Badlands National Park sunrise, sunset location recommendations?

[i_liang_siu1]

<p>I'm planning a family trip to the South Dakota Black Hills region for the last week of June. We will be staying at the Badlands National Park Cedar Pass Lodge (inside the park) for two nights. I'll have opportunities for only two sunrises and maybe two sunsets, so I'd like to make the most efficient use of my limited time. Since I won't have much time to really scout locations during the day (I may not even be able to sneak away for the sunset), so I'd really appreciate some good recommendations. After some research I turned up these locations as good candidates:<br>

<br /> Big Badlands Overlook<br />Panorama Point<br />Medicine Root Trailhead<br />Door Trail<br>

<br /> Anybody have any comments/recommendations on their favorite spots? I've got no shame and am not above chasing tripod holes and getting the same trophy shots as everyone else :)<br>

Thanks!</p>

[J.W. Wall]

<p>You could ask the rangers -- even call ahead.</p>

[jennifer_spencer]

<p>Sounds like a great trip. Definitely call and ask the park rangers - seems like there's always someone on staff who has this sussed out. I asked at the Petrified Forest and they called over to their photography buff and gave me the scoop. It was a great help. </p>

<p>I love the Yellow Mounds, but I am into saturated color. The colors of the mounds are bleached out pretty well in the light of the day but the yellow really comes out when the sun is low in the sky. That is true of most of the Badlands; midday shots should probably be more about the silhouettes.</p>

<p>I shot what I thought was a nice panoramic view in the lowlands, near the prairie, I want to say it was near Burns Basin, between the Yellow Mounds and the Fossil Exhibit. They aren't obvious Badlands images, but I liked the prairie.</p>

<p>Here's what I shot: http://jspencerphotography.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/come-back-soon-and-often-devils-tower-the-badlands-and-sioux-falls/</p>

<p>Bring plenty of water; it's dry and alkali out there and it dries you out faster than you expect. It can be windy too, so you might want something to keep the sting out of your eyes.</p>

[john_harper9]

<p>I only watched one sunrise at Big Badlands Overlook, but it was well worth it. There are walkways out to several observation points. Colors wash out about 30 minutes after sunrise.</p>

[Two23]

<p>If the sky is clear, be south of the big wall before sunrise. Watch out for buffalo, they are very dangerous. Give them a wide berth.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[i_liang_siu1]

<p>Thanks to everyone for your responses. I definitely will heed the advice about water and exercise caution around buffalo (or bison). The advice about asking the park rangers seems obvious, yet it didn't occurr to me!</p>

<p>Jennifer - nice blog post, thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>Kent - I assume you're referring to the overlooks on the Badlands Loop road, any part of the wall in particular? Also, I believe you're recommending to be positioned south of the wall at sunrise so I can shoot toward the north, correct?</p>

<p>I'll probably explore the Sage Creek Rim road too. Also, I've planned a couple of days for Custer State Park, so I'd also welcome any other general advice.</p>

[steve_levine]

<p>The road through the park is a winding, turning one. Once you drive through you will see photo ops every where. And the sun angles and times of day will fall into place. The park is a natural and photographic wonder!</p>

[Two23]

<p>Yes, south of the big white wall. There are some "humps" out there you can climb up and get a terrific view. This is on BLM land, and the park itself is immediately to the north. Be there in the dark and wait. The white of the formations to the north change color as the sky does. A lot of big mulies and porkypines come out right at dusk. Look for them down in the ravines, or especially on the east end of the formations. If you climb the formations, do not stick your hand or foot where you can't see. Sometimes there are rattlesnakes on the ledges. Use good sense and you'll be OK. Stay at least 50 yards from buffalo, especially the solitary ones. They are very, very fast.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[eric_silvi]

<p>Stop at the visitors center and ask for the brochure about photography in the park. The brochure lists several locations for both sunrise and sunset. I have a copy but I'm not sure where its at. </p>

[zelph_young]

<p>Make the time to do some of your own scouting and get your own images rather than the same old stuff so many others settle for.</p>

 

[i_liang_siu1]

<p><strong>Followup:</strong><br>

<br />I just finished editing the images and posted them here: <a href="http://iliang.smugmug.com/South-Dakota-2014/Badlands/">http://iliang.smugmug.com/South-Dakota-2014/Badlands/</a></p>

<p>Thanks to everyone who commented. Here's a quick and dirty trip report.</p>

<p>We drove from Minnesota (Twin Cities) to Badlands and arrived in the evening after ~8.5 hr drive. I was pretty tired, so decided not to do any sunset photography; the sky was a little overcast, there was a light rain to the west so the weather wasn't cooperating anyway.<br>

The next morning I got up at 4am and walked across the street from the Cedar Pass Lodge to photograph the buttes. There was a nice, colorful sunrise, but unfortunately my location wasn't the best and I couldn't find a compelling foreground to put under the sky. I spent the day with the family checking out the Door Trail, Notch Trail, various overlooks on the Loop road, and the Roberts Prarie Dog town. Surprisingly managed to get very close (~5 feet) to a couple prairie dogs. We then had dinner in Wall. For sunset I tried out the Big Badlands overlook - the sky was ok but not spectacular. Here's a 3x5 panorama stitch.<br>

<img src="http://iliang.smugmug.com/South-Dakota-2014/Badlands/i-VcgNH4W/1/XL/untitled-6220565%20Panorama-XL.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="554" /><br>

The next morning I tried the Big Badlands overlook again for sunrise and had more success. The sky was very spectacular, light was great, and I was pretty happy with the shot I came away with, but I also had a very large dissapointment. I wanted to do another 3x5 panorama stitch, but I wasn't paying careful attention to the exposure or focus, so the bottom row was mis-focused and the top row had different exposure than the other two rows. The exposures can be corrected with a lot of post work, but I couldn't do anything about the mis-focus. Bummer.<br>

<img src="http://iliang.smugmug.com/South-Dakota-2014/Badlands/i-kXWDTnZ/0/L/P6230711-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" /><br>

That concluded the Badlands portion of our trip as we headed off to Mt. Rushmore next.</p>

<p>Anyway, we enjoyed the Badlands very much even though my photo success rate was pretty low. I would definately like to come back and try again.<br>

Some more random thoughts:</p>

 

<ul>

<li>I was surprised how many mosquitos were there. I wore a light jacket and long pants for sunrise and sunset; they just swarmed my face and hands and I ended up with many bites even though I used Deep Woods Off. Need to have stronger repellant next time.</li>

<li>Other than the prairie dogs, didn't see much wildlife (although we didn't try very hard to find them).</li>

<li>Temperatures were very pleasant. Very cool (50's) in the evenings and not too hot (high 70's) during the day. Weather was clear and sunny the whole time. It was also pretty windy.</li>

<li>I liked the overlooks on the Sage Creek Rim road better than on the loop road, but didn't try to do sunrise/set there because they weren't as convenient (~45min drive from Lodge to Sage Creek vs ~12 min to the Big Bandlands overlook). Next time I will focus more on the Sage Creek area.</li>

<li>Tons of photographic opportunities located within a short walk from the road. My kind of place.</li>

<li>At this time of year the sun is coming from the north and moonrise coincides with the sunrise, so need to consider the time of year the next time I visit if I want some moon shots.</li>

</ul>