Yesterday we headed into the Bisti Badlands (aka the De-Na-Zin Wilderness) and didn't quite know what to expect! We had read that this is a very remote area and to be cautious when hiking because the trails are unmarked. Honestly, it was easier than we thought once we did the research and headed there. The scenery was worth it -- this area is like an alien landscape filled with hodoos, petrified wood, strange rock formations and more.

You can read about it on the official BLM website here.

Choosing a Trailhead

First things first, you'll need to decide what part of Bisti you want to visit. There are two trailheads: one in the east (listed on Google Maps as De-Na-Zin Parking/Access) and one in the west (on Google Maps as Bisti Badlands Trailhead).

Map of the Bisti Badlands (sourced from blm.gov)

Bisti Badlands Trailhead (West)

Amenities: This trailhead has a large parking area, a vault toilet (well maintained with two bathrooms!) and a nice covered picnic area with two tables. Access on Google Maps here.

Sights to See: There are quite a few sights on the map from this side of the wilderness area, including: the "egg hatchery," the petrified logs, the bisti rock gardens and more.

Picnic Area at the Trailhead

De-Na-Zin Parking Access (East)

This trailhead doesn't have toilets or a picnic area that we are aware of. There also appear to be some sights on the map such as "log jam" but it wasn't enough to get us there. Needless to say, we chose to camp and hike at the Bisti Badlands Trailhead above.

Camping

In BLM land, you can camp in most places as long as you're not blocking anything or interfering with official uses of the land. We were very happy to make our camp in the parking area of the Bisti Badlands trailhead above. The proximity to bathrooms and a nice covered picnic area was too good to resist. After a brief storm passed by, we were treated to a lovely rainbow above, so we think it's safe to say the land was happy we were there too.

Bisti smiles upon us

This ended up being a great place to camp. It wasn't crowded, only two other groups were there camping (but we were there on a Tuesday night, so it might not always be like that). The parking was nice and level (we didn't use any levelers at all! That rarely happens even in established campgrounds).

Is There Cell Reception Here?

Surprisingly to us, yes! Actually throughout the entire hike and during our camping experience, we had cell reception. It really isn't quite as remote as it seems.

Finding and Following the Trails

That said, how are you supposed to find the trails to the various sights and feel confident you can get back? The sign offers some help but not enough to head out there with.

Points of interest on the trailhead map

After some research, we centered upon AllTrails as a good solution. They have an Android and iOS app, and allow you to download a park offline, such as Bisti. There is a subscription fee but you can get a 7 day free trial if you haven't used it before. Once you've done that, the app will show many trails you can choose from.

AllTrails shows trails in Bisti

Once you select one, you can navigate this trail just as if it was well marked, just keep checking your phone periodically to see if your GPS location is on the trail! This made it really easy to get where we wanted to be and even highlighted many of the sights.

Navigating with AllTrails

Our Adventure on the Bisti Badlands Trail

We chose the Bisti Badlands trail from the screenshot above. At 4.7 miles, it was a bit long compared to many hikes we've done. Yet, Wesley (our 5 year old), did great! He spent most of the hike imagining things.

You enter from right next to the picnic area and cross a fence into the wilderness. The landscape is otherwordly.

Otherwordly landscape

It wasn't too hard to follow the trail in. the AllTrails app. The walk was mostly flat and we had to cross a few dry channels where water flows, but otherwise just wind around small hills and try to find the sights pictured on the map.

The first we came to was the "egg hatchery" (here on Google Maps). This was a collection of rocks that looked a bit like eggs on pedestals and had these crazy swirl patterns in the rock face.

egg hatchery

From there, we came up on the "Petrified Logs" which were actual, real logs that seemed to have been hardened like a rock. It really was uncanny how they looked like ordinary wood, but if you touch them, they were completely solid.

Petrified Logs

We then came across the "Flat Arch" which looks way bigger in the picture than it actually is. You can barely stick your head through that hole. It comes up to about waist height.

Flat Arch

Last but not least, we took a turn from the main path the trail had been traveling back towards the parking area to go see the "Chocolate Hodoos." This involved a little bit more of a scramble up and over some hills and descending into a bit of a ravine, but we were surrounded by hodoos on all sides. This was a pretty cool area to see.

Chocolate Hoodoos

All in all, we'd definitely recommend the Bisti Badlands. It sounds intimidating at first, but once you figure out where to go and how to find your way, it's really not that hard to enjoy the unique landscape here!