Theodore Roosevelt National Park · North Dakota

Coal Vein Nature Trail

0.8 mi of trail, end to end · Hike Coal Vein Trail: 0.8 mi loop in the Service's write-up · about 30 ft of climbing · 2,478 ft–2,511 ft

Exhibits

2,504 ft 2,511 ft · 0.7 mi high 2,511 ft

Along the way Wayside Exhibit - "Hell with Fire Out"

Trailhead Coal Vein Trailhead 2,510 ft Drive there

Hike Coal Vein Trail 0.8 mi loop · the Park Service's write-up

30-45 Minutes · no dogs · season Trail conditions may be dangerous or slippery due to inclement weather. Speak to a ranger for more details.

Start Coal Vein Trailhead

A trail winds through low buttes under a blue sky, with grass and flowers growing around it.
Coal Vein Trail Photo: NPS Photo/L. Thomas

You've seen the beautiful red clinker capping the tops of buttes throughout the Little Missouri badlands. But where does it come from?

Coal Vein Trail answers this and many more of your geology questions along its 0.8-mile length. Pick up one of the trail guides from the trailhead and go on a self-guided tour of the small loop, learning about clinker, bentonite, and the coal seam that burned here for more than 25 years!

Hikers should wear proper footwear and keep away from steep cliff edges.

It is illegal to remove any resource from a national park. Leave any flower, stone, or other object where you find it so that other visitors can enjoy it as well.

It is illegal to carve, paint, or otherwise alter anything in a national park.

Pets Pets are welcome in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. However, they are only allowed in certain areas. Leashed pets may be walked along roads and road shoulders, sidewalks, parking areas, and in campgrounds and picnic areas. More information: Visiting with Pets .

Accessibility Coal Vein Trail is an unpaved trail which includes uneven footing, steep stairs, and potential slip hazards. Hikers should keep away from steep cliff edges. Proper footwear is recommended. Service animals are allowed, but must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 34 trails in Theodore Roosevelt National ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.