Named after the Lakota phrase “mako sica” meaning “bad land” due to its challenging terrain, Badlands National Park is overlooked as one of the greatest places to photograph wildlife in the continuous United States. Tour leaders Alex Goetz and Michael Clark first discovered this when assigned to film for “America’s National Parks,” for National Geographic. Teeming with boisterous prairie dogs, and mighty bison set in front of dramatic landscapes, the Running Wild team spent weeks climbing rock crags filming bighorn sheep, storm chasing in the plains, and filming a variety of wildlife behavior. We explored every section of the park, and were shocked by the accessibility of wildlife, the dramatic landscapes, and the lighting provided by the desert sunsets. We chose this time of year to capitalize on the spring’s great weather, green landscapes, and most importantly, abundance of baby animals. We cannot wait to show you the intricacies of this park. 

Day 1: Travel Day 

 We will meet in Rapid City, the gateway to the Black Hills. After a day of airport transfers and resting from travel, we will all convene for a team meeting. We will discuss the itinerary, personal goals of each photographer and photographic techniques before going out for a team dinner covered by Running Wild.

Day 2: Journey to the Badlands

After breakfast, we will drive the fifty minutes to the quirky town of Wall, South Dakota, where we will check into our hotel. After a quick rest, we will grab lunch before beginning our first game drive. We will explore wildlife hot spots and photograph landscapes before having dinner back in Wall. At dinner, we will check in with everyone to see if they have any questions about shooting for the day, camera settings and more. 

Day 3: Game Drives

Today we will have all day to explore some of our favorite locations in the park: bighorn sheep hotspots, where to get closeups of prairie dogs, the best places to photograph landscapes and more. We will get up in the morning to shoot sunrise, take a mid day siesta when the light is flat, and head back out for another game drive in the evening. 

Day 4: Game Drive & Observatory Tour

Day three will end in a late night, so we will divide into two groups, those who want to sleep in, or those who want to head out on a sunrise game drive. The two groups will meet in Wall in the late morning, to spend some time exploring this small town full of Western charm. The town tour will revolve around Wall Drug, a quirky curio shop full of surprises. In the evening, we will head out on a sunset game drive, before heading to an observatory. This observatory is truly unique. Run by a couple who built an impressive dome and telescope by hand as a passion project, they spend their retirement reporting asteroids and meteors to NASA, keeping special tabs on those with a potential collision course with Earth. Taking advantage of the Badlands’ extremely low light pollution, they are also able to take some truly impressive images of the cosmos. 

Day 5: Horseback riding & Game Drive 

With a late night at the observatory, the group will sleep in. Then, in the afternoon, the group will take a horseback ride from a working ranch, trail riding through the impressive landscapes of the Badlands. Hopping off the saddle, we will then take another sunset game drive through the park. 

Day 6: Fossils, Mount Rushmore, and Custer State Park

Today we travel west to explore other wildlife opportunities in Custer State Park, but not before making some truly unique stops. In the morning, we will check out of our accommodation, taking a quick fifteen minute drive to fossil hunt on a private stretch of land on the outskirts of the Badlands. Exploring some of the world’s richest fossil beds, we will search for remains of ancient rhinoceroses, horses, and saber tooth cats. We then hop in the car to drive seventy minutes to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. After lunch at one of the United States' most iconic landmarks, we will take a game drive through the Custer State Park wildlife loop road, searching for more wildlife opportunities in the landscapes of the Black Hills. That evening, we will drive to Rapid City for our final night. 

Day 7: Travel Day 

Alex and Michael will provide airport transfers, and together we will explore Rapid City if your flight has a later take off time.