Know before you go: Badlands

Stay safe

• Wildlife: Keep at least 25 yards (23 m) from all wild animals, and 100 yards (91 m) from bears and wolves where they live. Never feed wildlife. Use pullouts to watch animals from the road.
• Heat and water: Carry and drink at least one gallon (4 liters) of water per person per day, more when hiking in heat. Hike early or late in summer, eat salty snacks, and turn back when half your water is gone.
• Cell service: Coverage is patchy in most parks. Download offline maps and the park’s info before you lose signal.

What to pack

Start with the park service’s ten essentials:

• Navigation: a paper map or offline map, plus a charged phone and battery pack
• Sun protection: sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat
• Layers: a warm layer and a rain shell, even in summer
• Headlamp or flashlight
• First aid kit
• Fire starter (matches or a lighter) for emergencies
• Repair kit and tools (a small knife, tape)
• Extra food
• Extra water and a way to treat it
• Emergency shelter: a space blanket or tarp

For Badlands also bring:

• At least one gallon of water per person per day, plus electrolyte drinks or salty snacks
• Lightweight long sleeves and a wide-brim hat
• A cooler and shade for the car
• A red light and a blanket for stargazing
• Binoculars for wildlife watching from a safe distance
• Camping: tent, sleeping bag rated for night temperatures, camp stove and fuel bought locally

What to leave at home

• A drone: launching, landing or flying drones is banned in almost every national park site.
• Firewood from home: it can carry tree-killing pests. Buy it where you burn it, ideally within 10 miles.
• Pets: of the 4 hikes the park service lists here, 2 allow pets (some with limits). Where pets are allowed they must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet.
• Anything you plan to take home from the park: rocks, plants, antlers, artifacts and fossils must stay where you find them.
• Food that wildlife can reach: store it as the park directs, in your car or a locker, never in a tent in bear country.

Weather

The Badlands weather is variable and unpredictable with temperature extremes ranging from 116° F to -40° F. Summers are hot and dry with occasional violent thunderstorms. Hailstorms and occasional tornadoes can descend on the Badlands with sudden fury. Winters are typically cold with 12 to 24 inches of total snowfall.

From the National Park Service (public domain).

Sources

• NPS: The Ten Essentials
• NPS Yellowstone: Safety (100 yards from bears, wolves and cougars; 25 yards from all other animals)
• NPS White Sands: hiking safety (at least one gallon of water per person per day)
• NPS: Uncrewed aircraft in the national parks (Policy Memorandum 14-05, 36 CFR 1.5)
• NPS: Don’t move firewood (buy it where you burn it)
• NPS: B.A.R.K. rules for pets (leash no longer than 6 feet)
• NPS Blue Ridge Parkway compendium, 36 CFR 2.1: preservation of natural and cultural resources
• Official park website

Last checked 1 November 2026.