One of the things we're trying to do on our journey is see as many National Parks as we can. I had no idea until we started traveling just how many National Parks there are! Badlands National Park is our third so far and it's been fun to start growing our list.

One of the things I loved about this park is that there is a highway (240) that you can take from south from I-90 in Wall, South Dakota, and it goes through a section of the park and then comes out further east where you can go north just a little and connect right back up with I-90. (And vice versa if you're traveling west.) It makes it super easy to drive through and see some amazing scenery!

The rock formations are amazing in this park. You can see a variety of colors in the rocks as well. And of course you can see for miles and miles when you're up high looking over the valley. It's just a beautiful area. We were hoping to see more wildlife in this park but unfortunately we didn't. We did see some bison at the entrance though.

Side note - did you know a lot of people think we have buffalo in the United States but we actually don't. Buffalo are found in Africa and Asia and look a little different. What we have in the US are bison.

If you're traveling through southwest South Dakota, this is a great place to take a little scenic turnoff and leave the interstate for a bit. It doesn't even add a ton of time to your trip if you just drive straight through but you can enjoy some amazing views.

Another thing I recommend if you're in this area is stopping in Wall. It's a cute little town with a variety of fun stores and attractions. We had a good time getting out to walk around and check things out. I wish the street was blocked off so you could actually get good pics of the street because it was so fun looking! They have very rustic looking features - even cute hitching posts.

For me personally, this wouldn't be a travel destination per se but if you're passing through the area it's definitely a beautiful park to check out and when you add the fun stop in Wall it makes for a fun adventure for the day!