Trail Etiquette
- Stay on established trails
- Be careful not to damage flora, fauna, or landscape
- Respect other trail users
- Respect private property
- Watch out for rattlesnakes
- Do not harass wildlife - include rattlesnakes
- Leave no trace behind. Please take out what you take in.
- No open fires
Access Points and Trails shown below
(updated January, 2011).
For a much larger view,
try this JPEG (0.7 MB) or, for a page-sized version to print, try
this PDF (0.5 MB).
Location of Badger Mountain Trailheads in Benton County, Washington
(Click on map for larger image in another window)
Skyline Trail - 2.9 miles (hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders)
5305 East 210 PR NE, Richland, WA (which is also the main address
for the Badger Mt Preserve)
- Directions: Take Keene Rd west to Kennedy Rd. Turn left on Kennedy and take it to Dallas Rd. Turn left on Dallas. Go under I-182 overpass and continue to the top of hill.
- Turn left to a parking area up the gravel road and to the right maybe 0.1 mile. See entry photo1, and photo2
- The trail starts out from this parking area.
Canyon Trail - 1.3 miles (hikers)
525 Queensgate Dr, Richland, WA (this address marks Trailhead
Park)
- Directions: Take Keene Rd to Shockley Rd (near Bethel Church), turn right. Take Shockley to the end, where you turn left on Queensgate Dr, and go up the hill to the stop sign, where you turn right on White Bluffs St, and then a left into....
- The parking lot next to the cinder block pump house. From there, follow the trail around Trailhead Park to the base of the mountain and the trailhead.
Sagebrush Trail - 1.0 mile (hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders)
- This trail connects with the Canyon Trail near the top of the steps, above Trailhead Park.
- The other end of the Sagebrush Trail connects with the east end of the Skyline Trail.
See WTA article from the November/December issue about our trailbuilding effort.
See 2005 and 2006 photos of our trailbuilding efforts.
Have any trail questions or comments? Want something improved or fixed? Give me a call (943-3992) or drop me an email to Jim.
Master Plan
Benton County is undertaking a master planning process for parks and open space. For more information on Benton County’s master planning process, contact Adam Fyall, Community Development Coordinator, Benton County Commissioners' Office, 509-736-3053.
The first phase of acquisition of Badger Mountain is complete. Additional phases are being discussed. Thanks to all who donated, volunteered, wrote letters, or helped in other ways.
Access and Trails
Badger Mountain trails are open to the public for muscle-powered sports. One trail built in the fall of 2005 is for hikers only. A second trail built in the fall of 2006 is for hikers, mountain bikers and horse back riders. No motorized vehicles are allowed.
Trail Strategy
Benton County hosted meetings with user groups and the public over the fall, winter and spring of 2007-2008 to get input for a master long range plan for the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, as well as parks and open space in the County in general. The plan is expected to be completed in the fall of 2008.
227,000 Hikers have been counted since
April, 2008
Hikers on Badger Mountain rarely find themselves alone, and they might wonder just how many people take to the trails each year. Now we know. The electronic counters at the base of both the Canyon Trail and the Skyline Trail showed that over 227,000 hikers passed by from Apil 2008 through the end of 2010. You can see the specifics here. It seems like an astronomical number, and is surely one measure of success for the Badger Mountain Preserve.