Hiking Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail | Olympic NP, WA

Besides Wing Walking, the other memorable adventure on our trip to the Olympic National Park in Washington is hiking the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail. The funny thing is, this trail wasn’t even on our itinerary for the trip. Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail is located at the end of the steep Obstruction Point Road in the popular Hurricane Ridge section of Olympic National Park. This trail is steep and strenuous, however, you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views the entire way. If you hike this trail at the right time, you also get to see beautiful meadows full of wildflowers and adorable little marmots and deer.

Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surrounding areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti, no taking artifacts or fossilized items, and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!

Stats

Where

Obstruction Point Trailhead
47.918347, -123.382180

Parking

There is a big dirt parking lot in front of the trailhead.

Restroom

There are restrooms at the trailhead.

Fee

Olympic National Park charges a fee to enter. You can also use your America the Beautiful Pass here. For more info, check out their website.

Need to Know

Hurricane Ridge Road and Obstruction Point Road may be closed at any time due to weather-related conditions. Please check the park website or call 360-565-3131 for the current road status.
There are bears and cougars on the trail. Make sure to hike prepared.

Distance

8.6 mi Loop

Elevation Gain

2,657 ft

Level

Streneous.

Time:

5-7 hours

Pet-friendly

Dogs aren’t allowed on trail.

Ideal Time

The best times to visit this trail are July through October. Go early! Because it can get hot during the day, and you’ll have plenty of sunlight to get back to the car. The temperature drops significantly as soon as it gets dark.

Weather

Video

Getting There

The trailhead for the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail is at the end of Obstruction Point Road on Hurricane Ridge. From Port Angeles, turn onto S Race Street. This road turns into Hurricane Ridge Road. Follow Hurricane Ridge road for about 17.5 miles. Right before getting to the parking lot for the visitor center, make a sharp left onto the dirt road for Obstruction Point Road. It is easy to miss this turn since it is a very sharp left. Obstruction Point Road is a gravel, narrow, winding mountain road with steep drop-offs so be careful when driving on this road. It is suitable for all cards except for RVs or trailers.

Please note that both Hurricane Ridge Road and Obstruction Point Road may be closed at any time due to weather-related conditions, so, make sure to check before you leave. You can either check the park website or call 360-565-3131 for the current road status.

The Start of the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail

After getting to the small parking lot for the trailhead, we were blown away by how beautiful the scenery is, even before the hike. Tall mountain peaks surround the area, all covered in green grass, pine trees, and wildflowers. Even in August, there was still a lot of snow in the area. There is a big wooden sign at the trailhead with trail directions. Most people that attempt the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail start this hike clockwise by taking the trail on the left to Badger Valley first. Supposedly, if you go clockwise, the ascent back up isn’t as bad as going counter-clockwise. At first, we only wanted to do an out-and-back trail to Grand Lake so we actually did this trail counter-clockwise.

We followed the small trail on the right-hand side of the wooden sign to ascend the hill. This trail is fairly straightforward with directional signs at different junctions so it was quite easy to follow. The trail goes up and down, weaving through patches of snow and pine trees. It also switches from a dirt trail to a rocky path. Along the way, we couldn’t help but stop to take tons of photos. The scenery was just so beautiful all around. There were snowscape mountains looming in the background. Pine trees and wildflowers dotted along the trail. It was a photographer’s dream come true.

The Descent to Grand Lake

At about 1.7 miles, the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail starts its fairly steep descent. About 2 miles in, we reached the switchback section. From the top of the switchbacks, we could see the gorgeous, turquoise color Grand Lake at the bottom. The gem-like lake, cradled in between the looming mountains and dense pine trees seemed to beckon us to come down and enjoy its beautiful water. The switchback section is very steep. At the end of it, the trail meanders in between pine forests before reaching the shoreline of Grand Lake.

Grand Lake

Once we got here, we ran into a group of hikers that came from the Badger Valley direction of the loop. They convinced us to do the full loop instead of doing an out-and-back route. So, we followed the directional sign at the trail junction and went left to circle around the lake. As the trail circled around part of the lake, we found a few spots that gave us amazing views of the lake. We still couldn’t believe how clear the water was. It was very beautiful.

Down to the Watercourse

After saying goodbye to the gorgeous Grand Lake, we followed the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail to cross through lush vegetation, pine trees, and wildflowers. Along the way, we hiked over 2 wooden bridges. The second bridge crosses over small but beautiful waterfalls. There were tons of bugs at this part of the trail. Even with bug spray, they didn’t want to leave us alone. So, make sure to bring bug spray!

The Meadows

Once leaving the watercourse, the trail starts to ascend. It snakes through one of our favorite sections of the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail, the meadows full of wildflowers. In the first week of August, the wildflowers were still in full bloom. They covered the trail with a pop of colors. It felt like we were inside the Sound of Music. Along the way, we also had a lucky encounter with the adorable little marmots and even a deer walking on the trail toward us.

The Ascend

After passing the meadows, the trail crests along the side of the hill and starts its steep ascend. At this point, all the beautiful flowers and lush vegetation gave way to a rocky trail that goes along small patches of green grass and snow. It also turns into a switchback. At the top of the steep switchback, we were at the last intersection. Going left takes us back to the parking lot of Obstruction Point while going right will go to Deer Park. This hike to Deer Park is a whole different adventure. After hiking for 9 miles with a 2,700ft gain in elevation, Dustin and I were ready to sit down in our car. So, we went left to get back to the parking lot.

As tired as we were at the end of the hike, the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail was one heck of an adventure. It was so beautiful and hard enough that we felt like we just accomplished a great feast! The trail was quite well maintained and even though it seemed like we were hiking in the backcountry, it also felt very safe. Well, except for the bears and cougars, which we didn’t encounter. 😊We 100% recommend hiking the Badger Valley to Grand Lake Loop Trail if you visit Olympic National Park. Now, if you’re looking for easy hikes with great rewards in the area, check out Sol Duc Falls, Marymere Falls, and Devil’s Punchbowl.

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.