Hi there!
There are a number of shorter hikes in Badlands National Park.
And there is basically just one official longer hike in Badlands National Park.
And that is the Castle Trail!
So if you want a solid day hike in the Badlands, the Castle Trail can be it! You can make it into a 10 mile round trip hike.
And, the nice thing about the Castle Trail is that even if 10 miles seems like more than you want to hike for one reason or another, you can still hike a portion of it and it can be worth it. Consider it “section hiking” the Castle Trail!
In short, I think hiking even just making it a 30 minute hike on the Castle Trail from either end of the trail can be a worthy hike.
There are different ways that you can start hiking the Castle Trail, so there are different places for Castle Trail parking.
So, you can start from the Door Window Notch parking lot and hike the Castle Trail for 10-15 minutes and then turn around.
Share the Castle Trail video with the people you’ll be traveling to South Dakota with!
Or you can start from the Fossil Exhibit parking lot and hike the Castle Trail for 10-15 minute and then turn around.
Or, you can just hike the whole trail as an out-and-back hike from either parking lot.
The Castle Trail can also be combined with the Medicine Root Trail as a loop trail.
When starting the Castle Trail one either end, you’ll start off by hiking in what you imagine to be the Badlands (with the towering rock formations), and then the trail opens up to be hiking across grasslands, while still getting the views of the Badlands.
Castle Trail is mostly flat.
Always look for the next trail post!
It isn’t too hard to get off-trail in Badlands National Park.
Know that you are following the Castle Trail by always being on the lookout for the next trail marker!
That said, Badlands National Park does have an “open-hike” policy. This means that you can go off-trail if you see some rock formations that you want to get closer to. Of course, take care when doing so!
More below on where to park for hiking the Castle Trail!
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Castle Trail hiking MAP
First, for ease of understanding, here is the National Park Service hiking map.
You can refer to this map to better understand the various options you have for where to start hiking the Castle Trail!
You can see that the Castle Trail can start/end along the Badlands Loop Road on one end (near Door Trail, Window Trail, Notch Trail), and it also can start/end on another part of Badlands Loop Road on the other end (near Fossil Exhibit Trail).
The Castle Trail is around 5 miles long one way. So this is one way you can estimate how long each section is approximately.
How to hike the Castle Trail
You really can’t go wrong hiking from any of these spots. It will just give you a different experience. I do think that either ends provide the best “Badlands” experience, so consider adding at least one end to your Castle Trail hike!
1. Hike the Castle Trail from Door Window Notch Trail parking
The Door Trail, the Window Trail, and the Notch Trail all start from the same parking lot. This parking lot is right along Badlands Loop Road.
This is one end of Castle Trail, so you can also start the Castle Trail from the Door Window Notch parking lot.
You can hike the full 5 miles of Castle Trail one way from here… and back. This can also be a good spot to hike for just 10-15 minutes going out for a nice hike through the South Dakota Badlands. So you can make it a shorter hike for 30 minutes to an hour too. Just turn around when you feel happy with what you’ve seen!
The Castle Trail basically starts around the middle of the parking lot. It’s across the road from the big parking lot.
As you’re driving along Badlands Loop Road, you won’t be able to miss this parking lot as it’s very obvious. You can then start to look for a crosswalk. That’s your indication for where the Castle Trail starts, and that’s your indication for the area to park!
From the parking lot, you’ll use that crosswalk to get to the Castle Trail.
This will likely be the Castle trailhead with the most people because the Door Window Notch trails are among the most popular in Badlands National Park.
Hiking from near the Door Window Notch trail parking lot:
- Hiking the Castle Trail to Saddle Pass is around 4 miles one way.
- Hiking the Castle Trail to Fossil Exhibit Trail is around 5 miles one way.
I have no idea what the “castle” is… 😬🤔
There is a bathroom at the Door Window Notch trailhead.
2. Hike the Castle Trail from Fossil Exhibit Trail parking
The Fossil Exhibit Trail parking lot is right along Badlands Loop Road.
The Fossil Exhibit Trail is also one end of Castle Trail, so you can also start the Castle Trail from the Fossil Exhibit Trail.
Once again, you can hike the full 5 miles of Castle Trail one way from here… and back.
And once again, this can also be a good spot to hike for just 10-15 minutes going out for a nice hike through the South Dakota Badlands. Just turn around when you feel happy with what you’ve seen to make it a shorter 30 minute hike or a 1 hour hike!
The Fossil Trail parking lot is also obvious and the Castle Trail starts across the road from the parking lot. So again you can look for a crosswalk to get to Castle Trail.
Hiking from near the Fossil Exhibit trail parking lot:
- Hiking the Castle Trail to Saddle Pass is around 2 miles one way.
- Hiking the Castle Trail to Door Trail is around 6 miles one way.
- Hiking the Castle Trail to Window Trail is around 6 miles one way.
- Hiking the Castle Trail to Notch Trail is around 6 miles one way.
I think the reason these are listed at 6 miles and not 5 miles is because once you have reached Badlands Loop Road, you’ll have extra walking to do to get to each of these trails. (Although it is probably not a full mile, so I would guess it’s closer to 5.5+ miles… maybe.)
There is a bathroom at the Fossil Exhibit trailhead.
3. Hike the Castle Trail from Saddle Pass Trail parking
The Saddle Pass Trail parking lot is right along Badlands Loop Road.
This is the start for Castle Trail that requires the most amount of effort.
Starting from here means that you will need to hike the Saddle Pass Trail in order to get to the Castle Trail.
Castle Trail is mostly flat, but if you start at Saddle Pass Trail, then you’ll be getting a big hill to start you hike!
The surface in the Badlands can be dry loose gravel, so that can make for a slippery trail when it’s steep like on the Saddle Pass Trail.
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Once you get to the top of the Saddle Pass Trail, you’ll come to the trail junction.
Then you can hike the Medicine Root Trail to connect to Castle Trail, or you can start hiking directly on the Castle Trail in either direction.
There is no bathroom at the Saddle Pass trailhead.
See more about starting the Castle Trail: Hiking up the Saddle Pass Trail
Also right in front of the Saddle Pass Trail parking lot is where I saw bighorn sheep!
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4. Hike the Castle Trail from Old Northeast Road parking
Old Northeast Road can be found off of Badlands Loop Road. It’s a gravel road that you will be driving on.
This is probably the Castle Trailhead that the least amount of people start from.
If you want a trailhead that will have you feel like you’re in a more remote area, then you might want to start the Castle Trail from Old Northeast Road!
In reality, you’re not that far off the main road, but since less people drive this way, it will just feel that way! You will be starting your hike with fewer cars around in the parking area and fewer cars driving past you.
Once at the Old Northeast Road trailhead, you can hike the Castle Trail to Door Trail… and back.
And once you’ve made it to the far end of Castle Trail, you can add on a hike of the Door Trail (going beyond the boardwalk), Window Trail, or Notch Trail! All of these will give you classic views of the Badlands. (You can drive directly to the start of each of these trails, but you can also hike them as an add-on to your Castle Trail hike since you’re here!)
If you’re starting the Castle Trail from Door Trail, you can also make Old Northeast Road your “destination” and then turn around here.
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Or, from Old Northeast Road, instead of hiking to Door Window Notch, you can also hike in the opposite direction, and you can hike the Medicine Root Trail or Castle Trail to Saddle Pass or to Fossil Exhibit Trail… and back.
There is no bathroom at the Old Northeast Road trailhead.
And that’s a bit about starting a hike on the Castle Trail in Badlands National Park!
HAPPY HIKING THE CASTLE TRAIL!
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