Best time to visit Badlands National Park
September is the best balance at Badlands: mild and dry for the park (an average high of 79°F), with busy crowds. July is busiest, with about 239,000 visitors. November is the quietest, with highs near 49°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Wasta, SD USC00398911
- Lat / lon
- 44.07, -102.45
- Elevation
- 2,328 ft
- From park center
- 16.4 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sepbest | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 35° | 39° | 50° | 60° | 70° | 80° | 89° | 88° | 79° | 63° | 49° | 37° | 62° |
| Low, °F | 9° | 13° | 22° | 33° | 44° | 54° | 60° | 58° | 47° | 34° | 21° | 12° | 34° |
| Precipitation, in | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 17.7 |
| Snow, in | 3.8 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 3.7 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 30.4 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:15 | 10:24 | 11:47 | 13:22 | 14:42 | 15:26 | 15:09 | 13:59 | 12:27 | 10:55 | 9:35 | 8:55 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 10 | 11 | 25 | 38 | 111 | 213 | 239 | 206 | 142 | 67 | 19 | 13 | 1,093 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Moderate | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | |
| Weather | Cold | Cold | Cool | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Hot | Hot | Hot | Mild | Mild, wet | Cool | Cold |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 9° | 0.3 | 3.8 | 9:15 | 9,800 | Quiet | Cold |
| February | 39° | 13° | 0.5 | 6.4 | 10:24 | 11,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| March | 50° | 22° | 0.9 | 5.5 | 11:47 | 25,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| April | 60° | 33° | 1.9 | 3.7 | 13:22 | 38,000 | Quiet | Mild, wet |
| May | 70° | 44° | 3.5 | 0.1 | 14:42 | 111,000 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| June | 80° | 54° | 2.7 | 0 | 15:26 | 213,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 89° | 60° | 2.3 | 0 | 15:09 | 239,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| August | 88° | 58° | 1.6 | 0 | 13:59 | 206,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| Septemberbest | 79° | 47° | 1.2 | 0 | 12:27 | 142,000 | Busy | Mild |
| October | 63° | 34° | 1.8 | 1.1 | 10:55 | 67,000 | Quiet | Mild, wet |
| November | 49° | 21° | 0.6 | 4.2 | 9:35 | 19,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| December | 37° | 12° | 0.3 | 5.6 | 8:55 | 13,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| Year | 62° | 34° | 17.7 | 30.4 | 1,093,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 89°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 9°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 1,093,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State South Dakota
Closures, reservations and alerts: Badlands National Park on nps.gov
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