Visiting the White River Valley Overlook inside Badlands National Park was one of the highlights of…read moreour trip. This is one of those places that completely catches you off guard in the best way. You pull over expecting a quick viewpoint, and then suddenly you're looking out over this massive, open valley that just seems to go on forever. The contrast between the rugged Badlands formations and the wide, rolling landscape below is incredible. It honestly feels like two completely different environments meeting in one place. The colors, the textures, and the sheer scale of it all make it feel almost unreal when you're standing there. What makes this stop even better is how easy it is to access. There's no long hike required--just park, walk a short distance, and you're right there taking in one of the best views in the park. It's perfect for all ages and a great place to pause and really appreciate the scenery. If you're visiting the Badlands, this overlook is absolutely worth the stop. It's peaceful, stunning, and unforgettable. Check out our videos on our socials @reessroots

"You spend your life waiting For a moment that just don't…read morecome Well don't waste your time waiting Badlands, you gotta live it everyday" (Bruce Springsteen) The last National Park visit of our trip may have been my favorite. The sheer sight of these massive rock formations, cliffs, buttes, pinnacles and spires truly made me feel as if I was a space traveler that had crash landed on the ancient world of a distant planet. Words cannot adequately describe the majesty of what I saw. Badlands also has the largest protected mixed grass prairie in America and is home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets. The park is also famous for its abundance of fossils. I read that ancient horses and rhinos once roamed here. We were able to walk out into the rock formations and overlooked the vast multi-colored stone canyons and valleys, marvel at the soaring cliffs and gorges, and just revel in this fantastic natural beauty. Talk about a religious experience, it was simply gorgeous and breathtaking. Badlands Facts Badlands National Park is our 39th National Park and was established on November 10, 1978. Badlands is a mid-sized park with 244,000 acres Badlands draws around 1 million visitors per year.

Listen folks, lower your expectations. You are not in a 4-5 star resort area, you are in the…read morebadlands! The hotel has national lampoon vacation vibes all over it, and serves quaint rooms with a heavy side of kitsch . I happen to think it's charming. The rooms are perfectly serviceable, clean and quiet. I have personally had a trashier bedroom on a recent Marriot stay. The lady on the phone gave great customer service, and we got to do what they call a "late check-in"- mailbox with envelopes and keys. Fun at 11 PM in the Badlands. Dooo-do-do-doooo.....These hills have eyes. 5:30 AM? The most beautiful sunrise over an amazing landscape: right outside our window.

We are here for two nights. I need to raise the bar. This place is fine…read more We are 500 yards from the Badlands Park gate. The view out my window is the edge of the Badlands hills. The hotel does need a paint job but the bones are great. Checks all the boxes. Previous reviews show food. There is none. Nearest food is the park lodge inside the park entrance. We ate there. Simple but good. The hostess is a delightful lady.

Helpful convenience store with a gas station on the way to the badlands! Restrooms are available…read moreand some cool merchandise like real (dead obviously) rattle snake heads and tails to take home.

Gas is about 30 cents more expensive than you'd find in Rapid and there was no changing table in…read morethe restroom.

We stayed here in early May and overall had a pretty good experience. We booked several months in…read moreadvance so we didn't have any problems getting in. We reserved four nights, realizing that we probably weren't going to come in until late the next morning, technically. We let the campground know ahead of time, hoping that would make our arrival go smoothly. They let us know that they'd put that information in our reservation. Something that is irritating is that you don't know your campsite assignment until you get there. We got in at about 5:30AM and while they had a box with the info for late arrivals, ours was somehow not there. We were exhausted, so we picked an open site and set up camp. Once the "office" opened at about 9AM, we asked if we could stay at that site and they said that we had to move to a different one. This could have been avoided if we were allowed to know our site beforehand or if they had actually had put our info in the after hours arrival box. This wasn't a huge deal, but it would have sucked if the campsite was busier and the had to wait to set up camp even though we paid for the night before. As many people have said, there is no privacy. This was fine for us, the campsites are decently spaced out so you aren't on top of other people. There is a nice little roof on top of the picnic table that blocks some of the sun when it's quite bright. There are no trees, so it gets very windy. Campfires aren't allowed, so you need to bring a camping stove if you want warm food. There is a nice spot designated for washing dishes and there is warm water. For whatever reason, the drinking fountains were not working, so we had to pull from the dish washing water. There are bathrooms with running water but one of the female stalls was out of order during our stay and the ground was flooded. We made it work, but you had to be careful to not get your feet wet. There are also coin operated showers and that building is nicely heated. It cost about $1.25 for a ten minute shower, which is very reasonable. The water was more on the lukewarm side, but nevertheless nice after a long day of hiking. We didn't go inside, but there was also a café and gift shop very close. The campground is in the heart of the Badlands and all of the amazing trails are very close driving distance. You are also about 30 minutes away from Wall if you need to hide from the weather. Custer State Park and Rapid City are a couple hours away, but we took a day to visit. If I wanted to set up shop in the Badlands again, I'd stay here again.

These campgrounds had nice views and great amenities and convenience to all the hiking trails, but…read morevery different than camping in Minnesota where I'm from! PROS: - Bathrooms were a huge plus. Had 3 stalls, running water, flush toilets, multiple sinks, lights, & plugins. - Had multiple drinking water pumps throughout the camp to refill all your containers. - Each campsite had a picnic bench w/ built-in shade covering. - You can see the Badlands so great views from the site. CONS: - There are no trees & you're out in the open, so you can see everyone's campsite around you...and they can see you - They allow RVs in the same campsite as us regular tent-ers so they ruined some of the views. - No campfires were allowed so can't have a classic camping experience here. TIPS: - Bring a tarp to give you more shade & protection from the rain & wind. The picnic table covering wouldn't of been enough for my group. - Book site early for the best spots on the edge facining the Badlands. - Bring a gas grill to cook on since no campfires are allowed. - Weather changes constantly. Dont leave tent flaps open even if it's sunny, since it could rain while you're out hiking...not speaking from experience or anything. This campsite was overall a good option for my group here to do all the Badlands hiking trails, which we did but you'll have to see my review of Badlands National Park for more tips on that!

Our first time staying at KOA -- my SO heard great things about the brand and we gave it a try…read more We booked a same- day reservation at the Badlands KOA for a Deluxe Tent site on gravel which includes electrical outlet and sink. We checked in and were escorted by a staff member in a golf cart to our site. We rolled up and saw a whole family sitting on the picnic bench in our site. Turns out they were taking advantage of the shade in our spot to play cards... Anywho, our tent site was VERY dirty. There was M&Ms on the ground, a used straw, and dirt on the concrete slab and under our picnic bench. Dust was caked on the sink counter. The lockable storage area underneath the sink was also very dirty too - would not recommend using. Tip: pack a multiport block! Came in very handy to charge all the electronics and fridge. The gravel area where we pitched our tent was level. There are a TON of mosquitoes here. A pack of firewood is $9. Interestingly, you can charge your purchases around the campground to your room and settle the costs upon checkout. The dog run is good sized but seemed to have even more mosquitoes hanging there. The pool water was murky. Bathrooms can use more cleaning and updates. The showers and toilets are all in stalls, gender separated. The air vents were very dirty. We didn't get any free vouchers for breakfast pancakes that we saw other reviewers mentioning- maybe it's discontinued? Free ice and water inside the main KOA shop. The staff and service was good. We just wished our tent site wasn't already occupied upon checking in and was cleaner than how we found it. The KOA experience turned out to be a bit underwhelming.

Very close to Badlands NP. There's a pool, mini golf & other amenities including camp store. Staff…read morewas friendly & grounds were clean. Sites are a little close together but not the worst

First class operation. Will bend over backwards to help! Will do business with them again!read more

Decided to stop for the night at the rest stop outside of the badlands. Overnight my battery died…read moreand I needed a jump. Long story short Olson Towing was responsive and got to me in a half hour. Scott was a friendly man and I recommend calling them in the future!!