This area is located on the north side of the Highway 44 (6) miles west of Interior SD. If coming from I-90, just tell the checkpoint you are headed for the Baja riding area and you will not have the pay the Badlands National Park Fee as you are traveling on a state highway to get to your destination as apposed to visiting an attraction.
I only had a few hours to check it out, but could have spent an entire day.
Many trails to explore, lots of wildlife, and lots of “dunes” to go up, down and around. This is one of the very few cross country open riding areas still left in SD. There are plenty of smooth, easy riding trails and lot of challenging areas as well. I was there with a side by side and had to back down a number of hills that were steeper in reality than they looked from the ground. The best part is you never have to worry if you are “on-trail” or not…you can ride anywhere.
Be advised that when it rains, or if it is wet (as some places were from the winter melt) the gumbo gets really sticky really quick. You will need to keep your momentum and speed up going through the wet areas…if you get stuck there is nothing to attach the winch to in order to pull yourself out!
It was well worth the time and no permit is required.
