Sage Creek Loop

Badlands National Park Sage Creek loop The frontier lives on in Badlands National Park's Sage Creek Wilderness Area. Bison and pronghorn roam freely on prairies riddled with labyrinthine washes and surrounded by rock pinnacles. And so will you on this three-day loop. From the backcountry trailhead at the Conata Picnic Area, 12 miles south of Wall, head southwest through knee-high grass (watch for rattlers), skirting the base of the Badlands formations and the occasional pronghorn boneyard. After two miles, pass through a gated barbed-wire fence and veer northwest toward a clutch of rock spires. Just over a mile later, climb gravel mounds into Deer Haven, a juniper-lined oasis amid the spires. Camp on a flat gravel bench in this natural amphitheater (there are no designated sites on this route). On day two, weave through juniper stands and ascend .2 mile to a narrow ridge, the route's high point at 2,900 feet. Descend into a steep wash pocked with mud puddles and bison prints. Follow several snaking bends northwest to a T-junction at mile 4.1; turn left. At mile six, bear left where a dry creekbed enters on the right (6); leave the wash .6 mile later. Then traverse the Sage Creek Basin, a 3.5-mile-wide grassland veined with gullies. Stop for lunch at a grass-lined pond (the route's lone water source 8.2 miles into the loop. In 3.4 miles, hike west into Tyree Basin; spend night two here. On the last day, navigate south-southeast through a maze of drainages to Sage Creek Pass, a large gap in the Badlands formations. At mile 15.5, angle east along a private ranch's fenceline before ducking under another north-south running fence blocking the route. Descend to Conata Basin for the three-mile stretch back to the first gate and the trail to Conata Picnic Area.