In the Genesis account, what was the Ark’s only specified entrance?

In the Genesis account, the Ark’s specified entrance was a door in its side.

Genesis 6:16 instructs Noah to put a door in the side of the Ark. The same verse mentions an opening near the roof and three decks, but it does not identify that opening as a second entrance. The door is therefore the only entrance explicitly described in the construction instructions.

Many illustrations show large ramps, multiple doors, or open cargo spaces because artists are trying to make the vessel’s interior understandable. Those additions are visual interpretations rather than features clearly stated in Genesis.

The side door also appears in the story’s later movement: Noah, his family, and the animals enter through the commanded structure, and after the waters recede God tells Noah to come out. The text emphasizes divine instructions rather than technical details of ship operation.