Painted Canyon: Your Introduction to Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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From the east, your first introduction to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s badlands is Painted Canyon.

Painted Canyon Overlook at Theodore Roosevelt National Park south unit
Painted Canyon Overlook at Theodore Roosevelt National Park south unit.

Location of Painted Canyon in North Dakota

Theodore Roosevelt National Park sign at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.
Obligatory picture at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park sign at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.

Painted Canyon is located 7 miles east of the main entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit and is named for its vivid layers.

Below is a Google map of Painted Canyon Visitor Center in North Billings, ND 58622. It is VERY hard to miss and a common pull off for many truckers on Interstate 94. 

After many hours of travel from south Florida to North Dakota, we made it to the Painted Canyon Visitor Center before sunset. It’s incredible driving east after passing Belfield, ND and seeing the scenery just change completely the closer you get to Medora as you enter the real badlands! The NPS does note that Painted Canyon is not technically a park entrance, as the South Unit’s Scenic Drive begins 7 miles west in Medora.

Painted Canyon Hiking Trail Options

Overlook of the North Dakota badlands along the paved pathway at Painted Canyon Visitor Center.
Overlook of the North Dakota badlands along the paved pathway at Painted Canyon Visitor Center.

There are two trail options at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center: 

  1. A 1 mile nature trail that drops steeply into the canyon but is very manageable for beginner – advanced level hikers (we did this one).
  2. A 4.3 mile trail that explores more of the landscape deeper into the badlands (we weren’t up for this long of a trail after so much travel time, plane cancellations, and delays).

You can also choose to simply walk around the visitor center which has a paved pathway with many overlooks and educational signs. This is where Painted Canyon Overlook is located, a completely ADA accessible and absolutely incredible view of the badland formations. 

Hiking Painted Canyon Nature Trail

A couple hiking along the Painted Canyon Nature Trail at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Hiking the Painted Canyon Nature Trail.

Trail Stats:

  • Time: 30 minutes to complete
  • Distance: 0.9 mile loop trail (1.4 km)
  • Difficulty: Moderate due to some steep grade in and out of the badlands, with some stairs along the trail.

Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying the badlands seemed to “hardly properly to belong to this earth.”

A bison grazing near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park sign in North Dakota
A bison grazing near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park sign.

That evening, we saw a small herd of four horses way in the distance, and two bison grazing at the National Park sign! It was an incredible introduction to the park!

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