Saddle Pass Trail

Saddle Pass Trail is the shortest strenuous hike in Badlands National Park, climbing 200 feet in just 0.3 miles up a steep clay and rock face to reach the top of the badlands wall. The ascent requires using hands on the steeper sections and scrambling over eroded clay ridges, but the view from the top — across the White River Valley to the south and over the badlands spires to the north — is completely out of proportion to the modest distance.

At the top, the trail connects to the longer Castle Trail and Medicine Root Loop, making Saddle Pass a useful access point for extended exploration of the upper prairie. The clay surface is dangerously slippery when wet; even a light rain turns the trail into an impassable mud slick that can strand hikers at the top until conditions dry. Clear dry conditions are essential. Early morning ascents in summer avoid the worst heat and often catch fog sitting in the White River Valley below, creating an extraordinary scene of buttes emerging from a white sea. This trail is often combined with a car shuttle so hikers can descend the gentler Castle Trail rather than backtracking down the steep face.