A good time in the Badlands Apr 28, 2019

A good time in the Badlands

At the close of National Park Week, we arrive at Badlands in South Dakota. Our photo today shows a view from Castle Trail—at 10 miles round trip, it’s the longest marked hike in the park. Spring rain has revived the grasses across the prairie as the sun illuminates the pinnacle rock formations in the distance. Soon, grazing animals such as bison and pronghorn will begin feasting on the fresh crop of grasses. This is also a good time of year to spot some of the dozens of different butterfly species that live in the park and provide a delicate contrast to the park’s rugged landscape.

© Danita Delimont/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Apr 28, 2018National Park Week: Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Apr 28, 2020Happy 800th, Salisbury Cathedral
Apr 28, 2021Coming home to roost
Apr 28, 2022Fox kits
Apr 28, 2023Arbor Day
Apr 28, 2024Last day of National Park Week
Apr 28, 2025Impala in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 19, 2019On the wings of the Wright brothers
Apr 12, 2026International Day of Human Space Flight
Jun 22, 2025World Rainforest Day
Feb 8, 2024Mount Hood, Oregon
Jun 21, 2025World Giraffe Day
Oct 10, 2025Visiting the Mamanuca Islands for Fiji Day
Jan 11, 2022Porcupine
Apr 9, 2021A timeless view of the night sky
Dec 28, 2024Endangered Species Act
May 11, 2024World Migratory Bird Day
Apr 1, 2020It s Census Day—make it count
Feb 4, 2018Male kori bustard, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Jun 9, 2023Cappadocia, Türkiye
Dec 28, 2022Maloja, Switzerland
Mar 18, 2026Cherry blossoms at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon
Apr 7, 2021A willowy welcome to spring
Jan 6, 2022Kochelsee in Bavaria
Aug 1, 2019Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
Mar 6, 2018Celebrating National Dentist Day
Jul 11, 2023World Population Day
Mar 6, 2019Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Mar 21, 2026International Day of Forests
Feb 5, 2018Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica
Aug 31, 2020At the shore of an inland sea
Jul 24, 2020Trunks stick together
Dec 6, 2022Everglades National Park turns 75
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice
Sep 9, 2021Islands of the Salish Sea
Apr 15, 2021Jackie Robinson Day
Jan 18, 2026White Sands National Park, New Mexico