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10 Best Things to Do at Badlands National Park

August 24, 2021

10 Best Things to Do at Badlands National Park

Is Badlands​ National Park Dog Friendly? (2026 Guide)

November 10, 2020

Is Badlands​ National Park Dog Friendly? (2026 Guide)

Vanessa and her two Siberian Huskies in front of the Badlands National Park rock formations in South Dakota
One Day in Badlands National Park: The Perfect Itinerary

October 26, 2020

One Day in Badlands National Park: The Perfect Itinerary

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I’ve written a couple of posts about how good Acad I’ve written a couple of posts about how good Acadia is in late fall. This is the one about what can potentially go wrong.

Every campground closed. No shuttle. Sunset before 4 once you get into December. 

Cadillac’s summit road shut for construction two of the weeks you may want it most. 

None of these are dealbreakers. All of it is the kind of thing you want to know before you’re standing in a parking lot in the dark.

I put everything I wish someone had handed me into one brand new cheat sheet: where to sleep, what’s open, what to order, a 3-day plan, and the dog stuff. It’s ($) because it’s an 11 page cheat sheet, of everything I’ve learned.

Comment WINTER and I’ll DM you a direct link to the brand new cheat sheet.
National Bison Day was yesterday, I had this post National Bison Day was yesterday, I had this post planned, but got busy working on the van! 

By 1884 there were fewer than 400 wild bison left in the whole country, down from tens of millions. In 1902 Yellowstone’s herd was 23 animals. Today it’s around 5,000, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park has its own herds in both units, descended from animals trucked in during the 1950s and 60s.

That recovery happened because people decided it should, and then did the unglamorous work for a century. Tribal nations, ranchers, the Bronx Zoo (really), the Park Service. Every bison you see in Lamar Valley at sunrise is someone’s decision not to give up.

So the one rule: 25 yards. Not for the photo. For them. They do 35 mph and they’ve earned the space.

Where’s the first place you saw one? Mine was Yellowstone (close up) and Badlands (through binos).
We lived an hour from White Sands for almost a yea We lived an hour from White Sands for almost a year. November through January? Easily our favorite time to go.

60’s and sunny by noon. Freezing by the time you get back to the car. Dunes quiet enough to sled without an audience, and sunsets that turn the entire dunefield pink before fading into blue.

A couple things to know: the gates close 30 minutes after sunset, and the neighboring missile range can close the only road in with little notice. Check the park closures before you leave. Also, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I’ve put together a White Sands blog post and a guide will be coming out this month with the best time to visit, trails, places to stay, and the things you really don’t want to find out after driving all the way there.

Hi, I’m Vanessa 👋 I write The Well Worn Shoes from a 40-foot travel trailer named Betty, with my husband, three dogs, and a history degree I use mostly to explain why places matter. Follow along for the places people drive past, and the reasons they shouldn’t.
Calypso is 3 today. She goes by Caly, she’s a resc Calypso is 3 today. She goes by Caly, she’s a rescue, and she has never once been told she’s a supermutt because she already knows she’s in charge.

3 years ago we had two huskies and a plan. Then @epanimalsvc put out an announcement that they were overwhelmed with dogs. So, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to go see if any dog fit into our little pack. 

…and when they brought Cal out, she was ours. 

She is a tornado with a tail and she has never once been left out of anything, because she will not allow it.

She has hiked in more national parks than most people. She has seen elk, a lot of bison, and one very large bull mule deer she had opinions about. 

She has visited at least 30 states in her 3 years on the road with us. 

Happy birthday, We love you Weeeeee!
Everyone asks me when the best time to visit Acadi Everyone asks me when the best time to visit Acadia is. Nobody seems to like my answer.

November. And May.

The in-between months. When the crowds thin, the island takes a breath, and you get to see a quieter side of Acadia that most people never stick around for.

Right now, in the first two weeks of November, the tour buses are gone. Park Loop Road feels like it’s yours. You can stand on Otter Cliff for twenty minutes, listening to the ocean without another voice breaking the quiet.

Here’s what my perfect slow day looks like in the quieter seasons:

Coffee at Choco-Latté around 7 because it’s one of the few places opening its doors that early. Shore Path without a crowd in sight. Bar Island on foot at low tide (you have about 90 minutes on either side to make it there and back). Lunch and book browsing in town. Then Seal Cove for sunset around 4:20, with lobster boats resting in the harbor and the last light slipping into Blue Hill Bay.

Grab dinner early because most kitchens close by 8. The days are shorter. Some of your favorite places are already tucked away for winter.

And somehow, that’s part of the magic.

May has its own version of this quiet. November has a little more gold and a little less daylight. Neither looks quite like the postcard, but both let you slow down long enough to see the island differently.

Sometimes the best time to visit isn’t when everything is open. It’s when you finally have room to take it all in.

Everything else you need to plan an off-season Acadia trip is in our guide. Comment FALL and I’ll send it your way.

Or comment Lobster if you’re already planning your trip for next year and I’ll send you my Cheat Sheet and guide options!

🛑‼️ Cadillac Mountain Summit Road will be closed from Nov 9-25 and Dec 1-18 for construction. The trails will remain open ‼️🛑
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