Sage Creek Campground

I was there in December for two nights. Even though I was the only person there staff still serviced the toilets and trash. This is a great spot.

Great free campsite in the park. Saw lots of wildlife: prairie dogs, coyotes, bison, badgers, pronghorn, rattlesnakes, and black-billed magpies.

If you’re looking for luxury, keep driving. If you’re looking to be humbled by a prehistoric cow and the absolute, crushing weight of a silent horizon, you’ve arrived. It’s so quiet out here you can hear your own thoughts—which is terrifying, but also life-changing. You will share your personal space with bison that weigh more than your car and prairie dogs that are definitely judging your tent-pitching skills. It’s their world; you’re just the weirdo in the nylon bag. There is no water. Bring your own or drink your tears of joy. The toilets are pits that provide a very grounded experience. …

Badlands National Park has now been my starting point for the spring-to-fall RV travel season for the third time in a row, and this video shows why—there’s no need for further explanation. Right across Sage Creek (the wash), near Sage Creek Camp, and not far in the distance, was the biggest bison herd I’ve seen over my visits to the Badlands. Turn up the volume to hear what I heard in June 2025. Make plans, do some bookings—unless you travel like me, just making plans for the very next day. Sage Creek Camp is a peaceful place on Earth, full of geology and fossils, and if you make it down into …