South Dakota camping! Best Badlands National Park campgrounds (buffalo!) 🌞 Camping in Badlands National Park 🌞 South Dakota travel blog

Hi there!

It’s possible to go camping in Badlands National Park!

You can make it a part of your camping trip when you travel to South Dakota!

I went camping in Badlands National Park, and here’s what you need to know about the Badlands National Park campgrounds!

There are 2 campgrounds in Badlands National Park! I went camping at both of them! Here’s what you need to know.

1. Cedar Pass Campground

If you want to go camping with the classic views of the Badlands, then you want to stay at Cedar Pass Campground!

The Cedar Pass Campground is located in a very convenient area of Badlands National Park.

By staying at Cedar Pass Campground, you will be minutes away by car from Badlands Loop Road, which is the main road in the park from which you can access all of the best views in Badlands National Park.

The Cedar Pass area is also where you can find a bunch of shorter Badlands National Park hikes that yes come with amazing views!

Modern camping in Badlands National Park

The Cedar Pass campground is for tent camping and RV camping.

This is a modern campground. It has regular bathrooms and drinking water available.

You can get a campsite with electricity.

There are hot water showers, although you have to pay for that so bring coins.

Cost of camping at Cedar Pass campground

The cost of tent camping at this Badlands National Park campground starts at around $23 a night.

The cost of RV camping at starts at around $38 a night.

See current camping fees.

While this campground is in fact in Badlands National Park, it is not operated by the National Park Service.

You make Cedar Pass Campground reservations through Cedar Pass Lodge.

In addition to the campground fees, you will also need to pay for the Badlands National Park entry fee.

You will pay the national park entry fee when you arrive.

This will be around $30 per car and you will get a pass that will last for 7 days. See current national park entry fees.

If you will be going to at least 3 national parks within a year, then it may be worth considering getting the annual national park pass. There is no entry fee for South Dakota’s other national park though (Wind Cave National Park), so you will want to look specifically into the entry fees of the park that you plan on going to!

See more about Cedar Pass campground.

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2. Sage Creek Campground

The Sage Creek Campground is located in a remote area of Badlands National Park, so this is the remote Badlands National Park campground!

The Badlands National Park campground with wildlife: prairie dogs and buffalo

If you want to go camping with a high chance of wildlife sightings, then you want to stay at Sage Creek Campground.

The campground is quite literally a prairie dog town!

You will be setting up your tent right next to prairie dog holes. (Watch your step!!)

This means that you have tons of chances to see prairie dogs!

Sage Creek is also an area that buffalo frequent.

So, there is also a chance to see buffalo.

You might see buffalo walk right through the campground! It seems like they regularly use the campground as their walking path in the early morning, like 6am.

The rustic Badlands National Park campground

The Sage Creek campground is for tent camping and small RV camping.

This is a rustic campground. There is a basic no-flush toilet. There is no electricity. There are no showers. There is no water.

Be sure to bring TONS of water! Summer days can regularly be in the 90s and can reach 100 degrees. (Although it is a dry heat.) The evenings are cooler though and can be in the 50s so you’ll also want to make sure you have layers.

Being in a remote area of Badlands National Park, it’s not near the best views of Badlands National Park.

For example, Sage Creek to Cedar Pass is about a 1.5 hour drive through the park, although you will start to see classic views of the Badlands rock formations before that.

Cost of camping at Sage Creek campground

Sage Creek Campground is a FREE camping stop in Badlands National Park.

It is also first-come first-serve.

It is not possible to make reservations. Confirm current Badlands National Park camping details.

I am always afraid of first-come first-serve campgrounds, so I try to arrive early.

I arrived to the Sage Creek Campground around noon and the campground was pretty empty. I guess in the evening it was pretty full.

But even if you arrive to a full campground, if you’re desperate, the layout of the campground is such that it seems that you could find a spot to pitch a tent… Just be considerate of fellow campers…

See more about the Sage Creek campground.

What Badlands campground was Nomadland filmed?

If you’re camping in the Badlands, your must-watch movie before you go is Nomadland! This movie has scenes from South Dakota, including the Badlands, and more specifically, there are scenes of camping in the Badlands!

And the Badlands National Park campground as seen on TV is the Cedar Pass Campground!

The Cedar Pass Campground is the Badlands National Park campground that the main character Fern was a camp host at in the movie Nomadland!

For another Badlands National Park filming location, there is also a scene in which Fern is walking through the Badlands. I am pretty sure that was Door Trail, past the boardwalk! (In one scene, it looks like you can see the boardwalk in the background.)

For more Nomadland locations in South Dakota, Fern was also seen driving through the Needles Eye Tunnel (I am pretty sure!) and working at Wall Drug!

There is also a scene in which Fern is standing with the Needles of the Black Hills as the vast landscape. You can find similar scenes at stops along the Needles Highway.

And finally, there was another scene of her watching a buffalo. Because of the other scenes surrounding it, my guess is that was Custer State Park!

If you’re going camping in Badlands National Park, you can watch Nomadland on Hulu before you go!

And that’s a bit about the Badlands National Park campgrounds!

More for your trip to Badlands National Park and beyond:

• Best hikes in Badlands National Park
• Where to go camping in South Dakota
• Best campgrounds in Custer State Park
• Best hikes in Custer State Park
• Driving from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone
• Best places to visit in Wyoming
• Things to do in Grand Teton National Park
• Things to do in Yellowstone National Park
• Hiking in Wyoming with amazing views
• Things to do in Craters of the Moon National Monument
• Things to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

HAPPY CAMPING IN BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK!