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Badlands National Park is an excellent location for photography.
What it lacks in water based photography, it makes up for with
a very unusual landscape.
Many people seem to gravitate right towards the cliffs and other
rock formations. Personally, I find the most interesting aspect
of the park to be the Sage Creek Wilderness Area. Basically, this
is a wilderness prairie with an out-of-this-world ambiance. It
really is a one of a kind preserve for the lower 48. In this area,
rolling grass hills are dotted with juniper trees, creating a
lonesome yet warm landscape. Among these dips and troughs you
will find the occasional bison grazing in peace.
The most popular part of the park by far is the The Badlands
Loop Scenic Byway, which covers 30 paved miles in the eastern
half of Badlands National Park. This drive will take you in, out
and around spires, cliffs and other fascinating geological formations,
ultimately ending at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and the northeast
entrance. Personally, when I first enter the park I enjoy coming
from the Pinnacles entrance(route 240 from Wall just off I90)
and then heading west along the gravel Sage Creek Rim Road. This
is where you will encounter a good deal of wildlife. This is also
a good jumping off point for the Sage Creek Wilderness which affords
relatively easy walking in beautiful open country. Once Sage Creek
Road climbs down the rim, access to the wilderness is as easy
as a short walk from your vehicle. There are several overlooks
on the Sage Creek Road such as Grassy Table Overlook and the Prairie
Dog Town viewing area. There are more easily reached overlooks
along the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, such as Ancient Hunters
Overlook, Changing Scenes Overlook, Homestead Overlook, Prairie
Wind Overlook, Journey Overlook and Big Badlands Overlook. All
of these are highly scenic and worthwhile.
For those that don't want to haul lenses around, I recommend
the Canon Powershot SX10IS as an excellent all around camera.
The Canon 50D is an excellent DSLR, especially matched with the
Canon 17-55 IS and the Canon EF 70-300mm IS. Nikon offers the
D300, an excellent camera when paired with the Nikon 70-300 VR
and the Nikon 16-85mm VR.
For ultra-sharp landscape photography, a tripod is a must. I
recommend the Manfrotto 190XDB Tripod and the Manfrotto 486RC2
for a good lower cost quality solution.
Buying your gear through the links here at Parkcamper.com helps
us continue to bring you more specific information for outdoor
trip planning.
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