Parking
Start at the Talkington Trail roadside pullout on Scenic Loop Drive, near mile marker 18. Use this roadside access; the Upper Paddock/Talkington Loop is a different, longer itinerary.
Overview
About Upper Talkington Trail
Why go
- Open grassland and badlands with a prairie dog town
- A direct out and back to the Rim Trail
Heads up
- Very exposed with little shade
- A short stretch is hard to follow on foot
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Theodore Roosevelt map
Full mapElevation2,441–2,782 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Theodore Roosevelt alerts
- ClosureRidgeline Nature Trail inaccessibleDo not plan to use the South Unit’s Ridgeline Nature Trail; it is currently inaccessible because of a road collapse. - The trail is 0.6 mile long.Official details
- InfoChanged access route to Petrified Forest trailheadUse the approved legal route from I-94 Exit 10 to reach the Petrified Forest trailhead; follow the clearly marked posts.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Theodore Roosevelt Tour Guide
Your drive to Upper Talkington Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Theodore Roosevelt 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.
Recorded for this trailhead
Talkington Trailhead: A Half-Day Walk0:00 / 0:29
“You're nearing Talkington trailhead, a starting point for a half-day walk through open grassland and badlands.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Theodore Roosevelt Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Buck Hill: Ripple Marks at the Summit
- A View Through Our Galaxy
- Chorus Frogs at Coal Vein
- Coal Vein Trail: The Ground Above the Fire
- 45 audio storiesacross Theodore Roosevelt’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Wild Horse, Wapiti, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 38 trails, 35 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Upper Talkington Trail
A long, open out-and-backUpper Talkington Trail is a 7.
Upper Talkington Trail is a 7.6-mile out-and-back from the Talkington roadside pullout near Scenic Loop Drive's mile marker 18 to the Rim Trail junction and back. It crosses open grassland and badland gullies before reaching a flat plateau at Rim Trail. Allow about 3–4 hours. This is a half-day walk for people who want to spend time in open country; it is not a quick overlook stop. The road-to-rim section is about 3.8 miles each way.
Keep the route handyPosts mark most of the way, but the tread becomes hard to see for a short stretch through a…
Posts mark most of the way, but the tread becomes hard to see for a short stretch through a prairie dog town. Save an offline map before setting out and avoid summer midday heat; the route is very exposed with little shade. This entry covers only the roadside-to-Rim Trail segment and its return. The Upper Paddock/Talkington Loop is a separate, much longer itinerary that shares part of this trail.
Across the prairie and badlandsThe open route crosses a prairie dog town and rolling badland slopes, then meets Rim Trail on a…
The open route crosses a prairie dog town and rolling badland slopes, then meets Rim Trail on a flat plateau. From that plateau, the western edge drops into the badlands below. Prairie dogs are the wildlife you're most likely to notice, though bison, feral horses, coyotes and pronghorn also live in the area. Keep at least 25 yards from wildlife. Pets are prohibited on park trails, and natural water sources are not potable, so carry the water you need for the return.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Theodore Roosevelt
1,082 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
346 sightingsWild HorseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
27 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
45 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
87 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
162 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Theodore Roosevelt. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
