Hikes in Badlands National Park

Located in southwest South Dakota, the Badlands could not look more different than the surrounding Great Plains. The contrast between Badlands buttes and the surrounding prairie grasses make this a very dramatic national park. Early French trappers and earlier Native Americans gave this landscape similar names meaning "bad lands." This rough terrain of eroded spires and pinnacles must have been hell for travelers in centuries past. ... Read more.
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South Dakota

Door Trail
in Badlands National Park

Badlands | South Dakota | Trails
Trail Rating:
Door Trail in Badlands National Park
The door on this trail is an opening in Badlands Wall that introduces hikers to a rugged world. While nearby Window Trail allows visitors to look over the wall, Door Trail lets you walk through it. A short boardwalk takes hikers through a natural passageway to a viewing platform on the other side. Beyond that, follow a level path across the formidable landscape to overlooks with views into steep eroded canyons. ...Read more.
Tagged with · Badlands · National Parks
Distance: 1 mile · Elevation change: 50 feet
By: Seth Smigelski Published: March 28, 2012 Last updated: December 5, 2025
South Dakota

Window Trail
in Badlands National Park

Badlands | South Dakota | Trails
Trail Rating:
Window Trail in Badlands National Park
You don't need glass to have a window. All you need is a large opening like the one found in Badlands Wall at the end of this short trail in Badlands National Park. Window Trail is a quarter mile round trip with just ten feet of elevation gain - an easy hike that is suitable for all. The start of Window Trail Three hikes begin from this trailhead, Window Trail, Door Trail, and Notch Trail. ...Read more.
Tagged with · Badlands · National Parks
Distance: 0.25 miles · Elevation change: 10 feet
By: Seth Smigelski Published: March 28, 2012 Last updated: December 5, 2025
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