The Trail
The trail was a beautiful winding gradual slope down into the earth. The land went from reds and whites to blues, purples, and grays. Each turn had a new and interesting vista and once at the bottom we were able to wander around a bit and see an enormous sample of petrified wood. By enormous I mean three feet in diameter. Of course, a winding trail down leads to a winding trail up, but the round trip is barely over a mile, and the trail affords some of the most stunning examples multicolored badlands we had ever seen and this trail put us right in the depths of it.
This is one of those "don't touch anything - it is fragile" trails. Pebbles are loosely embedded into the trailside walls, the land is soft, making it neccessary to stick to trails to avoid destruction of the environment, fragile plant life also exists. Fossils, petrified wood, and other precious resources of the park are meant to be left for other visitors to see, and you can always purchase things like this at gift shops outside the park for very low cost. According to protrails.com, this trail permits pets on a leash.