Where to Stay in Badlands National Park: In the Park, Towns & Campgrounds

By Victoria Boissonade · Data: National Park Service · ← Complete guide Badlands

For a full immersion in these otherworldly landscapes, spend at least one night inside the park if you can: Cedar Pass Lodge or Cedar Pass Campground. Two nights are enough to cover the essential areas of the North Unit. Plan on three nights if you're combining the park with the Black Hills. Travelers who prefer more comforts can stay in Wall, the closest gateway town, or Rapid City, about 75 miles away, with a broad selection of hotels. To figure out how many days to plan overall, see the Badlands itinerary guide.

Where to stay: towns, lodges and campgrounds (8)

All Gateway townsLodgesCampgrounds

• Gateway town Wall entrance Pinnacles (I-90, Exit 110) · hotels, gas station, restaurants Directions ↗
• Gateway town Interior entrance Ben Reifel / Cedar Pass · gas station, restaurants Directions ↗
• Gateway town Kadoka entrance Northeast Entrance (I-90, Exit 131) · hotels, gas station, restaurants Directions ↗
• Gateway town Philip entrance South Entrance (Route 44) · hotels, supermarket, gas station Directions ↗
• Gateway town Rapid City entrance Pinnacles (I-90, Exit 110) · hotels, supermarket, gas station Directions ↗
• Lodge Cedar Pass Lodge Cedar Pass (North Unit) · May-Oct Directions ↗
• Campground Sage Creek Campground first come, first served · 22 sites Directions ↗
• Campground Cedar Pass Campground see NPS · 96 sites Directions ↗

Show interactive map Base map © OpenStreetMap · © CARTO

⚠ Gateway town & Lodge data is undergoing editorial review.

Staying in the Park or Outside It?

Badlands National Park can turn an ordinary stop into a memorable experience, as long as you're there at the right times of day. Sunrise over the orange and ocher spires, dusk setting the geologic formations aglow, bison crossing the road as night falls: you miss all of that if you're sleeping 25 miles away in a motel parking lot.

That said, the in-park options are limited, seasonal, and in high demand. Here's how to weigh them based on your situation.

• First visit, and you're coming specifically for Badlands National Park: staying one night in the park is almost essential. Choose the lodge for comfort or Cedar Pass Campground for the atmosphere.
• Black Hills road trip: use Wall or Rapid City as your base. You can still fit in a night in the park if availability allows.
• Tight budget: primitive, free Sage Creek Campground settles the question.
• Family with young children: Cedar Pass Lodge or a hotel in Wall offers more conveniences than a campground without running water.

Staying in Badlands National Park: Cedar Pass Lodge

Cedar Pass Lodge is the only roofed lodging inside the park. A private concessioner operates it for the National Park Service in the heart of the North Unit, just steps from Ben Reifel Visitor Center and Badlands Loop Road.

Cedar Pass Lodge: Cabins and Rooms

The lodge offers cabins built in a style reminiscent of 1930s park lodges, with wood siding, porches overlooking the geologic formations, and a clean, simple atmosphere. There are no TVs and no conventional air conditioning. That's a deliberate choice, and guests who appreciate it keep coming back.

The Cedar Pass Lodge Restaurant serves straightforward American food, so you won't have to drive back out in the evening to find dinner in Wall.

The lodge is generally open from about April through October. It's closed outside that period. Reservations typically open in January or February for the summer, and the cabins sell out within a few weeks. Don't put it off.

For rates, room types, and booking policies, see the guide to roofed lodging in Badlands National Park.

Badlands Inn

Right next to the Cedar Pass area, additional lodging is available under different names depending on the season and concessioner. Check availability directly with the park concessioner as you plan your trip. The commercial names may change from one year to the next, but the location itself remains the same.

Camping in Badlands National Park: Park Campgrounds

Badlands National Park has two campgrounds with completely different setups.

Cedar Pass Campground

This is the park's main campground, located near Ben Reifel Visitor Center. It has sites with access to restrooms, showers, and a dump station for RVs. Some sites can be reserved on Recreation.gov, while the rest are first come, first served.

Park entrance fees are added to the camping fees, which are $30 per private vehicle or $15 per pedestrian. During peak season, from June through August, arrive early or reserve several months ahead.

Sage Creek Campground

Sage Creek is the primitive campground in the Wilderness Unit west of the park. There is no running water, electricity, dump station, or reservation system. You arrive, pitch your tent or park your RV, and camp for free. The park entrance fee is still required.

What you get in return is solitude, an unusually dense star-filled sky, and bison that sometimes pass within a few yards of camp in the morning. On our last visit, pronghorn grazed within binocular range of the campsite without paying any attention to us. For anyone who loves a truly wild night outdoors, it's hard to beat.

One safety rule is nonnegotiable: bring all the water you'll need. Summer temperatures can approach 117°F, and there is no place to refill at Sage Creek. Bring at least 4 liters per person per day. Check the weather before pitching your tent, too. Thunderstorms can be violent and develop surprisingly fast over Badlands National Park, sometimes bringing hail or tornadoes.

For exact amenities and reservation rules, see the Badlands campground guide or the RV camping guide for Badlands National Park if you're traveling by van or RV.

Where to Stay Around Badlands National Park: Gateway Towns

Wall, South Dakota

Wall is the closest town to the park's northeast entrance, off I-90 at Exit 131, about 12 miles away. It's not a charming town, but that isn't its purpose. Wall Drug, a giant drugstore turned roadside attraction advertised by billboards for hundreds of miles, sets the tone. This is primarily a practical stop.

The selection of motels and hotels is decent, rates are significantly lower than at the more touristy Black Hills destinations, and gas stations plus a few restaurants cover the basics.

Best for: road-trippers moving from one stop to the next, budget-conscious travelers, and families looking for a functional base without complications.

Interior, South Dakota

Interior is a tiny town accessible from the park's southeast entrance via SD Highway 44. Lodging is very limited, but if you find a room, you'll be far from the crowds and closer to the park's less-visited areas, including Conata Basin and Sage Creek Wilderness. It's worth considering if you're arriving from the south.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is about 75 miles west of Badlands National Park, a drive of about 1 hour 15 minutes. It's the region's largest city, with Rapid City Regional Airport, a wide range of hotels at every price point, varied restaurants, and well-stocked supermarkets where you can shop before heading out to camp.

If your trip includes the Black Hills as a whole, including Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, and Custer State Park, with Badlands National Park as a day trip, Rapid City makes sense as a base. For a trip focused only on Badlands National Park, though, driving back and forth from Rapid City adds unnecessary time to each day.

Best for: travelers combining several regional parks, families who value comfort, and visitors flying into Rapid City Regional Airport.

Kadoka, South Dakota

Kadoka lies east of the park along I-90, near Exit 150. A few budget motels make it a fallback if Wall is sold out. That's about it.

When to Book Your Badlands Lodging

Badlands National Park's peak season runs from June through August, and in-park lodging fills up so quickly that it surprises visitors who haven't planned ahead.

• Cedar Pass Lodge: book 4 to 6 months ahead for summer. Reservations open in January or February. By mid-February, the best July and August dates are often gone.
• Cedar Pass Campground, reservable sites: the booking window opens 6 months ahead on Recreation.gov. For a July weekend, sites often sell out as early as January.
• Hotels in Wall: 2 to 3 months ahead is usually enough, but prices climb in July and August.
• Sage Creek Campground: reservations aren't available. During peak season, arrive early in the morning for a good site.

During the off-season, from November through March, the lodge and part of Cedar Pass Campground close. Park roads may close after snowfall, which averages 12 to 24 inches per year. Badlands weather is especially unpredictable, with seasonal extremes ranging from -40°F to 117°F. Check the Badlands weather forecast and the best time to visit before setting your dates.

Lodging Budget: How Much Does It Cost to Stay in Badlands National Park?

The ranges below are estimates and don't include the park entrance fee.

Rates vary by season, site type, and demand. For entrance fees and available passes, the Fees & Passes page covers the essentials.

Our Recommendation Based on Your Travel Style

First visit, with two nights available: spend one night at Cedar Pass Lodge or Cedar Pass Campground to catch sunrise, then one night in Wall before getting back on the road. This plan covers the essentials without unnecessary miles.

Family with young children: choose Cedar Pass Lodge for its proximity to Ben Reifel Visitor Center and the comfort of the cabins. If the lodge is full, a hotel in Wall is the natural fallback. Sage Creek is not recommended with very young children because of the lack of water, uneven terrain, and unpredictable weather. See the tips for visiting Badlands National Park with kids for more ideas in the park.

Budget: Sage Creek Campground. Completely free, completely wild, and completely memorable. Bring water, a backup filter, and a backup weather plan.

Black Hills road trip: spend one night in the park at Cedar Pass, the lodge, or the campground, then use Rapid City as a base for Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave National Park. The geography makes the choice obvious.

Photography and nature: Sage Creek or Cedar Pass Lodge, without hesitation. Sunrise over the spires, with few people around and bison waking up within telephoto range, is exactly why people come to Badlands National Park. Don't miss it from a motel parking lot in Wall.

To build your complete day-by-day itinerary, see the Badlands itinerary guide and the complete Badlands guide.

Frequently Asked Questions