Badlands

The park's most popular trail — climbs a log ladder through a canyon and along a ledge to a dramatic view of the White River Valley; treacherous when wet

Wheelchair-accessible boardwalk through a break in the Badlands Wall to a panoramic view, then a primitive route across bedrock marked by yellow posts

Short walk to a natural "window" opening in the Badlands Wall with a view of an intricately eroded canyon

The longest trail in the park, a relatively level route between the Door/Window parking area and the Fossil Exhibit Trail

Rolling spur trail through mixed-grass prairie, connecting the Castle and Saddle Pass trails; watch for cactus

One of the shortest trails in the park but also the steepest, climbing the Badlands Wall to the Castle/Medicine Root junction

Boardwalk-and-stairs loop through a shaded juniper grove on the Badlands Wall, with a seasonal pond that draws wildlife

Self-guided, fully accessible boardwalk loop past fossil replicas with tactile, braille-labeled exhibits

The park allows off-trail hiking anywhere; unmarked routes like Deer Haven range from a short there-and-back to a full loop navigated by map, compass, or GPS

Watch park paleontologists clean, identify, and catalog real fossils behind viewing windows at Ben Reifel Visitor Center; free, no reservation

Accessible boardwalk loop displaying casts of the fossils found in the park's Oligocene-epoch rock layers

A historic excavation near Conata Basin that ran 15 field seasons and recovered more than 19,000 fossils

Three-day celebration each July with ranger-led star parties, solar viewing, and guest speakers at Ben Reifel Visitor Center; free, no reservation

Certified by DarkSky International in 2026 after a decade of lighting retrofits across the park; minimal light pollution on this stretch of the Great Plains makes for some of the darkest skies in the Midwest

Free-roaming herds best seen along Sage Creek Rim Road, which overlooks the Badlands Wilderness Area

Often spotted on rocky ledges at Pinnacles Overlook and around Cedar Pass, including Castle Trail and Big Badlands Overlook

Colonies visible right from the road at Roberts Prairie Dog Town, Burns Basin Overlook, and Sage Creek Campground

Ranger-led walk on the ADA-accessible Door Trail boardwalk covering how the Badlands formations came to be · May 17–Sep 7, 2026

Daily talks on Badlands fossil history at the Fossil Exhibit Trail, about 5 miles east of Ben Reifel Visitor Center · May 17–Sep 7, 2026

Easy-to-moderate evening hike exploring the mixed-grass prairie, starting at Ben Reifel Visitor Center · May 17–Sep 7, 2026

Paved and open to cyclists, but narrow with heavy traffic Memorial Day–Labor Day and grades up to 250 ft of elevation change in under 500 meters; bikes are limited to paved, gravel, and dirt roads, not trails or backcountry

Gravel-and-paved loop through rolling grassland with good wildlife-viewing chances, starting at the Loop Road/Sage Creek Rim Road junction

Self-service repair stand located on the west side of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center