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Badlands National Park protects a fantastical landscape of ragged peaks and deeply eroded ridges. Because there are no real landmarks there, I find it easier to make my own discoveries. Almost all visits to his uncrowded park take place along the 30-mile long Badlands Loop Road, although there is more than that to the park: the unpaved Sage Creek Rim road, and the mostly undeveloped South Unit. Most points of interest are roadside, or a short hike from the road, that I am describing from east to west.
When To Go
The best time of the year to visit is early summer, in June and early July. The prairies are lush and adorned with wildflowers. Most precipitations occur during this time. Thundersto...

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QT Luong
QT Luong
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QT Luong is a full-time photographer from California, known for being the first to photograph all 59 US National Parks - in large format. Ken Burns featured him in "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" (2009). His photographs, published in dozens of countries around the world, have been the subject several magazine profiles, solo gallery and museum exhibits. He the author and photographer of "Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey through America's National Parks" (treasuredlandsbook.com), a large format book where photographs of the 59 US National Parks are augmented with detailed photography locations notes from which this series of articles is drawn.
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