Parking
Use the signed Deer Haven Trailhead at Conata Picnic Area off Conata Basin Road, by the backcountry register past the restrooms. Auto and bus/RV parking, a picnic table, and a restroom are available at the lot; capacity is not specified.
Overview
About Deer Haven Trail
Why go
- A vivid juniper alcove gives the open Badlands a distinct green payoff.
- The basin is reachable without the optional upper-shelf scramble.
Heads up
- The unmaintained tread branches and fades near the destination.
- The open approach has little shade and unreliable water.
The junipers stand out as a green pocket against the open, striped Badlands, and the grove becomes visible before you reach it. The final approach is faint rather than a maintained path, so expect to choose your way across the wash and brush. Some hikers continue up the steep, loose slope beyond the basin for broader plateau views; that optional scramble is outside this route and requires hands-and-feet movement.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Badlands map
Full mapElevation2,608–2,897 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Badlands alert
- ClosureNotch Trail closed for ladder repairsNotch Trail and all areas within 100 feet of the designated trail are closed; do not enter the closure area.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Badlands Tour Guide
Your drive to Deer Haven Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Badlands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Badlands audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Conata Picnic Area and Deer Haven0:00 / 0:35
“You're coming up on Conata Picnic Area, with sheltered tables below striped badland slopes. It's a useful lunch stop if you've brought food.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Badlands Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Yellow Mounds and Conata Basin
- Conata Basin's Ferret Comeback
- What an Oreodont's Teeth Reveal
- Homestead Overlook
- 116 audio storiesacross Badlands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Bighorn Sheep, Prairie Dog, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 11 trails, 34 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We recently toured Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and more! We learned so much from this app as we toured each of these sites. The audio tours are worth the money.”
Trail guide
Hiking Deer Haven Trail
An unmarked route to a green basinDeer Haven is about a 6-mile out-and-back from Conata Picnic Area to a small juniper alcove in…
Deer Haven is about a 6-mile out-and-back from Conata Picnic Area to a small juniper alcove in the Sage Creek Wilderness. It follows an unmaintained network of game paths, not a signed trail. Allow roughly 3 to 5 hours and come ready to navigate with a map or GPS. Published distances run from about 5 miles to nearly 7 as the faint paths wander and people explore; this estimate covers the return to the basin, before the optional upper shelf scramble.
Across the open basinStart at the backcountry register and follow the sandy path over a low rise into the drainages.
Start at the backcountry register and follow the sandy path over a low rise into the drainages. At the early fork, the more direct route stays left and low; climbing straight into the formations leads away from the walk. The path crosses open grassland, passes reeds and a small tree clump, skirts a narrow gap, then bends around a low badland. Keep track of the line at each split. The tread thins through brush and fades at a broad pale wash, where game paths continue toward the trees. Finding the same corridor on the way back takes attention too.
Access and limitsThere is a restroom and backcountry register at the Conata Picnic Area trailhead.
There is a restroom and backcountry register at the Conata Picnic Area trailhead. The approach is exposed, water is unreliable in the Sage Creek backcountry, and dogs are prohibited on hiking trails and in backcountry areas. If you want a marked path or easy wayfinding, choose another Badlands trail.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Badlands
760 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
1,061 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
906 sightingsPrairie DogMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
333 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
304 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
87 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Badlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
