Houston to Badlands NPS and Back

[Jamie_17b63c]

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for some route planning advice. We’re planning on spending 2-3 weeks on the road in early June, traveling from Houston to Badlands NPS and back. We’re willing to go as far west as Arizona, so a general routing idea would probably be AZ, UT, ID/ WY, maybe even up into MT then over to SD then back down through WY/ NE, CO, NM, TX.

We are not camping, backpacking, overlanding, adventuring novices by any stretch and I’m confident on any trail short of full blown rock crawling. My goal is to be out in nature more than it is to conquer technical off-roading trails. I am a route planning novice as Iiving in Houston just doesn’t give you the opportunity to see these areas first hand and plan accordingly. We spend most of our camping and adventuring time in West TX and NM and have also been through Joshua Tree, CO, Grand Teton, etc.

I use onX Offroad and freecampsites.net primarily. I’m just starting out with OB1. Seclusion/ avoidance of crowds is a huge goal of ours. I don’t need you to hold my hand the whole way but any help is appreciated. If you just want to share your favorite places in any of these areas, I’m happy to hear about them.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jamie_17b63c]

I see I’ve asked too much. Understandable. Well any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[K12]

I see I’ve asked too much. Understandable. Well any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

Dont think its too much, a lot to go over in this. When you are diving through NM, CO, UT, AZ, WY, SD, etc. there is a lot of BLM land that is free for camping on. This would be the best route to go as its generally free. The hard part of the plans is the routing. Connecting all the routes from where you are starting to final destination is not easy amf here are a lot of variables in planning, do you want mostly dirt or pavement? how far do you want to go per day, do you want any down/rest days? any places or landmarks you want to ensure you hit? There is much more that can be considered.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I see I’ve asked too much. Understandable. Well any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

No need to fret. Not sure how religious most people are but this happens to be something of a holiday week and weekend, depending on religious views, so maybe theres a portion of people not paying as much attention here. Outside of religious holidays, you posted mid-week and its only been a couple days. I'm sure someone will post soon.

I saw this post. While I've been from Boston to Boseman camped in Badlands and passed through Yellowstoneand the Tetons, I've not traveled from your direction, so I did not post. Camping IN Badlands is relegated to groomed campgrounds. I've stayed at Cedar Pass. There is less regulated camping outside of Badlands.

There are a few recent threads on that topic, you may search up if nobody answers you soon.

Obviously there are electronic means to find and create routes, like OnX and Freecampsites.com. I have used Gaia. In the past.

A good non electronic method is the DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer series of map books. There is one for each state.

Wat thing this thread to see where you end up going! Best of luck

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Dont think its too much, a lot to go over in this. When you are diving through NM, CO, UT, AZ, WY, SD, etc. there is a lot of BLM land that is free for camping on. This would be the best route to go as its generally free. The hard part of the plans is the routing. Connecting all the routes from where you are starting to final destination is not easy amf here are a lot of variables in planning, do you want mostly dirt or pavement? how far do you want to go per day, do you want any down/rest days? any places or landmarks you want to ensure you hit? There is much more that can be considered.

We went a lot of highway, for example, as we were coming from out east and had to be in Boseman for a wedding. But we had listed a lot of places we wanted to see. Many of which we saw, and many of which, like Devil's Tower, we did not make it to. So, for me, I realize that whatever route or places I plan, maybe only half will come to pass. We get side-tracked along the way at other beautiful or interesting places we see.

 

[Renegade]

I start with Google Maps. Plan basic route with that. Over the decades I have accumulated thousands of POIs. I then look to see what POIs are along the route Google provides. Then figure if I want to hit them or pass them.

For example I am going to Death Valley from Dallas. Google tells me to go out I-40. I have done this many times, so I know how far I can go, which is about GallupNM. I have hit most of the POI to GallupNM, so no stops for me. Just before Gallup, I see Cibola National Forest. I see Blue Lake Campground, McGaffey Campground, and Quaking Aspen. Camp in one of those maybe. Moving I see Petrified National Park, may stop there. Continuing further, just North of Flagstaff I see Sunset Crater and Cinder Hills. Maybe stop there. South of Flagstaff I see Sedona, plenty of camping and things to do there.

Always try to take different roads home. So coming home, I will be near Mojave Preserve, Joshua Tree NP, Imperial Sand Dunes, Tucson (Pima Air & Space Museum, Titan Missile Musuem and Tucson Military Vehicle Museum) then Aden Hills for camping and Cloudcroft too. Pull up MVUM for Cloudcroft and plenty of places to camp there.

etc.

 

[Jamie_17b63c]

Thanks for the replies.

Having never been to Badlands NPS and coming from Texas where it takes a full day just to exit the state, I think I’ve been operating under a misguided sense of what Badlands is. I thought it was vast and unending and we could spend 3 or so days on back country trails without exiting to civilization. I see that’s not really the case. I think we’ll probably modify and condense our expectations and desires for this trip and will probably approach it the same as we have others in the past, where I focus on landmarks/ attractions to hit and thread our way between them.

I would love if we could stay back country for a week at a time without entering back into civilization but it seems like that’s going to be something better reserved for backpacking rather than overlanding.

That said, If anyone wants to share any specific trails or under the radar POIs I should look into, to build a highway route around, or favorite boondocking/ BLM/ backcountry campsite coordinates to check out, I’d love to see them.

I’ll share one of my favorites I’ve found which is outside Bryce Canyon on BLM land:
37.74208° N, 112.24900° W

 

[ZombieCat]

Badlands NP is interesting, but not really a multi-day destination. Check for dispersed camping in the grasslands near the prairie dog town, adjacent to the Pinnacles entrance. Stop for pics at Wall Drug, drive thru Custer State Park, see Deadwood (Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane’s graves), take the lantern tour at Jewel Cave, not sure if Wind Cave has fixed their elevator? Comanche Campground was quiet and near the town of Custer.
Here are a few ideas in Wyoming:
1) Louis Lake Road, which runs between Lander and WY-28, has some dispersed sites and primitive campgrounds. It gets up around 9000 ft. and is beautiful country.
2) Just north of Pinedale, go east towards Green River Lakes. You’ll find dispersed camping all along the unpaved forest road (and have plenty of company, it’s well used). Mosquitoes can be brutal in June, so be prepared.
3) Also near Pinedale is Fremont Lake Campground, which isn’t free, but I really like it. Primitive and scenic, but 10 minutes outside of town. Two years ago, a moose walked right past me at my campsite along the lake. Drive five minutes to the CCC ponds and take a walk in the morning or evening; there’s sometimes a moose hanging around the Beaver Pond.
4) Although I haven’t camped there, I hear there’s good dispersed camping on the Idaho side of the Tetons. Check OnX, etc., for forest roads in the Alaska Basin area.
New Mexico: Chaco Culture, Santa Fe National Forest (there are several primitive campgrounds at 8-9000 ft. which should be cooler), and Valles Caldera (roads should be open). Stop in nearby Bandelier, drive thru Los Alamos Laboratory.
If you’re on the western side of the Rockies in Colorado, drive up past Crested Butte to Gothic. I think you can still go beyond the town, a bit rough but fun! Maybe you are allowed to camp up there?
Okay, I’ll stop now…but I could write a book on all the cool spots to see along your route. Have an awesome adventure!

 

[Jamie_17b63c]

Thanks!

 

[AnonymousDog]

The Badlands are must see IMO but it's far from remote. I've camped at the wall just outside the north entrance and at Sage Creek inside the park but if you're looking for solitude, you won't find it at either place. The buffalo and the views are well worth dealing with people though, at least for a short while anyway.

Eastern WY is totally underrated for it's beauty and outdoor experiences. The Bighorns are my favorite and doesn't get the traffic that the western part does, and I hope it stays that way.

The Black Hills are in between and I need to do more exploring there.

 

[Jamie_17b63c]

The Badlands are must see IMO but it's far from remote. I've camped at the wall just outside the north entrance and at Sage Creek inside the park but if you're looking for solitude, you won't find it at either place. The buffalo and the views are well worth dealing with people though, at least for a short while anyway.

Eastern WY is totally underrated for it's beauty and outdoor experiences. The Bighorns are my favorite and doesn't get the traffic that the western part does, and I hope it stays that way.

The Black Hills are in between and I need to do more exploring there.

Thanks for that.