.
The park has an RV Dump station with a fee of $1.00 for those passing through. The park offers self-pay
kiosk that accepts credit cards or correct change for the campsite. The sites are small sites with no
shade trees. They are suitable for tents or RVs.
Drive through the campground, pick an unoccupied site, pay at the kiosk, and clip your receipt to the post.
Private campgrounds with full hookups are nearby in the town of Interior.

Back Country Camping, Hiking

Deeper into the park the Sage Creek area offers back country hiking and camping.

Badlands Loop Road, Scenic Byway, South Dakota Route 240

Animal Viewing

From the Badlands Loop road you can see the many wild animals that inhabit the
park. Common sights will be the prong horn antelope, the mule deer, and in
certain sections of the park, the wild buffalo.
Buffalo were reintroduced and now number 800 animals.
The Scenic Byway has park overlooks and viewpoints where you can see
wild animals grazing in the flat grassland below. Binoculars help to see them as
they keep their distance from the road except in early morning or at dusk when they
are more apt to be on the move.

RV vacationers and east west travelers use the Loop Road or Scenic Byway on their way east or
west. The Badlands National Park is a convenient stopover on the way west or east on Route 90;
the park's loop road is an east/west road. Bikers on the way to the early August rally at Sturgis
ND make the park a stop on the way.

The east west loop road runs about 40 miles between
the east and west exits on I-90

Badlands Loop Road is a forty mile Scenic
Byway that runs parallel to Rout I-90.
The Loop Road, Route 240, runs through
the eroded landscape of Badlands
National Park and provides viewpoints,
overlooks for animal viewing and hiking
trails .

Custom Search

The Badlands Scenic Byway, Route 240, offers
sightseeing of the eroded landscape that makes up
Badlands National Park

240 loop Road
Scenic Byway

Loop Road, Scenic Byway

Loop Road, Scenic Byway Camping

The loop road is well surfaced and offers parking for
sightseeing and hiking.

Park Entrance Fees
$15. vehicle
$10. motorcycle
$7. individual Hiker or biker
Camping $15.
Camping with electrical
hookup $28

Save On Air Travel
When traveling by air to South Dakota and the Badlands, you can save on your air fare by Parking your Car
for Two Weeks Free after one night Lodging in Airport Hotels near your home city .
See details, photos of hotels, and reviews.

How to Reach the Badlands:

Air

The nearest large city is Rapid City South Dakota.
Air service reaches Rapid City from hubs in Denver
and Chicago.

Auto

Rental cars are available at the airport. From Rapid
City take scenic Route 44 east to Interior and the
National Park campground or take Route route 90
east to Wall and find the Park entrance and loop
road.

Best Time To Visit Badlands South Dakota:

Spring

May 40 f at night 65 f days

Summer

The weather is perfect June, July, August but the
mid day temperature can reach over 100f. June
is a wet month. July and August can have
thunderstorms with hail.