Badlands to Custer SP

We will be visiting the Badlands for a full day and spending the night in Wall. The next day we head on to CSP. We had planned on leaving Wall, going back into the Badlands and west to Scenic and then picking up 44 towards Rapid City and onto Hill City to come in via Needles.

However, I was looking at maps today and am considering taking 27 south once we hit Scenic, and then picking up 2 at the White River Visitor Center.

This will be our 4th visit to the Badlands but we%26#39;ve never seen this southern portion-is it worth the extra time? Does anyone know how much time it will add to our travel time? We could pick up 40 to Hermosa and enter the park thru the town of Custer, or if we still wanted to come in on Needles, does 2 hit 385 which we could then take north to Hill City?

Badlands to Custer SP

I have not been to the south unit, so I don%26#39;t know much about other than what I have read. It remains largely undeveloped and sounds pretty primitive (dirt roads..few trails, etc). I don%26#39;t know what type of vehicle you will be driving, but that might be a consideration on deciding if it%26#39;s worthwhile. I am not a person who likes undeveloped areas, so I doubt if I%26#39;d venture into the area, but everyone is different. It%26#39;s funny; I have a National Geographic Guide to the National Parks that I have used like a bible for years, and their description of the south unit didn%26#39;t sound too inviting to me. The book really doesn%26#39;t do a good job in ';selling area.'; They do recommend alloting a mininum of a 1/2 day to see the area just a reference.

Here is a link I found on the nps website. It%26#39;s a visitor%26#39;s guide for the Badlands. It describes the south unit on page 10.

nps.gov/badl/…202009.pdf

I hope this helps you decide.

I was also looking at the map in reference to Rt. 2. It looks like it comes in around Buffalo Gap just northeast of Hot Springs. You could head south and pick up 385 and head north as you mentioned, or you could head up Rt. 79 (Heartland Expressway), which will cross over 40, which will put you in the right direction for Hill City.

If you go to the south unit, please let us know what it%26#39;s like.

Badlands to Custer SP

Thanks for the reply and the link-it seems that visiting the south portion isn%26#39;t really encouraged--I checked out a guidebook today that refers to it as ';isolated, undeveloped, and not well-suited to tourism';. And that%26#39;s fine. I understand that it is the reservation, and I want to respect that, plus numerous references to coming across ';unexploded devices'; also makes it less appealing.

We are fond of getting off the well-traveled path, and I just thought we might be missing the heart of the area. However, it seems like we%26#39;d just be skirting around the area so I%26#39;m thinking we%26#39;ll just go with Plan A to Scenic and then onto Hill City.

neutrogena