Badlands Wilderness Facts for Kids

This page is about the badlands wilderness in South Dakota. For the badlands wilderness in Oregon, see Oregon Badlands Wilderness.

Quick facts for kids Badlands Wilderness
IUCN Category Ib (Wilderness Area)
Badlands Wilderness Location in the United States
Location	Pennington County, South Dakota, USA
Nearest city	Rapid City, SD
Area	64,144 acres (259.58 km²)
Established	1976
Governing body	National Park Service

The Badlands Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Entirely within Badlands National Park, the wilderness was designated by Congress in 1976, and is managed by the National Park Service. Badlands Wilderness, in southeastern Pennington County, includes 64,144 acres (560 km²) of the most pristine sections of the National Park. Within this wilderness, buffalo still roam free and visitors can also find bighorn sheep, coyotes and mule deer. There are no designated trails and camping is permitted anywhere in what is considered to be the largest undisturbed mixed-prairie rangeland remaining in the U.S. As this wilderness is managed by the National Park Service, hunting is not permitted.

False-color satellite image of the park

U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. Although camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting in season.