This loop is one of my favorite hikes, due to a couple of factors. First of all, it’s a beautiful hike in Badlands National Park that begins with a hike up the side of the badlands and ends going back down them. Between the two, the Medicine Root Loop passes through wide-open prairies, while the Castle Trails consists of fields of amazing rock formations. The other reason the hike is one of my favorites is because I thought about it for three years before I finally got to take it. My first visit to Badlands NP was plagued by a brutal rain storm. Despite that fact, I drove to the Saddle Pass Trailhead, with every intention of completing the hike, but it only took a few steps to find-out it simply wouldn’t be possible. So, by the time I got to make the hike in 2022, the anticipation was sky high and didn’t seem possible that it could live-up to the expectations I had for it, but it did. Hopefully, I’ll get to revisit this one some day.
AllTrails Recording
Image Gallery
- Saddle Pass Trailhead The hike begins at Saddle Pass Trailhead.
- Ascending the Entrance Hill Along the hill after the entrance.
- View From Top At the end of the hill after the entrance, I got this view south towards Interior, South Dakota.
- Medicine Root Trail The first half of the hike is through a prarie.
- Castle Trail The landscape changes drastically during the second half of the hike.
- Tracks Probably from the bighorn sheep that call the area home.
- Castle Trail Panorama
- Castle Trail Mountain
Video Gallery
- Snake of Medicine Root Loop Trail View Location It wasn't a rattlesnake.
- Desending Saddle Pass View Location A bit of my trip down Saddle Pass Trail until I needed to drop the camera in favor of having an extra hand to keep myself from falling.
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