Badlands & Mount Rushmore

Hay Butte Overlook - This overlook offers stunning views of the Badlands and prairie meadows. It’s an excellent spot to observe bison, pronghorn, and the park’s diverse scenery. A short hike from the Badlands Loop Road, a popular park route, leads to this overlook.

Badlands Wilderness Overlook - Known for its unique landscapes, including rugged rock formations and deep canyons, this area is home to a variety of plant and animal life, such as bison, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. It’s a popular destination for hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, and photography.

Roberts Prairie Dog Town - This area is home to many black-tailed prairie dogs, burrowing rodents from the Great Plains of North America known for their distinctive “bark” and behavior. Visitors enjoy observing these fascinating animals in their natural habitat.

Ancient Hunters Overlook - Named after the ancient tribes that hunted in the Badlands, this site has yielded bison bones and arrowheads. It was likely a butchering field where hunters cleaned and prepared bison.

Yellow Mounds Overlook - Featuring unique layered rock formations, the Yellow Mounds get their color from iron oxide in the rock layers. These formations offer a unique glimpse into the Badlands’ landscape after millions of years of erosion and weathering.

Conata Basin Overlook - This overlook provides a great view of the park’s yellow paleosols, offering a window into the land’s distant past. Once the bed of a warm, shallow sea, the paleosols here are part of the bottommost formation in the Badlands: the Pierre Shale.

Homestead Overlook - President Lincoln believed the American West had the resources the country needed, though few Americans wanted to live there. West Coast Natives were wary of settlers in the unexplored region. Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, allowing people to claim land by living on it and improving it.

Burns Basin Overlook - This view overlooks Wilson Burns’ 20th-century farmhouse. Burns demonstrated how homesteaders survived in this harsh environment. As a sheep rancher, he needed a lot of water, which was often buried several thousand feet deep. Burns found a government-allotted plot with a freshwater spring.

Prairie Wind Overlook - Unlike previous overlooks, the main attraction here is the gentle, pleasant prairie. It’s a great example of the park’s surprisingly diverse ecosystems.

Big Badlands Overlook - Named by Lakota Chief Spotted Elk (Big Foot), this route was used by the US Army in 1890 to pursue Spotted Elk and 200 Lakota. Spotted Elk surrendered peacefully to save his people. In 1990, Congress apologized but did not compensate the tribe. The Lakota are still seeking to withdraw the 20 Medals of Honor given to cavalrymen who massacred them.

White River Valley Overlook - From here, you can see The Castle, a magnificent formation and the largest seen from the overlook. Beyond The Castle, the White River Valley extends indefinitely, created long ago by the White River.

Fossil Exhibit Trail - This trail features interactive exhibits showcasing the park’s fossil heritage, including ancient animal fossils. The wheelchair-accessible trail welcomes all ages and fitness levels. Visitors can learn about extinct animals like the rhinoceros and three-toed horse and their environment.

Saddle Pass Trail - This 0.7-mile trail takes under half an hour to hike and offers great opportunities for bird watching and sightseeing. Despite its short length, it is one of the steepest in the park, with over 200 feet of elevation gain. Avoid this trail if it has rained recently.

Ben Reifel Visitor Center - A great place to take a break from exploring the Badlands, this center offers a picnic area and amenities, as well as the Fossil Preparation Lab, which shows what paleontologists do with fossils once they’ve discovered them.

Cliff Shelf Nature Trail - This half-mile loop offers one of the best views in the park. In addition to the stellar vista from the top of the loop, you’ll also explore a lush juniper forest, one of the Badlands’ lesser-known biomes.

Notch Trail - This 1.5-mile trail features rough terrain for the intermediate hiker, including a rope ladder that leads to a tremendous vista of the White River Valley. Hikers looking for challenging terrain and great views will love this trail.

Door Trail - This quarter-mile, fully accessible boardwalk is more of a stroll than a hike. It leads to a break in the Badlands Wall known as The Door, offering unbeatable views of the landscape beyond. Be sure to bring your camera!

Castle Trail - At 5.4 miles, this is the longest-maintained trail in the park. It weaves through prairie, Badlands peaks, and unique formations. If you want to see all the different features of the Badlands, this trail is a great choice.

Big Badlands Overlook - A fitting place to conclude, this overlook offers one of the best views in the park. The sweeping vista looks out across the eastern stretch of the Badlands Wall, revealing beautifully striped layers of rock dating back tens of millions of years. If you’re looking for that perfect photo of the Badlands, you’re likely to capture it here.

Gutzon Borglum Historical Center - The bust to your left honors Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor behind Mount Rushmore. Born in Idaho in 1867, Borglum led a complex life. He first entered the public sphere when the Metropolitan Museum of Art accepted a sculpture of his for display in 1906—the first time they had ever done so for a living American artist.

Avenue Of Flags - Just ahead is the Avenue of Flags, featuring 56 flags in alphabetical order. While 50 are state flags, the other six represent the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.

64 Presidential Trail - The Hall of Records was a proposed structure intended to be built near Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It was meant to serve as an archive for important historical documents related to the Presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore, as well as other significant American historical records.

Presidential Trail - This tourist route highlights the history and legacy of former U.S. Presidents. It includes sites and attractions related to several Presidents, including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which features the carved faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Badlands & Mount Rushmore

Sculptor’s Studio - Up ahead is Gutzon Borglum’s studio. Inside, you’ll find a huge plaster sculpture showing the original design for Mount Rushmore, which is more intricate than the final product. The original design featured fully carved bodies for each of the presidents.

• Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone
• Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
• Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
• Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
• Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.
• Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!
• Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!
• Hands-free: audio stories play on their own based on your location. Easy to use!

• Attraction passes, entry tickets, or reservations