USA roadtrip: Bisti Wilderness Area (insider tip)

After staying one night in a hostel, and not in our car, we felt well prepared for the upcoming adventure in the Bisti Badlands.

Motel near the badlands

The adventure already started on the road. There aren’t a lot of signs showing you the way, so make sure to take a map with you. The last 3.5 miles to the entrance must be made on a dirt road. In bad conditions and rainy weather RVs can quickly get into trouble here.
Road to the parking lot

The Bisti and the De-Na-Zin Wilderness are accessible via various entrances. Based on the recommendations, we decided to explore only the Bisti Wilderness.

There are rarely more than 2-3 cars in the parking lot and the chance to meet these people in the wilderness is extremely low due to the size of the area. In addition, there are no signposted trails and thanks to the many hills, the area is quite confusing.

The Badlands are fenced off extensively and the exploration of the moonscape begins a few meters behind the parking lot. It's just incredible fun to explore this extraordinary landscape. Behind each hill could be an even more impressive sight.

The landscape consists mostly of stone, clay and coal and is almost without vegetation. With its countless hoodoos and strange rock formations, the terrain looks like something from another planet and is unlikely to be found on Earth again.

For the exploration of the area you should plan at least half a day and be careful that you do not lose your orientation. Thanks to the breathtaking landscape and total peace and quiet out there, this can happen quickly.

Perfect place for a picnic and to calm down

Because of an approaching thunderstorm we had to hurry up. Otherwise we would have spent the whole day in this area.

Our next stop are the rock dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park.

Missed our last stop?

USA roadtrip: Breaking Bad locations & Tent Rocks National Monument (english + deutsch)