Kinney Coulee Trail

The Kinney Coulee Trail explores the core of Makoshika State Park, the largest state park in Montana, where the eroded badlands terrain has yielded some of the most significant dinosaur fossil discoveries in North America. The route descends into and climbs out of a dramatic coulee carved through millions of years of Hell Creek Formation sediment, the same geological layer that produced Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex specimens now displayed in museums worldwide.

The trail surface alternates between firm clay, loose bentonite, and crumbling shale depending on recent precipitation, making route-finding straightforward but footing occasionally treacherous after rain. Fossil fragments and petrified wood are visible throughout the eroded terrain, and interpretive signage helps visitors identify significant geological features and understand the ancient environment these dinosaurs inhabited 66 million years ago. The badlands landscape itself is spectacular regardless of paleontological interest, with sculpted hoodoos, layered canyon walls, and distant vistas across the Yellowstone River valley. Pronghorn are common throughout the park, and golden eagles hunt the open grassland edges. The loop returns through higher terrain with views back into the coulee system and across the broad Montana prairie beyond park boundaries.