Pinnacles Overlook — Attraction in Wall

What an amazing view!

I'm happy we decided to stop here on our way out of South Dakota! Definitely worth it!

On our way in, we saw some buffalo which were right next to the road! Made for some awesome pictures from our vehicle! Once we got to the overlook, we were able to park in the lot fairly easily. I will say this, though- if you're driving a single vehicle or a camping van, please park in the actual spots designated for regular vehicles. The really long parking spots in the middle of the lot are for larger vehicles towing RV's or for larger RV's, not single vehicles! It makes parking very difficult for folks with actual RVs when all the people in normal vehicles park in the spots designated for RVs. So please keep that in mind and park in the normal spots.

Once you get out to walk around, be aware there are stairs that go down to the actual overlook, and a few of these steps aren't even. There is a handrail on both sides, but if you're not good with stairs, I wouldn't recommend using them. Once you're down the stairs, stay on the designated paths which lead you around a loop to each of the overlook spots. Beautiful views all around, so you don't necessarily need to go to the actual overlooks if there are lots of people.

Overall, this is a great stopping point to take in the view of this natural wonder! My dinky cell phone pictures do this...

Pinnacles Overlook, widely regarded as the most iconic vista point in Badlands National Park in South Dakota, offers spectacularly sweeping views of the jagged and striped rock formations that make the Badlands a place of such profound beauty. This sense of beauty is captured in the accompanying photo below, taken from Pinnacles Overlook looking out over the breathtaking expanse of the Badlands. Before the land on which the park currently sits was seized by the U.S. government in the 1920s, it was inhabited and seen as sacred by the Oglala Lakota Sioux Native American tribe.

The Badlands are located in southwestern Pennington County, South Dakota in the township of Conata not far from the town of Wall. The park protects 242,756 acres of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles and features the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park and co-manages the park’s South Unit with the Oglala Lakota Native...

The Badlands is like another planet. We thought Death Valley was, too, but this was just amazing around every turn. The drive wasn't bad even on the outside of some high up places since you're driving across the top of the hills, and I don't like driving up high but I was okay. There were a lot of turn offs and several places to get out and just walk. It was about 22 miles for the scenic loop part and it took us about 4 hours with stopping and walking about 7 or 8 times....just drive slow and enjoy it. We were there on a Monday at 10am in July and we had the road to ourselves a lot of the time because we started in Wall and not the other entrance by the visitor center off the interstate. By the time we got to the end, there were a ton of cars coming towards us so it seems that's the busiest entrance where you'll have a lot of people following you. I'd recommend stopping at the. Visitors center at the end. I would go back anytime...