Here is your Badlands National Park action plan: Start at the Pinnacles entrance near Wall, SD, and you can stop at Wall Drug, a.k.a. the world’s most self-aware tourist trap, en route. By entering from this direction, you’re also minutes away from one of the park’s most impressive views: the stunning Pinnacles Overlook.

Continue along the 38-mile Badlands Loop State Scenic Byway, keeping your eyes peeled for intriguing rock formations and native animals like bison and bighorn sheep. Other diversions include ancient fossil beds (this land was once home to saber-toothed cats!) and hikes of varying difficulty (the quarter-mile Windows Trail is one of the shortest and most rewarding). The spectacular Yellow Mounds Overlook is one of the park’s finest sights. Prairie Dog Town is also fun if you’re into goofy rodents, but to reach it, you must drive the gravel Sage Creek Rim Road. Check with park rangers before setting out to make sure it’s open and that your car can handle it.

As always, the two hours before sunset and after sunrise will give you the most desirable lighting—that’s when the jagged rock formations take on otherworldly hues of pink, red, purple, and blue. Catching those windows is easier if you stay in the park overnight. Fortunately, Badlands has two campgrounds: The 96-site Cedar Pass has running water, flush toilets, and covered picnic tables (from $22/night); the more primitive Sage Creek campground has pit toilets and no water, but camping’s free.

Imlay Township, South Dakota; 605-433-5361.