Hiking the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail in Badlands National Park
Distance: 0.5 miles / 0.8 km
The Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, often called the Cliff Shelf Trail, in Badlands National Park is a unique loop trail along a series of boardwalks that traverses one of the park’s most biodiverse areas, filled with beautiful trees, native wildflowers, and so much more!
This is what makes the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail so different from almost every other day hike in the park, in that the vast majority of other trails across the wide-open prairie have few—if any—trees, which are often very sporadic.
However, the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail is quite literally the opposite of this trend, as the short 0.5-mile (0.8 km) loop traverses a literal hotspot of biodiversity unlike anywhere else in Badlands National Park!
Cliff Shelf Nature Trailhead Parking
The Cliff Shelf Nature Trail is located just up the hill from the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, or about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) down the hill from Cedar Pass.
That said, the parking area is quite small—unlike the Millard Ridge Trailhead just up the road—but if all the available spaces are taken, there is additional parking off Badlands Loop Road just outside of the main parking lot.
Google Maps Directions: Cliff Shelf Nature Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Badlands
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Badlands National Park.
Hiking the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail
The Cliff Shelf Nature Trail begins on a series of boardwalks that climb about 90 ft. (27 m) from the trailhead to the uppermost portions of the loop.
For those also visiting Mount Rushmore on a trip to western South Dakota, the Cliff Shelf Trail is most similar to the nearby Presidential Trail within the National Memorial, which also has quite a bit of elevation change over the course of the short loop.
Cliff Shelf Nature Loop Trail
After just a few steps, the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail splits into a 0.4-mile (0.6 km) loop around the Juniper-dominated forest along the Badlands Wall.
That said, I don’t think it makes much of a difference which direction you choose to hike the loop, but in this article, I chose to go straight (right) in the counterclockwise direction.
There truly are few places in Badlands National Park that are this forested!
This is where the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail begins climbing the steepest sections of the hike to the top of the loop.
These berries are from a Rocky Mountain Juniper, which is the dominant tree species throughout the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail.
This is the very top of the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, meaning that from this point on, the loop will follow a mostly downhill path back to the beginning.
If you pause and look up and to the right at the Badlands Wall, you may just spot hikers here at the very end of the Notch Trail!
After the loop leaves the boardwalk, the trail becomes more gradual as it continues descending back to the beginning.
Truly, few areas have this much shade as the Cliff Shelf Loop Trail in Badlands National Park, which is why I always recommend wearing a hooded sun shirt when hiking other trails in the park!
According to the National Park Service, 206 species of birds have been documented in Badlands National Park, many of which can be found right here on the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail!
Cliff Shelf Nature Loop Junction
This is where the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail completes the short 0.4-mile (0.6 km) loop.
Once here, go right to return to the trailhead, a little less than 0.1 miles (0.2 km) away.
