Sheep Mountain Table

Blog for May 21-

There are two “units” to Badlands National Park, the North Unit called Sage Creek Unit, and the South Unit referred to as the Stronghold Unit. Most development is in the eastern (Cedar Pass) part of the North Unit - the Visitor Center, Lodge, campground and the most popular (short) trails. We use a book entitled, Secrets of the National Parks, published by National Geographic. For the National Parks that are covered in the book (the major parks) Rangers and Volunteers identify hikes or other experiences that are beyond the normal tourist encounters. From this book we found today’s trail, the Sheep Mountain Table Trail in the South Unit.

The South Unit of Badlands lies within the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Lakota Nation and parts of this unit of the National Park is operated by Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority staff. One site in the South Unit that’s always open for public access is Sheep Mountain Table, reached by an unpaved road that is 7-miles long. The dirt road starts out really flat and after 5 miles the road turns into a really rutted two-track. At that point there is a parking area and we hiked the remaining 2+ miles on a road that requires a high clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle. 

Here is some of what we saw today. From the time we turned off the main highway and began the dirt road, we did not see another car or hikers on Sheep Mountain Table. It was just us and wonderful bird sounds and extraordinary scenery.

View from the parking lot where we left the car.

The sign reads - High Clearance Vehicles Only Beyond This Point.

The geologic features here look slightly different from the rest of the park. A lot of people compare it to Bryce Canyon National Park and we agree.

The end of the road/trail. 

Sheep Mountain Table is sacred to the Oglala and they come here for vision quests. Notice the red offering in the tree.

On the hike back to the car we noticed these deer in the distance. They noticed us, too.

On the way back into the North Unit we travelled through some pretty isolated areas and came upon this scene of a dad and his kids herding some cattle along the road.

Friendly wave from dad.

Back in the North Unit we traveled along the Scenic Drive. This formation is call the Yellow Mounds.

We stopped at the Fossil Exhibit Trail that featured fossil replicas and exhibits of now extinct creatures that once roamed the area. The message on this sign is that the mammals of the time either moved to another location, adapted to the changes in the environment or they died. 

The final section of the Castle Trail began across the road from the Fossil Exhibit and we picked up the last two miles of the trail that we began yesterday.