Private Tour
Badlands After Dark: Sunset Colors and Celestial Views
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
This is our favorite tour! We care about you, your experience, and your time in South Dakota.
You'll be taken to special locations where animals congregate during the setting sun. As you enjoy the wildlife of the Badlands, we'll take care of any photos you wish. The "Blue Hour" begins after sunset and continues for an hour, highlighting the wild formations with the bright blue and orange sky.
Next, we'll take you to the night viewing area in the park at a location only My XO Adventures knows. We'll see planets, shooting stars, and the Milky Way Galaxy.
Our highly skilled guide will capture night photos and share them at the end of the tour, ensuring you have great memories of your experience.
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
What To Expect
Sage Creek Wilderness Area
We know the best way to view the park during sunset. We'll take you through the Sage Creek Wilderness area to see all types of formations, with the sunset at our backs. This makes the photography of wildlife, shapes, and shadows amazing. It's our favorite tour area, and you'll understand why.
Hay Butte Overlook
One of the most impressive views of the Badlands and often missed. We'll be sure to stop here for photos, and maybe even set up for a viewing of the sunset.
What‘s Included
Private transportation
Blankets
Bottled water
Zero-Gravity Folding Chairs for Star Viewing. These chairs fully recline enhancing the experience and comfort.
Snacks
Binoculars
Constellation Locator Software
Gratuities
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Options
Badlands Sunset and Night Sky Adventure
Pickup included
Reviews
45 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
The Badlands at night, late in the season
Stephanie R,,Oct 24, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Even though it was late in the season and the weather was threatening, our guide Daniel knew exactly how to manage everything to make it magical.
Amazing!!!
Liz T,,Sep 29, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00This is a must do! Daniels passion about the badlands shows in his enthusiasm to share this beautiful part of our country with his guest. Keeping in mind the weather may not cooperate but if it does this is a must do!
My XO Adventures was Superb
14janiceo,,Sep 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00It's been a few days now since our Badlands Sunset Colors and Celestial Views tour. We have talked about it every day and still feel a glow when we think of the many wondrous sites we saw and our excellent guide, Daniel. We enjoyed our conversation with him, being personally engaged all the while being informed about the land and the people. It seemed that God was on display all evening with a remarkable sunset and stunning night sky!! Great tour! Worth every penny.
Evening in Badlands Tour
CoastalSam,,Sep 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Dan was very knowledgeable, He went above & beyond allowing us to choose what we’d like to do, answering our questions & giving us the history. So many wonderful moments & beautiful memories. The star gazing was excellent. Dan was well prepared with warm blankets/sleeping bags & chairs. Excellent Experience & Guide.
An amazing evening at the Badlands!
thefilthynurse,,Sep 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Logan was an exceptional guide. He is extremely knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife; we kept him talking! He was also very courteous to our comfort and needs throughout the tour. This tour exceeded our expectations in every way! Additionally, the tour staff kept us informed from the day we booked until the day of the tour. We were well informed.
Sunset and stars Badlands
donrM9683VN,,Sep 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fantastic tour! Logan taught us so much area history and nature. Saw so many things we would never have seen on our own. Wildlife and scenery both incredible!
Five Star Experience ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
jennifercK868ZC,,Sep 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Could not have asked for more! Excellent communication from the get go all the way thru the arranged pick up. Every detail well thought out & planned…complete with beverages, sandwiches, reclining chairs, blankets, a lot of great humor & shared photos! So educational as well as stunningly beautiful! Aimee and Daniel went out of their way to provide an exceptional experience. We arrived as customers and left as friends. We will absolutely use My XO Adventures again and again! Cannot recommend enough! Five star service all around.
The day the Milky Way Stood Still
Camper49792630455,,Jul 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I had been eying XO Adventures for a few weeks before our trip and was too busy to pull the trigger. The 2 Sundays before the trip, I spoke with Aimee to have a few questions answered and then book for the week after. I was looking for a service minded team that could take my family (2 adults, 2 kids - 9 & 15) and I on an adventure to see the many sights and talk about the history region, significant events, context and frame of reference for the events, and the aftermath. At the same time, share hidden knowledge and locations to spawn some interest for my daughter into American History, as she is taking it this coming year. Aimee helped me set that up, checked in with us up to and through our experiences including planning meals and I'm eternally grateful. Day 1: We took the nighttime tour of the Badlands with one primary event to check off our bucket list, getting pictures of the Milky Way and seeing a nighttime sky full of what the universe has to offer us without the human touch of light pollution. What we ended up getting was an adventure with Dan that blew our socks off. It was full of location and environmental history, military history, a wide range of animal sightings (ranging from owls, bison, different types of deer, prairie dogs, bats), farming knowledge that tied the history of the people to the environment and our country, and the hard truth of our native American family. He taught us a lot and left us with a lot to consider and research further. This was like you’re a kid on Christmas morning when you first wake up and the excitement to see what Santa left. Up until this point, the tour was based on Dan asking us questions on what we wanted from the trip and accommodating as we drove and talked. We shared the galaxy focus but shared we really wanted to understand and appreciate the Badlands region. Well, he made it happen! While we travelled around and sharing knowledge and points of view, he was waiting and leading us up to the main event. With the light changing in the sky and clouds moving, he explained and shared the most majestic landscapes that were different by the second. The Badlands look like white clay and rock during the day but, when you hit sunset and dusk, you start to see the lines of the layers of history creating live paintings of pinks, purples, browns, reds, and yellows. As you go through, the different chaotic formations and the colors with the animals transitioning to nighttime, make for amazing pictures and memories. This leads us to the last outlook with the gravity chairs looking up into thousands of stars. Dan broke out some tools for the kids using his cell phone so they could explore and was still making sure they were involved, entertained and hopefully learning something. All I can say is WOW! The bucket list item was checked for all of us with one of the largest checkmarks of any on the list. All I can say is thank you Dan and, thank you XO Adventures for one of the two best nights on our trip!
Night sky not to be missed
dakr2014,,Jul 27, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing amazing. That’s all I can say. Daniel is an exceptional guide and is easy to talk to and be with. He showed us wonderful sights throughout the badlands and watching the night sky is unbelievable. Wonderful tour.
Beautiful scenery with fun, knowledge guide
Exploration651714,,Jun 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This is a great tour to see the Badlands during the golden hour and view the night sky. We saw so much wildlife, the amazing landscape, and night sky. Daniel was kind and informative and made our group feel comfortable. There were storms in the area, but they didn’t impact our tour. Daniel made sure to keep tabs on the storm throughout the evening to keep everyone safe. I would definitely recommend My XO Adventures to anyone.
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