Explore Hell's Half Acre, Wyoming's most unusual badlands landscape

Across central Wyoming, roughly 40 miles west of Casper, “vast” and “unbroken” best describe the landscape—little more than rolling grasslands and sagebrush stretching toward the horizon. Then, without warning, the ground fractures into a maze of steep ravines, colorful striped badlands, and wind-carved rock formations that feel entirely out of place in the surrounding plains.

Dubbed Hell’s Half Acre, this 320-acre landscape (part of 960-acre tract of land donated to Natrona County) has long intrigued travelers with its unusual geology, prehistoric past, and a filming location in the 1997 film Starship Troopers. For decades before its Hollywood cameo, families traveling the historic Yellowstone Highway stopped here to stretch their legs, admire the unusual scenery, and buy souvenirs and refreshments. Hell's

Visitors can once again experience the site following its opening earlier this summer, after nearly two decades of limited public access. A four-year-long effort added new infrastructure and amenities, including an ADA-accessible viewing platform, boardwalk, interpretive signage, and picnic areas. The reopening comes as travelers increasingly seek quieter, lesser-known destinations over marquee attractions.

While Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks dominate many Wyoming itineraries, Hell’s Half Acre reveals a different side of the Cowboy State. The unexpected roadside stop—an easy detour enroute to the iconic parks—invites visitors to slow down and experience a landscape shaped over millions of years, almost otherworldly in color and form. Though travelers continued stopping to marvel at the landscape during its extended closure, Hell’s Half Acre now offers visitors a more meaningful way to take in both the dramatic scenery and the story behind it. 

“Hell’s Half Acre is very aptly named,” says Annette Pitts, CEO of Visit Casper. “Driving there, you’ll go through very typical Wyoming landscapes that are not Jackson. Wide-open rolling prairie. And then you get to Hell’s Half Acre. Expansive geological features; it looks like the badlands with its bright colors and odd geological configurations that you really don’t see anywhere else.”

Why you should visit Hell’s Half Acre

For 20 years, travelers could only glimpse at Hell’s Half Acre through an unsightly fence from the highway. A motel and restaurant operated there for over half a century, but when those businesses closed in late 2005 due to significant water and septic issues—mainly the costly, logistically challenging task of trucking in the site’s entire water supply because it lacked water service—the buildings were demolished, and the area sat dormant. Funding challenges delayed efforts to improve access for several years, and work formally began in 2022.

“There’s a lot of concern among historic preservation authorities about protecting the unique geological features, artifacts, and generally dangerous, fragile space,” Pitts shares. While visitors currently experience Hell’s Half Acre only from above, county leaders are actively exploring options to allow access to the bottom. Natrona County Commissioner Dave North says, “We’re still working out the details, but the public will have options to go down [to the bottom] and explore.” He adds that it will likely be limited initially to guided excursions, then progress to a small number of daily permits. 

Today, the new overlook provides dramatic views into the network of gullies and sheer cliffs without requiring strenuous hiking. North explains that accessibility was a major priority. “You basically turn off U.S. [Route] 20/26, and you're there,” he says. “Now with the boardwalk, you can actually walk out. It’s a great place you can go and take pictures, and if you're not somebody who likes to hike, but you like to see things, this is a great place to do that.”

The ease of access also makes Hell’s Half Acre a natural stop for travelers road-tripping between Casper and Yellowstone. “One of the biggest pluses is U.S. [Route] 20/26 is a major byway going to Yellowstone and the Tetons,” North says. “It gives them another opportunity, somewhere they can spend a little more time.”

A landscape shaped by deep time

Though its appearance resembles South Dakota's Badlands, Hell’s Half Acre preserves something wildly different. Casper College geology instructor Marron Bigle-Davis explains, “The badlands-type landscape is not unique to Hell's Half Acre; there are badlands all over Wyoming and the Dakotas. It is unique in what it has exposed. It's the older side of the White River formation, the Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago). Those animals are on the smaller side but show a really warm, subtropical environment when there was almost no ice on the planet at all: crocodiles, tropical tree fossils.”

For Bigle-Davis, the site reopening creates opportunities for what geologists refer to as geotourism, visiting natural, geological tourist attractions. “It’s a very small area with such a rich fossil assemblage. Hopefully, people will learn a little bit about the geology of Wyoming and the history of the time period,” she says, referring to the site’s extraordinary concentration of fossils. Hell’s Half Acre preserves an unusually extensive record of early primates. She adds, “Almost all the major mammal groups we have now appeared during this time. To have a nice outcrop with this period is rather unique.”

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What to do beyond Hell’s Half Acre

For travelers willing to spend a day or two in Casper rather than simply passing through, the city offers plenty of ways to continue exploring Wyoming’s history and geology. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center highlights the famed Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express trails, all of which passed through or are located just outside the city. North also recommends visiting Independence Rock, another easy stop just south of Casper. “The reason it's called Independence Rock is because if the settlers didn't get there by the Fourth of July, they weren't going to make it over the Sierras,” he shares. Reaching the landmark by Independence Day meant travelers were on schedule to cross treacherous mountain passes before heavy snow made them impassable.

Outdoor enthusiasts can hike Casper Mountain—the easy trek to Garden Creek Falls on the Bridle Trail is a local favorite—or fish the North Platte River, a designated blue-ribbon waterway renowned for rainbow, cutthroat, and brown trout. The Tate Geological Museum at Casper College is another must for anyone eager to learn more about the region’s prehistoric past.

With Hell’s Half Acre officially welcoming visitors again, local tourism officials hope travelers will spend more time exploring this part of central Wyoming. Pitts describes it, aptly, as a “beautiful bizarro land,” but for her, the site represents something much larger than a curious roadside attraction. “It opens the door to a lot of conversations,” she says, “which is something we all need a lot more of these days.”