Road trip · 3 parks · 4+ days · ~383 miles

Black Hills, Badlands & Roosevelt Road Trip

Badlands spires, a cave under bison prairie and wild horses in North Dakota.

Best time to go: May, June, September and October. Add Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park near Wind Cave.

The route

Start: Rapid City, SD

  1. Badlands National Park

    1 day · Best May–Jun, Sep–Oct

    ↓ ~78 miles · 1½ hr to Wind Cave

  2. Wind Cave National Park

    1 day · Best May–Jun, Sep–Oct

    ↓ ~305 miles · 6 hr to Theodore Roosevelt

  3. Theodore Roosevelt National Park

    2 days · Best Jun–Sep

End: Bismarck, ND. Distances are approximate.

Best months for this trip

Average rating across all stops.

Stop by stop

Questions

What is the best time for a Black Hills, Badlands & Roosevelt road trip?

May, June, September and October are the best months, when every stop is rated good or better at the same time.

How many days do you need for Black Hills, Badlands & Roosevelt?

Plan at least 4 days in the parks, plus travel days. The park-to-park driving is roughly 383 miles.

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