Cedar Pass Lodge in Badlands National Park

Pleasant room, beautiful view. BUT, customer service is way short.||Traveled just out of season, but then again, the lodge was full the two nights we were there... so it wasn't that out-of-season.||However, the desk was empty from 5--6:00 PM on. First night, we got to our room in the evening. Water in the room had a vile sulphur/rotten eggs smell. Good thing we had a good supply of potable water in the car to drink and brush teeth. Couldn't shower, because who wanted to smell like rotten eggs?||Asked the desk about this in the morning and were told, "Oh yes, that line of cabins has that problem. All you need to do is run the water until the smell clears."||Why' didn't they tell us that when we checked in, if they aware of the problem. We asked if the water was drinkable and the clerk said she would not drink it, but others do. So what's the answer?||Additionally, we stayed at that end of the park assuming we could get dinner at the end of the day. at the lodge since on-line information says the restaurant closes at 8:00. But on site it closes at 5:00. Dining options near there are poor; so we ended up having dinner in the town of Wall for two nights about thirty miles away. It would have been a lot more convenient to stay in Wall if the Cedar Pass Lodge could be bothered to give travelers accurate information.||Two stars because the view is far better than in Wall, but I believe the Lodge takes advantage of travelers because its the only option at that end of the Park

Two nights at a Cedar Pass Lodge was perfect for our visit to Badlands National Park. The cabins are in great condition -- well planned and well-built. We reserved a stand-alone cabin with two queen beds. The cabin was very clean with wood floors. Beds were very comfortable. The chest between the two beds provided space for a sleep machine as well as storage space for our clothing. The split bath had a very useful double-sink vanity. The shower was not large, but it was adequate. The small hanging space had few hangers -- glad I had packed a few. ||The large room had the amenities that we needed. A wood unit held a small refrigerator and microwave and also had some storage space. We used the square table with two chairs for eating a few meals out of our groceries. One night, we enjoyed the White River Indian Taco from the lodge restaurant.| |The cabin had an efficient, quiet cooling unit and good lighting. We initially could not get the ceiling fan to turn on. After calling the reception desk, a tall maintenance worker soon came to check it out; someone had pulled the chain to turn it off. Once the chain activated the unit, the wall switches could be used.| |My favorite feature was the back porch. The comfortable chair in the peaceful setting was very relaxing. I enjoyed quality time reading and watching the bunnies.

We stayed for five nights. This was the best cabin accommodation we have ever stayed in in a National Park. It was way better than we expected it to be. Our cabin had two queen beds and a futon. We chose that type of cabin so that we would have somewhere to sit apart from the beds or a hard dining chair. These cabins also spacious and standalone so it was quieter than staying in a duplex cabin. Pick your cabin carefully! We had a front and a back porch with adirondack chairs on both. We could choose which deck to sit on depending on whether it was sunrise or sunset. The small refrigerator was large enough for the food we brought with us and there was a microwave. There are no cooking facilities in the cabin and very few places to get food in Badlands. The cabin was very dark in the evenings but when we mentioned that at Reception they loaned us an extra bedside light so that we could actually read while we were in our cabin.|We had cell phone reception there and also picked up wifi from Reception even though we were almost the furthest cabin away and were told that we would only be able to get wifi in Reception and were welcome to sit down there to use it.|It was unfortunate that our cabin got flooded in the middle of the night during a torrential thunder storm. We were very surprised to find that water came about two feet into the cabin. Luckily none of our possessions were on the floor in that area. The staff came and cleaned it up and left towels around the walls!|The staff were very friendly and welcoming which is also unusual in our experience in National Park lodgings. It was wonderful to be able to stay in the park amid all the amazing scenery.

The cabins at Cedar Pass Lodge are excellent! Apparently they were renovated in 2013, clearly with an eye towards quality. Loved the wooden furniture, super comfy bed (this was much appreciated), and design/layout that maximized the small space. The unit had a mini fridge and chairs on the front porch. You can't beat the location of being in the park right next to the visitor's center. Especially if you have limited time in the park like we did, this spot will help you feel like you're truly immersed. The gift shop where you check in sells local beer and wine, FYI. A good selection actually! We were glad for the adjacent restaurant. Breakfast was better than dinner there (legitimately pretty good breakfast burrito), but nice to have it there.

If you are visiting the Badlands, there is no better place to stay. Food and amenities are limited as you are in the national park, but the restaurant is adequate and all rooms come with a microwave and mini fridge. The best part of this stay is being in the heart of it all - do not miss the nightly ranger program. Staying at the cabins makes for a magical visit.

Our stay at Cedar Pass Lodge was wonderful. Our cabin was clean and very cozy. We had wildlife come right up next to our porch. The staff was helpful and our food was great, too! Badlands National Park is one of our favorite places to visit!! I wish we could have stayed longer

There are not many places to stay (besides camping) directly IN the Badlands park. There also is not many places to eat that are close (besides the restaurant at Lodge which wasn’t what we were looking for). But the experience of staying here made up for all of that. These cabins were really nice, clean and had beautiful views of the Badlands. There is a nice spot out back to do alittle climbing, exploring. Felt very safe here.

We truly loved it here. We had a stand alone cabin (some are like a country townhouse with shared porches) and it was large, with comfortable beds, refrigerator and microwave. TV worked and we had wifi, but we spent most of our time checking out the amazing views of the Badlands and you are located in a great spot to branch out. The Visitor's Center is next door, very informative with rangers helpful regarding hikes. The staff at Cedar Pass Lodge, especially Abi, were so welcoming, helpful regarding where to go to see a great sunrise and amazing sunset. We had an almost 50 degree temperature difference: sunny and 80s, then hail and thunderstorms, then cold and windy. All contributed to the unique location. You are close to the hiking areas: Castle, Medicine Root and Notch. Catch the sunrise at the Door location and then hike the Notch before too many people go. (This is the hike with the steep ladder). |The food was ok, not great, not terrible. The service was fine and the Indian tacos (vegetarian and meat ) were welcome meals after a full day in the Badlands. The location is quiet and restful. The main area has a great gift shop , as does the Visitor Center. I think this is a great place for couples, older adults and families.

Cedar Pass Lodge, a confusing name for actually a great place in the middle of nowhere. There's no lodge at the lodge. All the overnight accommodations are in individual CABINS. And the cabin we had was cozy and nice & clean. One of the best national park overnights we've had. The main building has a nice giftshop, a small shop (booze sold here), and a just ok restaurant (tiny - boring menu). Great location in the Badlands. Killer views just a short hike from the cabins. There are nighttime ranger talks, also a quick walk from the cabins. We really enjoyed the astronomy presentation. The rangers had a green laser they were able to point out different constellations. We even saw the International Space Station go overhead. The staff we interacted with was very kind.

The cabins are ok but suffer from some deficiencies. - Ours had two beds crammed in but the smaller one had no bedside light, so the person there required the main room light to read. The larger bed had two ridiculously weak wall lights but also one side lamp. - In-room coffee is one of the small gadgets that take pre-packaged coffee packets. But they only give you two, even for a six night stay. Given there's no daily room service, you're left coffee-less after one morning. We managed to score a few more from the maids/room service people doing room turnover outside but still had to go in to the lodge to ask for more. My advice? Bring a coffee maker from home. - The rooms are basically motel rooms, so you get a mini fridge, microwave, the aforementioned small coffee maker, a nonfunctional TV (we didn't care about that) and weak sometimes nonfunctional wifi. The lodge/cafe has functional wifi. - Some other issues: front door screen wouldn't latch so unless we wanted flies in the room, we had to keep the main door closed. Flies are a problem here. The back door had no screen door at all. Windows were cranky/non-functional. - There we're no instructions on the various remotes. One controls the heat (and possibly AC, not sure); the other controls the main room light and fan. But the light/fan also has wall switches so you might find yourself pushing buttons on the remote to no effect or flipping wall switches uselessly trying to get the light to come on. Didn't need to fiddle with the TV remote. - The alarm clock kept alarming and we couldn't figure out how to cancel the alarm setting, even after going online to read the manual. Ended up unplugging it which also meant losing the USB ports. We always bring extension cords and power strips so that wasn't a big issue. Even with all those problems, the cabins are still nice and are conveniently located within the park. The main building (which I guess is the 'lodge' even though it has no rooms itself) is close by and has essentials as well as one of the better National Park gift shops I've been to. Restaurant is nothing great but it's there too (separate Yelp page for it).

I was pleasantly surprised. The cabins had just been remodeled. Everything was super clean and we had everything we needed (microwave, fridge etc). We could park right outside the cabin which made getting bags and stuff in the cabin super easy. It was a great launching off spot to explore Badlands National Park.

Stayed 3 nights at the lodge in a shared wall cabin. The room is nice, newly remodeled with a fridge and tv. There were rabbits and deer outside of our room. We also had a beautiful view of the badlands from our back porch. Could slightly hear our neighbors-- but it wasn't too bad. The internet didn't really work, but that's to be expected in a national park lodge. The shower only had hot water and the water smelled of sulfur. I would have also maybe liked a mat outside the room so we could wipe our feet before going inside. Overall, it was a nice clean room and nice to be in the park. Made it really convenient to rest between bouts of exploring.

The A/C in that cabin is incredibly valuable. Everything is really nice and taken care of, but don't expect the Hilton in NYC. Internet was bad and the TV wasn't set-up/working if those are deal-breakers for you, but you're staying in a National Park for a reason. We found it so valuable to have a place to retreat to in the middle of the day without having to drive completely out of the park to get out of the sun/crowds for a bit (it was August.) Right outside there were so many hares that were fun to watch, but at night there was also a rattlesnake (we kept our distance, but kinda cool to see.) Probably closer to 4.5, but I'm giving a bump due to it being in Badlands.

For being the only lodge in Badlands National Park, Cedar Pass Lodge treated us A-OK You want to book this place WAY ahead of time! I booked for Memorial Day Weekend, on the very DAY rezzies opened & all the renovated cabins had already been taken.....but seems like we wouldn't have been able to enjoy them anyway since we had requested adjoining rooms & the new cabins don't come w/ that configuration. You're either all sharing 1 room or getting 2 cabins ( Maybe future renovated cabins will have adjoining? ) So we were placed in their "old" cabins & I can vouch they need some updating! Rooms had A/C, the beds were decent & the water pressure was nice & stayed hot ... but there was no fridge, microwave or coffeemaker like they had in the renovated cabins & when you're staying the whole weekend & there's only ONE restaurant in the whole park w/ the next closest being a 45 min drive, you kind of want a fridge Which brings me to another word to the wise.....if you want to create your own makeshift fridge, put your stuff in the bathroom & close the doors - our beer stayed cold the whole time we were there! Also the walls are SUPER thin & the screen doors totally slam shut on each room & it shake the whole building.....our neighbors must have been delighted at the slamming payback they gave us for being so noisy the night before but we didn't mean to be noisy - it's the walls that were too thin! But you're in camping-mode right & we just looked at it like we were in a 5-Star Campsite & we thoroughly enjoyed our stay PLUS.....they had the cutest bunnies running all around & who wouldn't love that?!

These new cabins are absolutely wonderful. It's so great to be able to stay right in the park, and these cabins have everything you could possibly want. They are gorgeous, climate controlled (with A/C), cable, wifi, minifridges, and brand new bathrooms that are likely nicer than whatever you have at home. The pine paneling everywhere looks absolutely gorgeous. The front desk staff is friendly and helpful. And it's all for a very reasonable price. Just make sure you have a plan for your meals because the restaurant closes early in the evening and doesn't have great food anyway, and there's really nothing else around. We want to come back for an anniversary or special trip! We loved Badlands and found the cabins really romantic.

This is a very nice place the main lodge is very quiet and everyone is nice. The cabin was beautiful and very very clean. The staff are very good at their job. It is vary short walk to the visitors center. The view is amazing. What an experience.

Maybe it's because it's relatively new. Maybe it's because it's well connected (TV, Wi-Fi, etc.). Maybe it's because it's clean. Or maybe it's because the accommodations are spacious. The rooms/cabins may lack historical charm, but damn they were awesome. All I kept saying was, "wow." Some are single cabins and some are duplex style. I was in a duplex cabin and barely heard the people next door to me. Having a back porch was awesome at the end of the day and admittedly could be a little awkward sharing it with other people, but I didn't find it to be a problem and if anything it gives you an opportunity to share your stories with other travelers. If you've stayed at other lodgings within our national parks you know the amenities vary greatly. Some places have very little, i.e. no TV's and no Wi-Fi and that can be tough in this day and age. Even though there's not much around, you are able to stay connected at Cedar Pass Lodge and that's nice. The concessionaire really hit it out of the park with these cabins and the price was more than reasonable. If you can, do your best to stay in the park, you won't regret it!

A really quaint place, the pics in the other reviews are great. We had a duplex cabin but it was still quiet. Not sure if there were workmen or whatever but heard big trucks in the middle of the night a few times so that interrupted our sleep. The bath was fine and my only complaint is that I thought the price was somewhat steep considering there is no breakfast. That is the "price " for staying in the park. We ate in the restaurant and had great fry bread salad. The restaurant does not serve late and doesn't open till 8 am. The views and the wild life around it are so beautiful. Make sure you book well ahead as they seem to fill up quickly.

The place is almost finished with renovating the cabins and the result is beautiful. The individual cabins now all have wood finish which makes them really cozy and nice. They come equipped with shower, fridge, microwave, coffee maker. Really a nice accommodation and the location really lets you make the most of the park. Note, with the upgrades the price got upgraded as well: about $130 per night.

We had cabin 123, a stand-alone, not a duplex. We booked about 3 months ahead of time. The cabin is beautiful, the beds and pillows are very comfortable and the sheets and towels are soft. We had 2 minor complaints: (1) the cabin's windows slide up and down and are extremely difficult to open or to keep open--we used our camera's battery charger underneath as a wedge to keep the window up, and (2) the Badlands have high winds and when you open the screen door, it catches the wind and nearly throws you off the front porch. That said, we would definitely stay here again. We loved it, and we also loved the little rabbit that lives out back under the cabin.

The good: newly renovated. Priced right. The bad: on a gravel road. Every time a car drives by, dirt flies into cabin. Because the cabins line up in a row there is no privacy. Can't sit on front porch. No place to park car except in front of front door. Front staff extremely disappointing. Disorganized and unfriendly. The food at the restaurant is awful. The cabin was dirty.

What else can you really say...the rooms are in the park. We sat on the back porch and looked out on the sights. Nicely renovated rooms. Friendly staff. Gift shop and restaurant on the premises. And we can get going right into sight seeing. Highly recommend!

Very happy with our stay here at Cedar Pass Lodge. The cabin that we stayed in was very clean with nice amenities for a cabin. The view is awesome too from our back door. The only complaint that we have is that the room was not ready for an hour and 1/2 after we were supposed to be able to check in. We were really disappointed with this since we were only planning on staying only 1 night and wanted to spend time exploring the park. We really wanted to get into the cabins to drop off our pets, so that we could go sight seeing.

This is an affordable, convenient, and pleasantly rustic place to stay while exploring the Badlands. The individual lodges are small but with full bathrooms and amazing open spaces to picnic, hike, or stargaze. Yes, insects do gather in the summer months, but this is a small price to pay for being IN the Badlands and feeling miles away from the world. A roadtrip pit-stop that will be memorable, vastly better than your average motel. Vastly.

We stayed in one of the renovated cabins. When I first walked in the door, I was astounded at how cool the cabin looked on the inside. Check out the pictures posted by other guests and you'll see what I mean. Shortly after, though, we discovered a few less-than-desirable details. One of the sinks in the bathroom was clogged up from the get-go, resulting in a pool of milky-white water that was there throughout the duration of our stay. Also, the door handle on the inside of the bathroom was partially detached from the door, and some of the privacy paint on the bathroom window had chipped away, leaving us wondering if anyone could see us from the outside. ...what really got us, though, was the lack of a continental breakfast. At $165 per night, and considering there are NO other breakfast options in the surrounding area, you'd think they could at least offer their guests some bagels and orange juice in the morning. Unfortunately, they don't. If you want to eat something for breakfast, and didn't bring your own food, you'll need to wait for the Cedar Pass Cafe to open at 8. This is, of course, a challenge (actually, an impossibility) for guests who intend to grab something to eat and head out for an early-morning hike. Oh, hey, it's expensive, too. Finally, the customer service at the check-in desk could use some (actually, a lot of) improvement. Why so unfriendly?

First off, the Badlands is beautiful and the views from the cabins is good. It is inside the park right next to the Ben Riefels visitor center so it is exceptionally convenient for exploring the park. To the cabins -- they are new (3 or 4 years old) and look nice. However, they should have hired a professional designer to layout the inside and select the quantity and size of furniture. The beds are LARGE and comfortable but if there are two of them in the room, there isn't much room to move around. This could be remedied by using more appropriate sized furniture. There is a sink, toilet and SMALL shower that could have been made significantly larger with a little better thought and planning. Now, would I stay there again, YES. Do I recommend it, YES. Just be aware it is not the perfect accommodation some reviews have indicated.

Heading from MI, for a month long vacation, for the trip of a lifetime! I always checkout Yelp for their recommendations of restaurants and lodging and have not been disappointed, and the Cedar Pass Lodge was an amazing find!!! We did not have reservations, but on a whim I called the lodge to see if they had had any cancelations, and much to my surprise they did. Words cannot express the beauty of the badlands, and staying right in the heart of it all is more than I could have imagined! The rates are very fair, approx $165 for one night and worth every penny. This will undoubtably be one of the major highlights of our trip.

Very nice cabin that has all the amenities. It's a bit pricey to stay here, but Badlands National Park is definitely worth visiting (1 night, 1 full day is all the time you need though). If you can work it out, try and get a cabin at the end of the road because if you're at the front, every single car has to pass your cabin on a dirt road, and if you're enjoying yourself on the front porch...it gets annoying. In the morning there was a smell of sewage, but it's not from the room itself. Just depends on which way the wind blows.

Great place to eat! The chili dogs were impressive and the onion rings were some of the best I've ever had. Hand battered. The vegetable soup was just okay. A ray of sunshine in the middle of nowhere!

Really enjoyed our stay here in late June / early July. Perfect location for exploring the park and the cabins are modern, spacious and clean. I'll definitely be back and this is an easy place for me to recommend to others

We loved the cabin in the park. Very clean and great location where can hike right out the door! Restaurant was pretty bad is only critique, but everything else about stay was very good!

This is a really nice looking, new, clean cabin. I have stayed in many cabins in various parks (state and national). This was one of the nicest cabin which I have stayed in so far. The beds were comfortable, the rooms were nicely decorated, and there was plenty of space. The cabins book up early. I highly recommend this place. I stayed overnight in the Badlands park so that I could get tickets to the Minuteman Missile tour (at opening) and do scenic drives at dusk and early morning. The price of the cabin was about the same as paying for a Holiday Inn Express kind of hotel. There is a table with some chairs, microwave and a refrigerator, so you can easily bring food for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I am rating the price of this cabin as moderate based on the room size and the condition of the cabin. This is a 5 star cabin for sure (after renovations).

Cedar Pass Lodge was quite nice. The cabin interiors are all pine and woodsy. Very nice. Everything was clean and worked. They are new. Right now, though, my butt is sore from sitting on an unpadded chair. The beds are comfortable, and all of the furniture is of the "made from logs" style. Wifi is reliable and reasonably fast.

We booked our stay in cabin 50 not knowing that it was the only cabin that hasn't been renovated. We arrived and unloaded our van after a long day of driving and pretty instantly began vacuuming up moths, maybe 8-10. We went to dinner and came back. More moths. And spiders. In the kids beds. In pillows. One on the bathroom floor along with a cricket. Someone had left a window open. The place needs a good exterminator. We called the emergency number And requested a refund. They were booked solid that night and were very nice about refunding our charge. We packed up the van and drove to wall sd. Where we stayed in a nice Americas best value inn.

The cabin was clean and nicely furnished with A/C, and the back-porch view was amazing. I don't think I've ever slept in a more comfortable bed while traveling. Very peaceful, fantastic location in the park, and for a great price.

My family loved staying in the Cedar Pass lodge. We rented a cabin for two nights while visiting the Badlands. Our cabin was clean, modern, spacious. It had comfy beds and a cute log cabin decor. It was recently remodeled and so everything was perfect! Staying in this lodge meant we had access to the Badlands before it got crowded and well into the evening. The gift shop and restaurant were amazing as well. You can't go wrong with a visit to the Badlands and a night (or two) at Cedar Pass Lodge.

there aren't many accommodations around the badlands, and this was one of them (of two, i think.) the room was fine space-wise, but our arriving late was pushed back even further when there was no one in the office. we finally noticed a sign that said to go back to their other hotel to find the keys, which we did, but it certainly would've been nice of the managers to let us know of this sooner. the worst part about this place, though, was the flies! ugh! upon our entrance, we easily spent an hour so just killing flies. i will definitely not return to this place.

Cabins were beautiful and cozy. The deck has a lovely view of the Badlands and it was very relaxing. The cabin's being LEED certified was an added bonus. The only thing that was not perfect was the thinness of the walls - I could hear the guest next door snoring.

Somewhat pricey at $150/night plus $10 for our dog. Our cabin was # 115 and spectacularly beautiful. Spacious interior which could house 6 easily. All interior covered with S.D. pine and is gorgeous. Furniture is all freshly made of SD pine. Beds are very comfortable with fluffy pillows. Our back door porch view is of the Badlands...how appropriate. Our bathroom is handicapped equipped and very spacious. We watched the sunset on our porch sitting in the great furniture provided. What more can I say except the service was excellent and very welcoming. The lodge does have a restaurant but you can also drive 2 miles for casual dining.