Badlands Door, Window & Notch Trail Loop

The Door, Window, and Notch trails in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, offer three distinct short hikes clustered near the eastern end of the Badlands Loop Road (SD-240), approximately 8 miles east of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. Each trail showcases a different aspect of the park's eroded landscape of buttes, spires, and canyon walls. Access requires a Badlands National Park entry fee of $35 USD per vehicle, valid for seven days. Driving from I-90, take Exit 131 near Interior and follow SD-240 west into the park; the trailhead parking area is clearly signed.

The Door Trail (0.75 miles one-way) leads through a literal gap in the badlands wall — a natural breach that opens onto a vast wilderness of eroded spires. A paved boardwalk covers the first section before transitioning to a marked path across rough terrain. The Window Trail (0.25 miles one-way) is the shortest of the three, ending at a natural window frame of eroded rock overlooking a valley of pinnacles — one of the most photographed viewpoints in the park. The Notch Trail (1.5 miles one-way) is the most adventurous, crossing a dry creek bed before ascending a fixed log ladder bolted to a canyon wall, then traversing a narrow exposed ledge to a high overlook above the White River Valley. The ladder and ledge section is exposed with minimal fall protection and requires a head for heights.

All three trails are fully exposed with no shade. Summer midday temperatures in the badlands regularly exceed 100°F (38°C), and heat exhaustion is a documented risk for unprepared visitors. No water sources exist anywhere within Badlands National Park; a minimum of 2 liters per person is critical if combining all three trails. Trail surfaces are predominantly compacted clay and dried mudstone, which become dangerously slippery when wet. Rattlesnakes are present; watch footing carefully on rock sections. There are no shelters on any of the three trails.