Hi there!
The Door Trail is a popular hike in Badlands National Park.
You will be hiking with Badlands rock formations around you!
The Door Trail is conveniently located off of the main road that goes through Badlands National Park, and it’s a relatively easy hike.
And you have options on how to hike the Door Trail!
You can simply make this an easy leisurely walk by walking the boardwalk section of Door Trail only.
Or you can make it longer and feel more like you’re “hiking the Badlands” by going beyond the boardwalk to hike a bit more! Recommended!
Where are the Badlands in Nomadland?
One of the Badlands spots that you see in the movie Nomadland is Door Trail in Badlands National Park!
There is a scene in Nomadland in which the main character Fern is walking through the Badlands.
That Nomadland filming location was Door Trail, past the boardwalk!
This means that Door Trail is as seen on TV!
Well, I think it is anyway! It looks like you can see the Door Trail boardwalk in the background!
For another Badlands spot in the movie, Fern also went camping in the Badlands as a camp host, and that filming location was Cedar Pass Campground!
For more Nomadland locations in South Dakota, Fern was also seen driving through the Needles Eye Tunnel (I am pretty sure) and working at Wall Drug!
There is also a scene in which Fern is standing with the Needles of the Black Hills as the vast landscape. You can find similar scenes at stops along the Needles Highway.
And finally, there was another scene of her watching a buffalo. Because of the other scenes surrounding it, my guess is that was Custer State Park.
If you plan to do Door Trail in the Badlands, you can watch Nomadland on Hulu before you go!
More below about how to do the Door Trail!
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Here is a list of places to stay for your South Dakota road trip, and you can read the reviews at partner website booking.com.
- Keystone: Roosevelt Inn Mount Rushmore or K Bar S Lodge, Ascend Hotel Collection
- Keystone is a small gateway town for Mount Rushmore
- Safari tent in Keystone: Under Canvas Mount Rushmore
- Cabin in Keystone: Rockerville Lodge & Cabins
- Spearfish: Best Western Black Hills Lodge
- Spearfish is a small town in the Black Hills
- Right off the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway: Spearfish Canyon Lodge
- Cozy place in Spearfish: Spearfish Cottages
- Custer: Creekside Lodge at Custer State Park Resort or Eagle’s Landing Lodge
- Custer is a small gateway town for Custer State Park in the Black Hills
- Rapid City: Best Western Plus Rapid City Rushmore
- Rapid City is the big city near Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills
- Wall: Best Western Plains Motel
- Wall is the small gateway town for Badlands National Park
- Cabin in Wall: Badlands Frontier Cabins
- Hulett, Wyoming: Best Western Devils Tower Inn
- Hulett is a gateway town for Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, a day trip that's often done from South Dakota. If you're headed onwards west to Yellowstone, this can make for a good overnight stop
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How to do the Door Trail
To do the Door Trail, you will go to the Door / Window / Notch parking lot. You will find this directly off of the main road that goes through Badlands National Park, which is the Badlands Loop Road.
Because of the convenient location off the main road, Door Trail is one of the easy things to do in Badlands National Park.
It is one big parking lot for the different trails (Door, Window, Notch), and this is where you will find parking near the Door trailhead.
When you are in the parking lot facing the Badlands in front of you, the Door Trail will be on the far left of the parking lot.
👆 When you are at the parking lot and facing this direction of the Badlands, the Door Trail is on the far left end of the parking lot.
And then you will see the Door Trail.
There is also a bathroom near the Door Trail.
So once you are ready to start hiking, as long as you are on the correct side of the parking lot, the start of the Door Trail is obvious. You’ll look for the trailhead sign.
And off you go to hike the Door Trail!
Once you get started on the trail, the views at the end of the boardwalk trail of Door Trail might be like 5 minutes away.
If you decide to continue further, then the end of the trail might be around 20 minutes away from the time you start!
It’s easy to get off the trails in Badlands National Park without realizing it, so if you’re following an official trail, always look for the next trail post!
Same goes for Door Trail once you leave the boardwalk!
Although it’s not really a difficult hike, it is always a good idea to be wearing good shoes if you are going out hiking the Badlands.
The natural surface of the Badlands can be dry loose rock which can be slippery.
If you hike out further, then you might spend a total of around 30-45 minutes out on the trail round trip.
And then you’ll come to a sign that marks the end of the trail.
After you’ve taken in the views, you can head back on the Door Trail the same way you came!
Here is how the National Park Service describes the Door Trail:
A wheelchair-accessible 1/4 mile boardwalk leads through a break in the Badlands Wall known as “the Door” to a panoramic view of the Badlands.
From there, the maintained trail ends and continues onto Badlands bedrock, with yellow posts marking the primitive portion of the trail.
Travel beyond this point is at your own risk.
What to do near the Door Trail?!
You’ve got options!
The parking lot of the Door Trail is also the start of other trails!
Once you’ve finished up the Door Trail, you can then drive down to the other side of the parking lot to start the Window Trail or the Notch Trail! (The Notch Trail is the iconic Badlands ladder hike!)
Or, you could just walk to Window or Notch from Door Trail too, but driving there means you get to cool off in the car’s AC for at least a little bit. The Badlands are hot! Just saying! No shame in wanting to get a bit of a cool down when it’s in the 90s… or higher! 😜
Or, you can also start the Castle Trail that’s located in the middle of the parking lot across the road, which means that parking near Door Trail will be just fine for starting the Castle Trail.
Stay safe in hot weather, even if you don’t think you’ll be out on the trail for very long!
Carry a water bottle with you any time you step out of the car!
You never know if you’ll want to wander around the nearby rock formations, which means you may be out in that hot weather longer than you intended!
Also always have a gallon jug or 2 (or more) in your car for easy fill-up of water… and so you’ll always have access to water!
When you’re at the Door Trail parking lot, look out for wildlife too! I saw bighorn sheep in Badlands National Park at the parking lot!
HAPPY ENTERING THE DOOR TRAIL!
More for Badlands trip planning:
- Best hikes in Badlands National Park
- Best campgrounds in Badlands National Park
- Things to do in Badlands National Park
- Badlands National Park to Yellowstone National Park
- Badlands National Park to Mount Rushmore
- Best places to visit in South Dakota
Here are some ideas for a classic South Dakota road trip going from east to west!
After you go to Badlands National Park, you can head west to Wall Drug and then onwards to Mount Rushmore!
You've made it to the Black Hills, where you'll find Custer State Park.
While you're in the area, you can also go to Wind Cave National Park and/or Jewel Cave National Monument and/or the Mammoth Site!
Drive the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway on your way west out of the Black Hills and South Dakota as you continue your epic road trip to Devils Tower National Monument and Wyoming!
Then, onwards to the best places to visit in Wyoming with your grand finale of Wyoming being one day in Yellowstone National Park!
Read more for your South Dakota road trip: Best places to visit in South Dakota
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