Another main draw is the wandering animals.
Along with being a bed and breakfast, Circle View Guest Ranch is a fully operating cattle ranch.
“ I was just out of college, and I had worked in hotels and restaurants all through high school and college, so then the B & B kind of fell in my lap. I took over the decorating, the cooking, the reservations and everything, not really knowing what I was doing, but I just kind of figured it out. With the views of the Badlands from the front door and the close proximity to the park road, we’ ve just had whole waves of people coming through over the years. We’ ve had three kids born and raised here on the ranch, and here we are today, still making breakfast and making beds,” said Amy.
Today, Circle View Guest Ranch is a fully operating cattle ranch with Black Angus beef cattle, working horses and fields of alfalfa to feed them during the winter.
The ranch also offers four different locations for guests to stay, just six miles away from the main gate of Badlands National Park.
At the main house, visitors can book any the seven guest rooms in the B & B that Philip built with their choice of sleeping arrangements. Each room has a private bathroom, and there is a full guest kitchen, wi-fi, air conditioning, a game room with ping-pong and foosball and one of the best view of the Badlands.
“ We have free-roaming donkeys that come to visit, chickens that make eggs for breakfast, peacocks, kitties and a couple of dogs. So people love to go visit the animals. We don’ t do any organized tours, per se, but people are certainly welcome to explore the property at their own pace. Most people are coming to see the Badlands, so they can hike around the ranch, and you can see the Badlands just about from everywhere,” said Amy.
A stay in the guest rooms also includes Circle View Guests Ranch’ s famous hot ranch breakfast.
“ We do a hot breakfast every day during peak season. I’ m always using our fresh eggs. We use the( homegrown) wheat and grind it up for our whole wheat blueberry pancakes that are a favorite. I make homemade granola every week. It’ s a big breakfast— eggs, pancakes, bacon, potatoes, pastries, granola, yogurt, fruit— every morning in our own kitchen at 7:30 all summer long,” said Amy.
Breakfast is served family style. All the food is laid out along the bar, and guests make their own plates and sit down either in the kitchen or on the back deck overlooking the river valley. During the summer, they average 20 to 30 people a day.
The family kit home, now known as the Bunkhouse, is also available to guests. There are four rooms. One has a private bathroom, and the other three share a bathroom. There is also a full kitchen, air conditioning, wi-fi and a great view of the Badlands. Amy said guests love the porch on the south side overlooking the river valley. Pets are welcome at the Bunkhouse as well.
“ I rent it as a whole, and I also rent the rooms individually,” said Amy.“ People on a budget can get a room with a shared bathroom, and if it’ s a larger family, they can rent the whole house.”
Then, located a mile down the road from the guest ranch on the edge of the White River, the original 1880 Hamm Homestead is not only still standing, but is also available for guests to rent for an authentic pioneer experience. The homestead was originally the home of the Hamm family, and the Kruses purchased it in the late 1930s.
“ People sleep out there all summer long,” said Amy.“ To our knowledge, there’ s not any other homestead that you can rent and sleep in. There might be a few standing, but the fact that people get to sleep out there makes it really popular. A lot of people will go to De Smet and see the Laura Ingalls homestead, and then bring their kids here to sleep in it just like Laura did.”
At the homestead, there is no electricity or running water, and there is an outhouse in the yard.
“ We tell people it’ s like camping, but you’ ve got a roof and a bed and total privacy and seclusion. There are two full-size beds in that cabin, and people bring their own sleeping bags, basic camping gear and it’ s a really popular place,” said Amy.“ You can camp in the Badlands with 200 people in the campground, or you can camp over here in that cabin all by yourself. People love that.”
10 Down Country Roads November / December 2025