Door Trail - Badlands National Park

Just ¼ mile north of the Window trailhead is the Door trailhead. The trailheads are located in the same large parking area located between milepost 2.5 and 2.8 on the Badlands Loop Road. The Door trailhead is near the northern end of the parking area at milepost 2.5. To reach the trailhead from the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, drive about 2.3 miles northeast on the Badlands Loop Road. Both the large paved parking area and the trailhead are on the south (compass east) side of the road.

The trail is rated as easy by the National Park Service. The first 700 feet of the trail is an ADA-compliant boardwalk with handrails at inclines and elevated locations. Like the Window Trail, the boardwalk provides close-up views of the landscape that aren't possible from the road. About 100 feet before the end of the boardwalk, a short set of stairs leads down to the badlands.

The remaining 0.3 miles of the trail may not be suitable for all visitors because it crosses the natural surface of the badlands with only a series of yellow posts to mark the route. Deep ravines have been eroded into the landscape on both sides of the trail. When wet, the bentonite clay expands and is extremely slippery. The round-trip distance is 0.9 miles.

This is a very heavily trafficked trail due to its short distance, easy rating, and proximity to the road. If you are looking for solitude, this probably isn't the trail for you. We did notice that many people stayed near the boardwalk and didn't venture out very far into the badlands. We walked the trail in August 2017 during our visit to Badlands National Park.

Boardwalk through the upper prairie near the trailhead

The "Door"

Wall to the left of the door

Boardwalk extension to viewpoint

Benches at the end of the boardwalk

View from the railing

Looking down at the results of erosion

View from the left bench

View from the right bench

Numbered trail marker

Looking back at the end of the boardwalk

Vegetation in the damp bottom of a gully

Fractured landscape of the badlands

Badlands Wall

Another view of the wall

Water has cut deep chasms into the clay rock

Carved by stormwater runoff

Another trail marker and more of the wall

The wall is a massive feature in the park

Looking back at "The Door"

Another deep ravine

Tunnel carved by water

More of the badlands

A small butte to the northeast

Trail passes through this gap

The crowds dissipated the further we walked

This ravine provides water, shade, and shelter from wind for these plants

With no easy way forward, it is time to enjoy the view

Ravines on both sides

The aptly named Big Badlands

Reminds me of the Grand Canyon

The Wall

An entrance fee of $20 admits all the passengers of a single vehicle for seven consecutive days to Badlands National Park. A fee of $10 applies to motorcyclists. Other entrance fee options include a Badlands National Park Annual Pass for $40, an Every Kid in a Park 4th Grade Pass for free, and a variety of America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes providing access to most national park, national forest, and BLM fee areas

• Annual Pass for $80
• Military Pass for free
• Lifetime Senior Pass for $80 or $20 annually for those age 62 and older
• Access Pass for free for visitors with a permanent disability

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/badl.