BADGER VALLEY TRAIL  

Length 4.5 mi/7.2 km
Access Grand Ridge Trail
USGS Maps Mount Angeles: Maiden Peak
Agency Olympic National Park 

This route to Grand Lake via Badger Valley begins 0.2 mi/0.3 km east of Obstruction Point, 
on the Grand Ridge Trail, at 6050 ft/1844 m elevation. The path descends along Badger Creek 
to its confluence with Grand Creek, then follows the latter up Grand Valley. By combining 
this path with the Grand Pass Trail, the hiker can make an excellent loop trip.

The name Badger Valley has no relation to badgers, which do not live in the Olympics. A 
ranger who patrolled the area years ago had a horse he called Badger. Supposedly he named 
the valley after the animal.

The trail first switchbacks down slopes of barren shale. Near the point where the zigzags 
end, water can be obtained from a brook that flows throughout the summer and fall. The 
trail then descends gradually as it traverses meadowland broken by clusters of subalpine fir 
and Alaska cedar. Wildflowers are abundant, including anemones, thistles, and daisies. 
Directly ahead a barren mountain appears to block the lower valley. This is Emerald Peak, 
which rises about a mile northeast of Grand Lake.

After crossing several brooks, the trail goes through a fringe of trees and out into a big 
meadow where it intersects the Elk Mountain Trail (0.8 mi/1.3 km; 5300 ft/1615 m), which 
climbs to the Grand Ridge Trail. The route then follows a draw to Badger Creek and alternately 
traverses forest and open country before coming out into a huge meadow. Not far below, the trail 
skirts an area where an avalanche destroyed many trees. The big meadow below, the last one on 
the descent, has a scattering of silver fir. western white pine, and Alaska cedar.

The trail then switchbacks down through stands of western hemlock and Douglas-fir. The latter 
are surprisingly large for this high altitude. After descending to an emergency camp 
(2.8 mi/4.6 km; 4000 ft/1219 m), where fires are permitted, the trail crosses Badger Creek 
above its confluence with Grand Creek. The route then traverses avalanche paths and crosses 
Grand Creek on a logjam below a pool and double waterfall.

Here, at the base of Emerald Peak, the trail turns south into Grand Valley and climbs again, 
following the course of Grand Creek. The route breaks out into country where one has views of 
the mountainsides, then recnters the forest. The trail in this section is rocky and eroded, 
thus provides poor footing. An unusual but interesting phenomenon here is the large number of 
trees ornamented with burls.

The trail now climbs sharply as it goes by a 40-foot waterfall. The forest consists mostly 
of subalpinc fir, with a bit of western white pine. The grade then moderates; the path crosses 
Grand Creek and meanders through stands of subalpine fir broken by marshy spots overgrown with 
willow, then comes out to Grand Lake (4.3 mi/ 6.9 km; 4740 ft/1445 m). Here it winds along the 
west side through forest and meadow made colorful by the blooms of wildflowcrs, including 
thistles and pearly everlasting. A side path leads to campsites on the lakes south shore.

The route ends at a junction with the Grand Pass Trail (4.5 mi/7.2 km; 4950 ft/ 1509 m) west 
of Grand Lake.