Badlands SD in August?

I posted this in the MWNP Forum as well.

My wife and I are beginning to plan a driving vacation for photography and have been considering the Badlands SD in August. Is this a good time? Any input as to places to be sure to hit while there. Any other info most appreciated.

Thanks

It can be very hot, like 90s or higher. Other than that, plenty of wildlife if you poke around. Stay away from buffalo, don't put your hands or feet where you can't see (a few rattlesnakes.) Custer State Park is just a couple of hours away, to the west. I'd make that the main target, with Badlands secondary. Badlands is very miserable to hike in if it's wet, but that's unusual in August. North of Badlands is Wall. In the back court of Wall Drug is a building that houses a truly fantastic collection of photos taken by a dentist of the region between 1890 and 1915, roughly. A couple of hundred photos that I could spend an entire afternoon looking at.


Kent in SD

Thanks Kent. This helps a lot!

The national park area by Interior will be crowded. To get away from the crowds I'd recommend visiting the Indian Creek area and Sheep Mountain Table near the little town of Scenic. Sheep Mountain Table used to be fairly remote but now there is a good road to the top. Once you get to the end of that road, there is a two-track dirt road that leads to the southern end of the table. Beautiful view of the badlands from both places. Indian Creek can be accessed west of Scenic, but if you don't have a high clearance vehicle, it is best to walk in, down what the locals call Cardiac Hill. Don't drive down there if its wet or looks like rain. Staff at the park visitor center can tell you how to get to these places.

As Kent noted, it can be very hot in August. If you are camping, I'd recommend not staying at the park campground, where you'll be baking in the afternoon sun. Go to Interior and turn left, go the KOA campground on the White River. It has big shade trees and is one of the few KOA's I'd recommend to anyone. You can walk along the river, it is a good area for birds.

Another place to visit is the Sage Creek Wilderness area. This is my favorite place for wildlife photography in the park. There is a primitive campground there too, but no shade.

Ed: Definitely worth a look although I found it a tough place to shoot. We've been there a couple of times in the summers. Had to be up early and the light gets pretty harsh pretty quick. I did have some fun one afternoon at a prairie dog town and got some decent shots of sheep. I agree with Kent regarding Custer and also enjoyed the Black Hills in the Mount Rushmore/Sturgis area. >=))>

This winter I'm going to try and photo the Badlands at night. I'll try some shots with massive flash set ups, and some without. It's the perfect place for that sort of thing. Just have to be careful to not bump into a buffalo in the dark.


Kent in SD