I used to frequent the Lavender District quite a bit preCOVID but this was my first time back and it dawned on me that maybe I haven't been to Badlands in YEARS because I do not remember it being 3 stories (bottom is strictly urinals), nor do I remember a cover charge. Either way, we came on a Sunday for Pride week, cover is $10 cash and there is an ATM around the corner from The Depot. The bar does take debit and credit tho. Once inside it was a mad house. It felt well over capacity and I felt like a little sardine in a can. Getting a drink from the main area was horrible. The bartender didn't pay any attention to the side of his bar and attended to all the patrons who were able to squeeze in to the front of the bar area. It took 15+ minutes to get a drink. We were charged $14 for a rum and coke and corona, not too bad. We tried to make our way to the dance floor but that was not going to happen, way too many people and you couldn't move. We went upstairs and it was way less crowded and had empty spots to sit. We finished our drinks and attempted to get another round from the bartender upstairs. She was rude AF! Never smiled nor acknowledged anyone and gave so much attitude even when everyone was nice to her. Not to mention our rum and coke and corona with her was $18! What?! The last straw were the bathrooms. I know any clubs bathrooms can be horrendous but these smelled so bad and I almost slipped and fell from all the pee on the floor. Other than that the music was good, just wished there was more room to dance. For the cover and how small it is, Faces is probably a safer bet next time. read more

I went there with my friends tonight I was on my way back from the bathroom and one of the employees just physically shoved me out of the way and said look out. I'm in a hurry and when I tried to talk to him to see why he would do that he told me to go fuck myself. So I talked to the manager about it and he told me to get over it that he was busy. This place is terrible and I will never go back. read more

I have been denied access to this establishment multiple times. I showed up with my girlfriend last night after one, pre-game drink and the bouncer told me to "try faces". I am a friendly person and love to chat with security and bouncers, but every time I walk up to badlands they got a stank look on their face. It didn't feel good. read more

Badlands is a racist and prejudice establishment. I say this because of the horrible experience me and my friends (who are POC) experienced on their "Juneteenth" themed Thirsty Thursdays. Now usually Ive enjoyed Thirsty Thursdays because of the gogo dancers and the music. However, on Juneteenth Night, they did not play any hip-hop or a majority of black artists! The music was consistently pop & house music from white artists. So when my friends and I went up to the DJ and tried to politely ask to play some black artists, SHE IGNORED US! Several minutes later, we witnessed other black people going up to the DJ box to request more hip-hop music or music by black artists and they were ignored as well! So we asked one of gogo dancers (who was POC btw) to request music from black artists and apparently she ignored him too!!! Next, I decided to take this up to management. I asked the security guards, bar staff, and hostess to speak to management about how the music and to make a complaint about the DJ, but everyone brushed me off and ignored me. As a gay POC man, I felt utterly rejected, ignored, and frustrated on a night that was themed for my community. And in my opinion, I believe this night was a performative night in order to make money off of POC people and the Juneteenth holiday. Because POC people that night were ignored and rejected on holiday which is dedicated to us. If you are a POC or a LGBT POC, please take your money elsewhere. This racist and prejudice establishment DOES NOT deserve our money, our time, our energy, or our business. read more

Initial security was very sweet, but I had a shooter and a taser/pepper spray in my purse. She said I couldn't come in with those in, which is understandable, so I threw away the shooters then stored my taser and pepper spray with a different security guard at the merc. I walked all the way back to get back in now that I had complied with their terms, and they said I was "denied for the night" since they had already seen those items on me. My friends had already gotten in and paid the 15$ cover charge. There was no arguing with them as they just refused my service and my friends had to come back out in order to not leave me alone. I completely understand the policy on bringing in alcohol and potential weapons, however I think it's ridiculous that I was still denied after complying with their terms and that no refund was given to my friends under these circumstances. I don't recommend this bar, but the people and drinks at the merc down the street are very lovely and I recommend going there instead! read more

I came here for a drag show and brunch. $15 pitcher of mimosas was pretty cheap but the orange juice and champagne were mediocre. I'm sure for $15, it is LOL! The food truck they were using for food was good. The burrito portion was bigger than normal for the price so that's a plus. The staff was cool and somewhat attentive during brunch. Do remember that if you decide to come here, it won't matter what day and time, always use CASH for this place. read more

Badlands - Dance Clubs Near Me - Sacramento, California

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I don't like having sometime place their hands on me especially when you don't indicate that you're not able to take a drink from one place to another yet it's the same establishment. It's dirty and nasty. And the customer service with the bartenders is crap. read more

I fucking love this place. The bartenders are always so nice and make the best drinks!! If you want have a good night got to badland.

Horrible top 40's looping soundtrack! EVERY SINGLE weekend they play the SAME music over and over? It's basically OLD top 40 hits from over the last 3 decades and today! No EDM/circuit/"gay" club music. For a "gay club" there is ALWAYS WAY MORE STRAIGHT/HETEROSEXUALS! We just moved to the Sacramento area a few months ago and I believe we have been to Powerhouse (SF) more than Badlands! There does not truly seem to be a great "gay dance" club in Sac! read more

Great music! Drinks were strong and at a good prices. The getting locked out because you went into another area of the bar even though you have a stamp to get back in was super annoying. The guy at the door said not a word about it. All signs said re entry's must have a stamp. And the still didnt let us in. read more

What a wonderful nightclub!!! I love going to have fun with my friends. I always meet beautiful and fun people. I always go 2 times a month and I have a lot of fun with my friends!!! read more

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Weak as place. They kick you out for nothing. I was at the bar and security comes up to me and asked me to leave. I asked why and they said let's go outside and we'll tell you.... They didn't have a reason. This place is wack. Go across the street. read more

02/10/2024 I was outside sitting in the back in the smoking area and watched a guy come down from the stairs with his joint. Security came up to him and said that he can't smoke weed in the smoking area. I was confused considering weed is legal in California. I mean all the cigarettes are killing me more than a blunt. Why can't people smoke weed in a smoking area in a state where weed is legal?? It just doesn't make sense to me. read more

BEWARE! My friend and I got roofied at this club and I am careful with my drink! It was tested positive at the hospital when I got admitted for 3 days and her for 7. Please please please watch your drinks if you go!!! read more

Wasn't even there for an hour and got kicked out for dancing on my wife. They claimed we were holding into each other but were were just dancing I was so confused. Apparently many people get kicked out for no reason after they spend their money. Don't waste ur time!! read more

I can't remember the last time I did this: go out at 10 p.m., go dancing, go to a gay bar. It was bomb sauce!  I was 20 years older than everyone in there so thank goodness I already had a couple glasses of wine before the hour invite notice as +1 to a bday. This fairy Godmother transformed from a couch potato Hallmark movie mess into Cinderella! Ok, this was my first time ever seeing an ass cake and that's how it tasted. The place was packed and they were actually playing music I knew. I think for 2018 Badlands could be my new gym because I have never moved so much! The electric light bondage men with a Jell-O shots we're definitely the highlight for me.  I'd give you 4 stars if you took credit cards. read more

Badlands - Jello shots! - Dance Clubs Near Me - Sacramento, California

My friends and I ended up here because the line was pretty short to get into the club. It was my first time here so because of Covid, the club was turned into a restaurant with music. I ordered the street tacos and ordered carnitas, chorizo, and asada. The tacos were from Azul I think. I thought the tacos were good but I definitely needed salsa and salt which thankfully they had. I had the gummy bear and an adios mother fucker for drinks. Our drinks were super strong which was good since we were out trying to have a good time. The gender neutral bathrooms were okay and we wished they were cleaner. read more

Badlands - Tacos carne Asada, chorizo, and carnitas - Dance Clubs Near Me - Sacramento, California

This was my first time going to Badlands. In years past, I had only ever been to Faces for a girls night. However, I am a huge fan of a local Drag King and when I found out he was performing and I happened to have a baby sitter for the night - my man and I went out to have some fun! We got here around 7:20. The show was supposed to start at 8pm but it started at 8:30pm. No problem. The bar was pretty fast. Entry was easy. We got great seats for the show. Liquor prices were good. Everyone there was awesome and the energy and vibe was great. Ultimately we had a lot of fun and the drag show was legit EVERYTHING. So many talented artists! I left a brand new fan with some brand new merch so that I could support our local drag community! The only thing I didn't particularly care for was being approached while we are minding our own businesses and having someone ask us if we wanted to try something illegal. I know these things happen everywhere from time to time, but I want to see people going home safely and I wish that was monitored a little better. But other than that, we had an absolute blast! read more

Badlands - Dance Clubs Near Me - Sacramento, California

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This club was a lot of fun- the music they played was great for multiple age groups and I really enjoyed the lights and dance floor. You could've been dance in the stage. The staff was friendly and quick to get my group drinks. I lost my ID and since I live out of town I had to work out a time to pick it up. I really appreciated how helpful the staff was outside of their normal hours! I look forward to coming back in the future read more

Drinks: 3/5: not strong at all, the shots of Vodka were VILE, and we ordered 4 drinks in one hour from 4 different bartenders, and each time they charged us a different price. Dance floor: 5/5 Music: 4/5 the music was all good, but we were there for a couple hours and I'm pretty sure they just had the same playlist on repeat because I heard the same Lizzo song 4 times in the night. Service: 2/5 was definitely not impressed by the service, the bartenders all seemed extremely grumpy and rude Ambiance: 4/5 the upstairs and outside were really nice. But the bathrooms were disgusting. If you're going to charge a cover, then you need to not run out of toilet paper by 11:30 p.m. read more

This is supposedly a gay bar. Used to have gay people and dance music. Now it's faces in a bad way. I have never heard such crappy hip hop and rap ever. Drinks are outrageous and why have a line when the place is half empty on a Saturday night. You definitely lost a bunch of the community. Ick. Shame on you. read more

Badlands is usually a very fun place to dance and enjoy drinks with friends, but I was kicked out by the security way before closing because I was "swaying". I had just finished dancing and was waiting for a friend who went to the restroom when I was singled out by security, ruining my entire night. Given that this place serves alcohol, I had a couple of drinks already so I was tipsy but no where near it being necessary to be escorted out. The rest of the workers are lovely, but security absolutely ruined my experience. I don't think I'll want to come back if this is how they treat patrons. Might as well not serve alcohol if security kicks you out when you've barely had any. read more

Drinks: 4 Out of 5 Not bad and not too strong like they do at Mercantile, where they serve with a heavy hand. Dance floor: 4 Out of 5 The night I came with a handful of my cousins, crowd was ok (mind you I come from SF's bar scene). My cousin and I hopped onto one of the boxes cause the crowd was "shy". I believe the huge boxes were for the go-go dancer. Definitely turned some heads, danced with a few people, and had a good time up there. Music: 4 Out of 5 Not the worst for Sacramento, but could be improved. If you do get bored the upside is they have other floors you can check out other music genres. Overall: 4 Out of 5 (for Sacramento standards) Comparatively to SF's night scene it would be a 3.5. Also I had a great crowd with me it helped boost my rating. read more

Usually love this club but security and other staff are a lot nicer at Faces. The couple of bartenders I talked to were cool though.

Beat part about this place is the music and amazing security and staff! Usually Security at places are too uptight and rude but not here! Always great! With that being said, giving 3 stars because of the bartender upstairs. She was so RUDE! First time here and she almost ruined our night. She was screaming at us and was angry. Apparently she couldnt hear our drink orders and was yelling at us that we were talking soft. We talked the same way as all the other bartenders. I thought she was having a bad day but other people said the same thing about her. They told us to not go upstairs because that bartender is hella rude. Other than that, this place is great!! read more

started off having a really lovely evening with my friends. i've always loved badlands and have never had a bad time there. last night at 11:40, one of my friends accidentally broke his glass when he set it on the table. one of the shards of glass landed on my upper thighs, no big deal, i actually thought it was silly that the shard had just so happened to land and rest on my legs. however as an EMPLOYEE came over to clean up the glass, he reached his hand down in between my legs to grab the shard of glass, again the glass shard was on my upper thighs, so it felt very inappropriate for him to be reaching there. i should've said something in the moment but was shocked and uncomfortable. almost immediately my friends and i left because we could not believe he had just done that. there is zero justification for reaching in between somebody's upper legs to grab something, especially someone you do not know, especially an employee. read more

Was turned away at the door after driving a hr and a half to get there because my bag was less then an inch to big

The security forces my bathroom door open while I was undressed using the toilet for other patrons to see

What a Club! I was visiting and I have heard about this place but this is definitely the spot! They play great music, bar service was extremely quick- overall very impressed. The lines are subject to get long, but once inside I can assure you that it'll be a fun night :) read more

Drinks are decently priced but it's always FILTHY and security does not have a handle on messy drunks or fights that CONSTANTLY break out. My boyfriend left his debit card one night at the bar right at closing and they REFUSED to give it back to him even though they had it at the bar. The next day, he had over $2,000 of fraudulent charges to his account that he had to dispute. read more

Stopped by to celebrate my friends birthday and grab a couple drinks. I decided to head over the bar and grab a drink before we headed out. There were approximately 5/6 people at the bar when I walked up. Waited patiently for atleast 10 minutes as more people arrived and the bartender began serving people who had arrived after me, I figured I'd wait my turn patiently. Gave him a little waive and he nodded his head to acknowledge me. He then served 2 more people Including 2 men located on the left of me. When he finally took my drink order he made sure to let me know "if you want fast service you should stand on this side of the bar, makes sense right?" This confused me for a multitude of reasons. 1. I was sitting to the left of 4 people served before me (5 feet away from the register) 2. the two men on my left were served before me ( further away from were he advised I should order)3. there was nothing that would lead you to believe that this was where you should be to order. My friend who was with me was justifiably offended by the snippy remark after we patiently waited 10+ minutes. She made a remark that there should be more bartenders and walked away. Cameron the bartender than approached me and said "you can leave I'm not serving you!". Confused I asked why not? Since I never said anything to him besides the drink I wanted. He than stated he would grab someone to kick me out and grabbed his manager Marcus. Marcus listened to me and did make my drink which was appreciated. But there was no apology for the terrible treatment and trying to justify Cameron's actions which were nothing short of a power trip. I truly believe that being a woman had a lot to do with it as well being as he had no problem serving men regardless of where they were seated. I told my friends (who were not present) about the interaction after we left and apparently they had a terrible experience last time they were there and vowed to never return. We will not return either. This absolutely ruined my friends 30th birthday. Sad that Badlands is not a welcoming space to lgbtq woman. I will stick to the San Francisco Badlands in the future. read more

Been going to Badlands almost every Saturday night for years. Last night was a mess. At 9:30 PM there was a line way past Roscoe's! It took over 45 minutes to get inside and, once there, the club was at most only 1/3 capacity. Normally one expects that type of line at midnight. Not at 9:30. Something was seriously wrong with the front door/security/line management. It was clear that most, if not all, of the front of the house crew were not the usual Saturday team. It also seemed that 40% of the bartenders were not the usual Saturday folks either. I understand that the club may be under new management. If that's the case, they better get this situation under control quickly, or folks will just end up across the street. So, my rating is based on just this one experience. Otherwise, Badlands would have 4 or 5 stars. read more

the drag show nights are definitely my favorite lol , bartenders are great and i love the music!

I've been dying to go out to the gay scene forever now and it was absolutely disheartening to get turned away for having a bag, I travel from north sac I still need to have my personal things like cologne and such I don't understand why they don't tell you anywhere on their site or outside the building that there are no bags, oh wait that's because I literally saw people walk in with bags they just singled me out..I wonder why Long story short, rude workers and I'll go to a different gay club in the area for my first experience cause this was not it. read more

So, I had a great time dancing with my group at Badlands. The bartender that we got our drinks from was cool too. However, I'm giving this establishment one star because the people at the front need to be called out on their creepiness. I have been going to gay bars for over 15 years and NEVER have I ever been GROPED by security in this way. I could tell that the woman at the front door was on a power trip when she was yelling about getting IDs out at the people in line in this really demeaning way, but once we got closer to the front, I could see how she was "patting people down," which is something that they are known for. She was unnecessarily groping at people's bodies in this way that went beyond anything I've ever experienced with airport, concert, or bar security. It's like she is using her power to sexually assault everyone who walks in the door. LGBTQ+ people deserve better than this. We are a community of people who have had to deal with feeling unsafe in all sorts of situations, and we shouldn't have to deal with with that kind of thing in a place that should be a safe space. Gay bars have historically been places of refuge for LGBTQ+ individuals. The people at the front door fail to fulfill that. If they are "searching" people for safety reasons, they could invest in a metal detecting wand rather that totally feeling up everyone who walks in. read more

Don't go here!!! They use a system called PatronScan that tracks and stores data on your ID!!!! They are literally sharing YOUR PERSONAL DATA without your consent. I was "banned" by the grouchy old dude and a week later in LA, 350+miles away, I wasn't allowed into an establishment. Is it really legal or just for one self loathing employee to effect you stare wide? A single establishment maybe but not any further than that. AVOID BADLANDS AT ALL COST!!! and if you do go here I hope you conform to their expectations of "normality" cause otherwise your rights are in jeopardy. read more

Honestly, love this establishment but this guy has to be reported. He did not let our friend in because he tripped in front of his podium while checking IDs. when we tried to calmly talk to him and tell him that our friend was not drunk, the podium was just in the way he told us "to get the fuck out of HIS line and if we didn't he would punch us all in the face" he told us that "he didn't give a fuck" he called us "bitches". So instead of arguing back with him we left and decided to go to the depot. Another bar we love. The bouncers at depot were friendly and let ALL of us into their bar. As soon as we went to order a drink. The bouncer from Badlands told the bouncers at The Depot that we all had to leave. This guy harassed us. Called us bitches, threatened to fight us. THIS IS WHO YOU WANT AS THE FACE OF YOUR ESTABLISHMENT?! Classless and unprofessional. The manager named Marshall at the depot was another rude human being. I asked for the number of his boss and he gave me a fake number. I called to report how we were treated. My issues is this. If you are a bouncer you cannot abuse your power and this guy did. Calling girls bitches. Threatening to punch them in the face?! Unreal. Disgusting behavior. read more

Badlands - Dance Clubs Near Me - Sacramento, California

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We were told we couldn't take our pre-rolls with us in, so we asked if we could bring them back to the car. The door lady, a Sagittarius born on December 5th, old white lady, don't know her name but was security at the door said she had to confiscate them and not let them bring it to the car but let her know when we are leaving and she would give them back. At close we found her and she looked super surprised, told us she lost them. We got the manager and he said he told her to throw them out. We have NEVER had this issue. Then standing outside, three females after close being harassed by men outside while waiting to hear from the manager. Absolutely awful, my sister from the Bay Area was horrified. Especially how the men outside were treating us while the security and manager were trying to tell us the threw away what they said they would hold for us and not let us bring to the car. Only go for drag shows, otherwise security doesn't give a care in the world for humans and their belongings. Karma police come on, she done this before I'm sure. Found out after, she did this to the people behind us, that lady collecting your bud bro and she ok with men harassing "b*tches" as those men said cause we wouldn't appease them, when they do last call you're on your own!!! read more

Affordable and fun filled adventure!! I will say that this place has a nice atmosphere. You just walk in and feel at peace. The bar is great, dance floor has plenty of real estate and there is a patio in the back for resting and conversation. Thank you Badlands!! read more

So last night was the first night and ever that I have gone out to go to a night club I wanted to have a good time and never been clubbing before. I wanted to use the restroom and then all of a sudden 1 min of being there I get escorted to out ? I think that was unfair. I have a current ID and a debit card and was willing to pay for anything I wanted there. And I was walked out. Idk if it was because I look young. Or what but no matter the looks of you are of age. Why the hell are we being walked out. ? It was just me out of my group of 3 that was escorted. So what was the problem?! I had the worse experience for my first time ever. Thanks for turning down a could have been ongoing customer. You lost this one. read more