Badger Mountain - Trailhead Park Loop

The Trailhead Park Loop hike combines all of the Canyon Trail and Sagebrush Trail plus the east end of the Skyline Trail to form a loop hike a little over 3 miles long. The loop lets you sample Badger Mountain's charms, taking you from the parking lot to the summit quickly on the steep Canyon Trail, before letting you catch your second wind. You can then enjoy the views and solitude of the south side of the mountain before meandering among old growth sagebrush on the east end.The loop is commonly done by taking the Canyon Trail to the summit and then returning via the Sagebrush Trail. This direction is favored because you get the challenge of going up the Canyon's 15% grade and returning on the easier and less knee-pounding under 10% grade back down. The trails are 3 1/2 feet wide, mostly smooth with a packed crushed rock surface.Take the path from the Trailhead Park parking lot to the official start of the Canyon Trail by the trailhead sign board. After climbing up the more than 60 steps, there is a junction. Continue straight ahead;you'll be returning on the other branch. Another 400 feet ahead look across the gulley - there is a cluster of granite boulders embedded into the hillside. These were deposited by an ice raft during the Ice Age Floods, the last one about 12,000 years ago. At 0.4 miles there is a bench to rest on;at 0.5 miles you'll head around the corner on an open ridge with great views of the Tri-Cities. Further along the ridge is the Lake Lewis marker. During the Ice Age Floods, this was about as high as the waters rose. Stand a moment and visualize the waves lapping at your feet while most everything you can see would have been deep under water. In a little over a quarter mile, that trail passes a stone bench at the switchback corner where you can grab a quick rest.At just past the one mile marker is the hiker-only sign;turn around and soak in the great views from Rattlesnake Mountain to the west, the Saddle Mountains and White Bluffs above the Columbia River to the northwest, the Tri-Cities just in front, and the Blue Mountains to the east. In clear weather, Mount Stuart can be seen as a triangular peak on the horizon to the northwest. The trail continues up and to the left of the communication towers and then drops to connect up with the Skyline Trail. From the backside of the towers, there are great views to the east, south, and west. Mount Hood, Adams, and Rainier can be seen on clear days. You continue on the loop by going east on the Skyline Trail.For the next 0.7 miles, the trail gradually descends through scattered sagebrush and grasses. The view to the south is dominated by the large apple orchard that runs along the entire south side of Badger Mountain. For a few weeks in the spring it is full of blossoms, in the fall the orchard can fill 10,000 of those giant wooden boxes. After .7 miles, you cross the service road. The route from here for the next .4 miles wanders through sagebrush. About a quarter mile from the service road is the junction with the Langdon Trail and the Sagebrush Trail. Take the curve to the left to continue. After the way breaks into open hillside covered in dryland grasses, at the second switchback corner is an unsigned junction. Take the hard left and continue to the junction with the Canyon Trail in another 450 feet. This leaves you at the top of the steps. On the way back stop at the kiosk and read up on the Ice Age Floods.

Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve was formed in 2005. A group of concerned citizens joined together, raised the funds to purchase the lands, and turned it over to Benton County to be used for this park. The trails have been built and maintained by volunteers mostly using hand tools. The Canyon Trail was built in 2005, and the Trailhead Park Loop was formed in 2010 when the Sagebrush Trail and east end of the Skyline Trail were built.