Trails in South Dakota
There are 2 National Park Service units that include territory in South Dakota. The directory below links to every park guide we maintain for the state. For multi-state parks, you'll see the same entry on each state's page — the trail catalog itself is identical.
Trip planning from South Dakota typically means balancing drive time against trail effort. A weekend out of state can be more efficient than a one-day push to a closer unit if it means daylight on the actual trail rather than behind the wheel. Use the per-park guides to compare difficulty and seasonality before locking in dates.
Badlands National Park
Eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires rise out of the largest mixed-grass prairie in the United States, with one of the richest fossil beds in the world.
Wind Cave National Park
One of the world's longest and most complex caves beneath a mixed-grass prairie surface where bison, elk, and prairie dogs roam.