Often called moonscapes for their otherworldly appearance, badlands are starkly beautiful landscapes with vivid colors and wild forms. In these areas, water and wind carve up soft rock, making travel through them difficult, hence the name given them by early explorers and pioneers.
In the American West, there are badlands in a number of places, and here, we’re going to look at some of the best places to see and explore them.
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (Painted Hills Unit), Oregon
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This national monument may be best known for its fossil record, but the Painted Hills Unit is also riddled with spectacular badlands. The name refers to the intense bands of color featured on these landforms.
Death Valley National Park, California
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One of the best places in Death Valley to view badlands is at Zabriskie Point, a roadside overlook just a few miles from park headquarters at Furnace Creek. If what you see from there entices you, a trail near the overlook will take you down into the badlands. From the other side, there’s also an option for a loop hike through Gower Gulch and Golden Canyon, with the latter being where the scene in the original Star Wars where Jawas capture R2D2 was filmed.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
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There are a number of places to see badlands here, but probably the easiest is from the overlook at Fonts Point. You can also descend into the badlands or use four-wheel drive roads to access them from other points.
Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada
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At this remote park, you’ll see wildly shaped and eroded spires and pinnacles resulting from a process called fluting. A trail system takes you deeper into the formations, and this park also has a campground for overnight stays.
Cathedral Valley, Utah
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Requiring high clearance and sometimes four-wheel drive, the 60-mile Cathedral Valley Loop in Capitol Reef National Park takes you through some staggering spectacular scenery in a remote area of the park. At both ends where the loop meets State Route 24, you’ll wind through some very colorful badlands. One particularly high and impressive one is known as Queen of the Wash.
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
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Of course, petrified wood is the big draw here, but the park also has a lot of very pretty badlands. One particularly good spot is a roadside area called the Tepees. Another is at Blue Mesa.
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
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Located in the Four Corners Region, this wilderness area managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a spectacular and colorful landscape. Because it feels far away from everywhere and relatively few people even know about it, it’s almost never what anyone would call busy here.
Dubois, Wyoming
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Dubois is a small town in Northwestern Wyoming with no stoplights, and much of the town has colorful badlands to the north as a backdrop. Some especially beautiful views are ones with the badlands rising above the Wind River in their foreground.
Badger Basin, Wyoming
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Almost no one who is not from the Cody and Powell areas knows about this place. Badger Basin is a large stretch of BLM-managed Badlands to the north of those towns, and a paved highway goes right past the eastern edge of it. You can get closer on well-graded dirt roads. Avoid those roads when wet or after a good rain, though; they turn into a goo that entraps even four-wheel drive vehicles.
Makoshika State Park, Montana
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Just outside Glendive almost at the very eastern edge of the state, and about half an hour from the next location on this list, is this state park filled with jagged, colorful badlands. Go on a short hike to see them up close and look for “toadstools”; you’ll know them when you see them.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
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Divided into northern and southern units, this national park has a lot of badlands scenery to enjoy both from the car and the trail. It’s also known for its herds of bison and wild horses, the latter of which may be removed since they’re not native to the region.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
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Probably the most famous badlands landscape in the country, Badlands National Park has some of the most incredible formations you’ll see in any such area. Most trails here are short as well, so you can see a lot without a lot of effort. Keep an eye out for bison, pronghorns– the fastest land animals in North America– and coyotes.
Toadstool Geologic Park, Nebraska
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Despite its stereotype of having flat, monotonous landscapes, Nebraska has plenty of beautiful scenery, especially in the western part of the state. Little-known Toadstool Geologic Park is a small, scenic wonder, and you can also pair it with a visit to nearby Chadron State Park.
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