South Petrified Forest Trail

South Petrified Forest Trail is a 3-mile out-and-back from the remote Petrified Forest Trailhead to a valley of fossil stumps. It climbs from the badlands onto open prairie, then drops into the southern wood field. Choose this if you want the South section without committing to the roughly 10-mile Petrified Forest Loop. I’d allow about two to three hours for the hike and time to look around.

The walk starts at the lift gate behind the trailhead sign. The path climbs out of broken badlands onto a broad, open prairie, then splits toward separate north and south wood concentrations. Follow the South branch; it drops into a valley where the petrified stumps are scattered across the eroded slopes. This is an unmaintained backcountry route, not a smooth park path: expect steep stretches, loose stone and uneven footing.

The South concentration has fewer stumps than the North field, but it spreads them across a broader area. The larger pieces are farther in, and the open country beyond the grove is part of the payoff. Look southeast across the wilderness; elk are often seen in that direction, though a sighting is never guaranteed. For a photo, frame one of the exposed trunks against the pale, eroded hillside so the wood still reads as part of this landscape.

Around 60 million years ago, this was a swampy river delta with water-loving trees. Mineral-rich groundwater gradually replaced the buried wood with quartz; erosion later exposed the stumps in the badlands. The park has the third-largest concentration of petrified wood in the United States. Leave every stump and stone where it is; collecting park resources is prohibited.

The trailhead is about a 50-minute drive from Medora over dirt and gravel roads. Use the park’s current approved approach from I-94 Exit 10 toward Camels Hump Lake and follow the marked posts; older directions via Exit 23 and West River Road are superseded. There’s no confirmed food, restroom or drinking-water service at the trailhead. Pets aren’t allowed on trails; service animals follow park rules.