Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / North Dakota / Badlands

Upper Paddock and Talkington Loop

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit (Medora)

The Upper Paddock and Talkington Loop links badlands valleys and a high rim in the southeast part of the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, east of Medora. The NPS lists it at 15.4 miles, or 19.4 miles if you start from the Painted Canyon area, and estimates 8 to 10 hours.

The NPS lists it with day-hike times, but the park allows backcountry camping anywhere that meets its setbacks with a free permit, so it can be split into an overnight.

The hike

The FKT route page says you can reach the loop from parking areas on the Scenic Loop Drive, a short spur off Government Creek Road on its east side, or the 2-mile Painted Canyon Trail from the south. The Scenic Loop Drive reopened on Nov. 25, 2025, after a section sank in 2019, according to Green Matters.

SummitPost’s writer describes the Talkington Trail as 7.9 miles in all: the Lower Talkington west of the park road, and the 3.8-mile Upper Talkington east of it. The FKT author says Upper Talkington gains elevation going east until it climbs onto the rim; SummitPost’s writer, hiking it the other way, started on a flat plateau and passed badland hills and a prairie dog town on the way down to the road. The FKT author says the loop follows the rim for about 1.5 miles; SummitPost measured 2.1 miles between the Talkington and Paddock Creek junctions and warns of a drop of about 200 feet off the rim’s edge.

From the rim, the Upper Paddock Creek Trail heads back west “into the rock formations,” passes the Painted Canyon Trail junction, and returns to the park road. SummitPost’s writer found some Paddock Creek crossings “very muddy” with standing water, and went off route at the base of a hill where “trails seemed to go in every direction.” National Parks Traveler says the creek crossings are usually dry but may be seasonally wet.

The FKT author’s watch showed a little more than 16 miles and 1,500 feet of ascent. He describes “spectacular sandstone and clay formations,” notes that bison use Paddock Creek and that wild horses and mule deer are likely sightings, and says that the trail is marked mainly by wooden posts cut at an angle on top. For the park’s backcountry in general, National Parks Traveler warns of prairie rattlesnakes, ticks, and poison ivy, and says storms, flash floods, and extreme heat can arrive quickly.

The park uses fire here. In spring 2026, it closed the Rim, Upper and Lower Paddock, and Talkington trails during prescribed burns, according to an NPS news release.

The Maah Daah Hey Trail crosses the western side of the South Unit; see Rough Rider State Park to Magpie. In the North Unit, the Achenbach Trail is a longer loop with two river fords.

Tips

Camping

A free backcountry permit is required for any overnight stay. Get it at the South Unit Visitor Center in Medora; the Painted Canyon Visitor Center does not issue them (NPS). There are no established sites. Camp at least a quarter mile from roads and trailheads, 200 feet from water, and out of sight of any road or trail. Groups are limited to 10 people without horses, stays to 14 consecutive days. Open fires are banned; self-contained stoves only, and those may be restricted during high fire danger. Pets, bicycles, and motorized equipment are prohibited, and toilet paper must be packed out.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific site on this loop were found. Elsewhere in the South Unit, a family that backpacked in 2020 (MN Is For Lovers) camped on top of Big Plateau after a ranger suggested it, and noted that finding a campsite along the Coal Vein Trail would have been tricky.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Carrying every drop on the rim:

With no drinkable water on the Paddock and Talkington loop, every liter counts, so pick meals that don't waste it. See the trail meals testers keep coming back to.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.