Door Trail — Attraction in Kadoka

Great trail, not an easy trail but very cool walk for the adventurous. This site is located to the northwest of the Ben Refeil visitors center just off state road 240. There is a large/long parking lot for several sites at this location. The Door trail can be found off the north end of the parking lot. There is a nice boardwalk type trail that follows around one of the hills and leads to a larger area at the end about 1/8 mile from the parking lot. Now, for the adventurous, there is a path off the trail that is numbered by poles that takes you much farther into the terrain (about ¼ mile). The poles are sometimes hard to see and the trail is definitely not easy in places but, personally, I thought it was well worth the effort and gave you a much better view than just staying on the boardwalk. A must see for the adventurous...

If you want to get up close with the amazing rock formations of the Badlands without a full-on hike, this is a great option. The Door Trail is 0.75 miles long (round-trip), flat, and great for almost all ability levels.

The trail starts off as a boardwalk (100 meters of the hike is on a boardwalk). Once off the boardwalk, you will hike 800 meters into the Badlands, on rough, uneven terrain. The national park service lists this part of the trail as strenuous but I think most people will find it to be easy but fun. Kids will love this short, fun hike.

Tip: The Notch Trail, Door Trail, and Window Trail all start from the same...

Located near the Northeast entrance to the Badlands. Park in the large parking lot and take the accessible boardwalk 1/4 mile for great views of the Badlands. From there you go off roading for at round trip hike of 8/10 mile through the yellow pole marked trail for a view through the “door” into the badlands.

There is absolutely no shade so I suggest a sun hat with strap, sunglasses and sunscreen. Even though it’s considered a short hike we were there in August and it was 97 degrees so bring water.

Some wore mask, some don’t. Social distancing was being practiced. Just enjoy yourself and do you. I would definitely...