Overview of Cedar Pass Lodge

Cedar Pass Lodge first opened for business in 1928, predating the establishment of Badlands National Monument by eleven years. Mr. Ben Millard, a local businessman and close friend of Senator Peter Norbeck, started with a dance hall that brought people from a hundred-mile radius to listen to Lawrence Welk and similar bands.

Millard expanded Cedar Pass Lodge to include the dining room, the Historic Cabins, and a counter for curios. He enjoyed giving nightly geology talks to Lodge guests and was awarded the honor and title of the first "interpreter" in Badlands National Park. Ben passed away in 1956 and was awarded another National Park Service honor in 1957. Millard Ridge, the high ridge rising above the Cedar Pass area where the Lodge and park headquarters are situated is named in Ben's honor.