Door Trail
What to Expect
Safety Advisory
Beyond the boardwalk, the trail surface is loose, crumbly clay that gets dangerously slick when wet — after any rain, stick to the paved section or risk a nasty fall on terrain that's essentially wet pottery.
There is zero shade on this trail. In summer, surface temperatures on the exposed rock and clay can exceed what the air temperature suggests by a wide margin, so even a short walk can lead to heat exhaustion if you're not hydrated.
Trail Details
- 1
Arrive before 8 AM or after 5 PM in summer — the parking lot at the Door/Window trailhead is one of the busiest on the Badlands Loop Road and fills by mid-morning.
- 2
Walk past where most people stop at the boardwalk's end. A faint path continues into the formations for another few hundred yards, and the crowds thin dramatically once the pavement disappears — just stay on the worn track.
- 3
The striped layers in the rock walls photograph best in low-angle light. Golden hour turns the formations orange and throws long shadows into the gullies, giving the landscape real depth that harsh midday sun flattens out entirely.