![]() ![]() From pristine, windswept beaches to surreal ancient redwood forests, Big Sur has it all. Have you been to Badlands National Park? What else can you recommend for our readers? Share in the comments below, or feel free to ask any questions about the park as well.Photo Credit: Instagram User scenery is the norm when you visit the rugged coast of Big Sur, California. We hope you enjoy this awesome boondocking experience in one of our favorite national parks! If you’re anything like us, you won’t be able to put your camera down. There’s tons to explore in the area, so be sure to plan it all into your route! In fact, if you’re on a national park kick, you can also check out Wind Cave National Park, which is just a bit south of Custer State Park and one of America’s oldest national parks! Rushmore National Memorial, the Black Hills, and Custer State Park while you’re so close. You’d also be making a mistake if you didn’t pay a visit to Mt. It’s quirky and makes for a fun activity! You can kill a lot of time wandering around the shops, reading about the history, eating ice cream, and of course getting your free ice water (which is what it’s most famous for!). It’s one of the most popular roadside attractions in the area so it’s worth a visit. There’s no way you’ll miss the billboards advertising Wall Drug Store on your way to the park. ![]() We even saw some surprising wildlife – a turtle and a frog! ![]() You’ll get to climb up a rope ladder, walk across giant boulders, and be rewarded with a beautiful overlook at the end. But the best part of the trail is how unique it is. We loved this hike because it wasn’t too difficult, and only being 1.3 miles in length, it only took us about an hour to complete. You can get all the trail details from our favorite hiking resource, All Trails. If you choose to only do one hike in the area, we’d highly recommend The Notch Trail. Regardless of how much time you spend inside the national park, the good news is that there’s plenty to enjoy and explore right outside your RV in this boondocking spot. There are also so many great overlooks to enjoy along the drive. In fact, Sage Creek Wilderness Area, which is more towards the west side, is where you’ll have the greatest chances of spotting buffalo, bighorn sheep, and antelope so you don’t want to miss that. Luckily most of the hiking trails in the park are near the east side, which will make your drive time a bit shorter, but chances are good that you’ll want to drive the entire length of the park. But let’s be honest, it will most likely take much more time because you’ll want to stop as often as you can for photos! ![]() Once you get back on 240, you’re less than a mile from the entrance to Badlands National Park! However, it will take you at least 40 minutes to get to Ben Reifel Visitor Center and a little over an hour to get to the White River Visitor Center. Just have your mosquito repellent products handy! Exploring the national park Oh, and prepare for lots of hungry mosquitos, especially during the summer! But that’s nearly everywhere you go. But, keep in mind, that you’ll have the canyon on one side of you and the road on the other so you don’t have a whole lot of space for spreading out and setting up a large outdoor area. The sites can fit RVs of all sizes, as long as the road conditions are good. If possible, we’d recommend going during the week to secure a spot. This is becoming more and more of a popular and well known boondocking spot, so expect other RVs in the area and possible crowds during high season. Besides being terrifying, the rains will often wash out the roads, making it difficult to access. We actually experienced an intense thunderstorm shortly after arriving and just take our word for it, you DO NOT want to be parked right along this wall during one of these storms. Storms are known to blow into the area with little warning and it’s not uncommon for these storms to bring strong winds, heavy rain and of course, lightening. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to check the weather conditions ahead of time and often throughout your stay. The spot is great, not only for it’s views but for serving as a base camp while exploring the park. The GPS coordinates are: 43.8898, -102.227 (to get directions to these coordinates, simply copy and paste them into Google maps). You’ll find this BLM land just south of the city of Wall, off 240. It’s extremely easy to find and fairly accessible as long as the weather is good. This spot is called either “Wall Dispersed Area” or “Nomad View Dispersed”, depending on the tool you use. We wrote a whole post on how we find the best and free spots to park our RV, and the tools we share about are exactly how we found this amazing boondocking spot in the Badlands. Map from Wanderlog, a vacation planner app on iOS and Android The spot ![]()
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