Badlands National Park

Explore the geologic formations of Badlands National Park! A Ranger will guide you through the "door." Meet at the north end of the Door/Window parking lot approximately 2 miles north of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center on the Badlands Loop Road. 

Learn what fossils can tell us about the story of ancient life in the Badlands and why we need to protect them. Meet at the Fossil Exhibit Trailhead, 5 miles northwest of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center on the Badlands Loop Road. 

Join a ranger for an easy, family-friendly walk through the prairie and get a closer look at one of North America's most important, and often overlooked, ecosystems.

Finish your day with an evening presentation highlighting geology, fossils, wildlife, history, or other Badlands area topics. 

After the evening program, join Rangers for a presentation, night sky tour, and telescope viewing. 

Ranger Ed Welsh is the Education Specialist at Badlands National Park, and has degrees in Geology (B.S) and Paleontology (M.S.). Ed has authored or co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles focusing primarily on fossil mammals found in the White River Badlands in the northern Great Plains region. 

The Big Badlands of South Dakota is home of the first "bone rush" in the American West and is renowned for being one of the richest fossil-producing areas in the world. Nearly 200 years of exploration, collection, and research has painted the picture of a rich and dynamic ecosystem transitioning from a tropical and swampy to dry and grassy North America. 

After all of this time, one might think there is nothing new left to discover. That could not be further from the truth. Ranger Ed Welsh will share how continuing research in the Badlands has resulted in discovering new species, illuminating major events in natural history, and surprising new fossils that no one else would expect to find. Come to learn how the Badlands continues to reveal new secrets that enhance the story of life on Earth.

Augusta “Gusti” Rattling Hawk, is Oglala Lakota from Wambli, South Dakota. Their educational background in Environmental Science-Native American Studies from Dartmouth College, and restoration ecology. Augusta currently works for the Intertribal Buffalo Council as a Technical Service Provider, where they assist Tribes with Bison through management planning, ecological practice implementation, applied traditional ecological knowledge, and partnerships.  

Learn how large our solar system is with a size-accurate scale model made by our Astronomy and Night Sky team. Meet in front of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center to join us on a walk through the solar system.

View solar flares and sunspots through our special solar telescopes, 100% safe for eyes. Various other sun-based activities will also be offered.

Also join staff from Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in building your own paper rocket. Learn the anatomy of a rocket and what is needed to propel it into the cosmos (or our front yard). How can you make your rocket launch farther than the others?