Painted Canyon Nature Trail

Painted Canyon Nature Trail is a 0.9-mile loop from the west end of the Painted Canyon Visitor Center lot, down into the badlands and back to the rim. Plan on about 45 minutes; allow more time if you want to pause at the interpretive signs or take the halfway lookout spur. You get a closer walk among the layered canyon walls, junipers and wildlife instead of seeing the buttes only from above. If the rim view has you wondering what those colors look like up close, this is the walk to take. It is separate from the longer 4.2-mile Painted Canyon Trail east of the overlook.

Start by the kiosks and pavilion at the west end of the visitor center parking lot. The trail is steepest near the trailhead. Wooden bridges and steps help with the descent, but the short distance can fool you: you still have to climb back up to the rim. Every step down has to be regained on the way back to the rim. Several interpretive signs give you reasons to stop along the way, so 45 minutes is a moving-time estimate, not much of a visit if you hurry past everything.

A few recent hikers describe the steep sections as tougher than they expected from the mileage. Older reports mention mud and ruts after rain; those are not current conditions, but they are a reason to slow down if the dirt tread is wet.

About halfway around the loop, a short spur leads to a bench and a lookout over the canyon formations. This is the best place to pause and take in the color bands from inside the badlands. The rim overlook beside the parking lot gives you the broad panorama; the trail gives you a closer sense of the broken slopes and the junipers growing among them.

The bands began as sand, silt and mud carried east by rivers more than 65 million years ago, with volcanic ash settling into the same landscape. Over time those materials hardened into sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and bentonite clay. Later, the Little Missouri River cut into the softer layers and carved the broken badlands. Some lignite coal seams burned, baking the sediment above them into hard red clinker, also called scoria. Those caps wear down more slowly than the softer rock around them, leaving red-topped buttes above gray and brown slopes. On this short walk, look for the contrasting layers rather than expecting one single dramatic landmark at the end.

Take I-94 Exit 32 and park at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center. The center is seasonal, open May through October, with restrooms; picnic tables are nearby. The trailhead is by the kiosks and pavilion at the west end of the lot. Dogs are not allowed on trails anywhere in the park, even though leashed pets may use roads, sidewalks, parking areas and picnic areas. Leave the dog at the car or choose a permitted paved walk instead.