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When Badlands is busiest and quietest
Badlands draws about 1.0 million recreation visits in a typical year. July is the peak, with 23.9% of the year's visits. October is the quietest month that still draws a normal share, at 4.6%.
JulyBusiest month
OctoberQuietest open month
5.2xPeak month visits vs the quietest open month
245,885Visits in a typical July
Share of the year's visits, by month
BusiestQuietest open monthOther months
Low months are not always the best months. January, February, March, April, November and December each draw under 4% of the year's visits. That usually reflects snow, closed roads or reduced services, so check the park's own conditions page before planning around them. The quietest month overall is January.
Typical visits per month
| Month | Typical visits | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 10,369 | 1.0% |
| February | 10,592 | 1.0% |
| March | 21,909 | 2.1% |
| April | 29,869 | 2.9% |
| May | 91,371 | 8.8% |
| June | 206,205 | 20.0% |
| July | 245,885 | 23.9% |
| August | 212,589 | 20.6% |
| September | 128,588 | 12.4% |
| October | 48,232 | 4.6% |
| November | 17,923 | 1.7% |
| December | 10,547 | 1.0% |
How this was worked out
We averaged 9 years of National Park Service recreation visitor counts (2015 to 2025, leaving out 2020 and 2021). Each month is shown as its share of that year's total, then averaged. The counts are monthly, so this cannot tell you about holiday weekends or a specific week. It is history, not a forecast. Full details are on the methodology page.