We spent Memorial Day weekend in The Dalles in order to cross a few “to-dos” off our hiking list. Our first stop was a two-for-one hike in the Badger Creek Wilderness. The plan was to make a loop out of the School Canyon and Little Badger Trails which would allow us to cross those trails off the list of hikes we still hadn’t done featured in our Matt Reeder guidebooks (Off the Beaten Trail). The School Canyon Trail is featured in his “PDX Hiking 365” (1st edition) and The Little Badger Trail is covered in “Off the Beaten Trail” (2nd edition).
The two trailheads are 3.5 road miles apart but only about a half mile separates them in a direct line. Both Reeder and the entry in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide mention avoiding the longer road walk by cutting cross country suggesting slightly different routes and having differing opinions on difficulty. Based on the two hike descriptions and a recent discussion in the Oregon Hikers Forum it appeared to me that the “best” solution was to bushwack downhill from Forest Road 27 to the Little Badger Trailhead roughly a half mile from the School Canyon Trailhead. I arrived at this conclusion based on our belief that going down is easier than climbing up and by comparing Google Earth imagery with a topographic map. I was looking for the least steep looking open hillside which would limit the number of downed trees we might encounter. Prior to leaving I added waypoints to our GPS units to mark where I thought we should leave the road and one at the Little Badger Trailhead so we could easily see what we were aiming for.
We left Salem extra early and arrived at the School Canyon Trailhead about a quarter after seven.
From the trailhead we headed left (SE) on FR 27 until we reached the waypoint I had created then looked for an open spot to start the cross-country portion of the hike.
We headed off through the trees here.
After passing through a small stand of trees the views opened up to the SW where Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte stood out on the horizon.
Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte (post).
Gordon Butte in the foreground.
Our route steepened as we headed downhill among a number of different wildflowers.
Balsamroot and oak trees.
Buckwheat and balsamroot
Whitestem frasera with Mt. Jefferson in the background.
Rough eyelashweed
Paintbrush
We picked up a faint path, not sure if it was a game or use trail.
As we neared the Little Badger Trailhead we entered another stand of trees.
Lupine and ponderosa pines.
We popped out of the trees on FR 2710 less than 20 yards from the Little Badger Trail.
The trailhead is on the opposite side of FR 2710 from the trail.
Sign at the start of the Little Badger Trail.
After the half mile road walk and 0.6-miles cross country we were now on official trail and quickly entered the Badger Creek Wilderness.
Badger Creek Wilderness sign next to Little Badger Creek.
For the first two miles the trail stuck closely to the creek.
Groundsel
Woodland stars
Little Badger Creek
Fairy slipper
The trail then climbed a little higher on the hillside as it continued further into the wilderness.
American vetch
Bastard toadflax
Duskywing on sagebrush false dandelion.
Balsamroot
Bee coming in for a landing on phacelia.
Sticky cinquefoil
Western wood-pewee
Madia
Brown elfin (and another pollinator) on Oregon sunshine.
Starflower
Mahala mat along the trail.
Duskywing on blue-eyed Mary
Largeleaf sandwort along the trail.
Skunk cabbage
Red-flowering currant
Duskywing on arnica
Silvercrown
Oregon grape
Last of the trillium.
Plumed solomonseal
The trail had begun a descent back to the creek at the 3-mile mark and just under 4-miles from the trailhead we arrived at the site of the former Kinzel Mine Cabin.
What’s left of the cabin.
Little Badger Creek at the cabin site.
We took a brief break at the cabin to prepare for the nearly 900′ climb to reach the School Canyon Trail. After the break we walked past the cabin remains and forked left to visit the old Kinzel Mine.
Anemone
There was a short climb before reaching the spur trail.
Spur trail to the mine.
The old mine. We did not go in as wildlife do sometimes use it for shelter.
Ballhead waterleaf near the mine.
After visiting the mine we returned to the main trail and began the steep 0.7-mile climb to the School Canyon Trail. This was a challengingly steep ascent, but there were plenty of wildflowers, wildlife, and views to distract us.
Western tanager
A stand of oaks ahead.
Balsamroot along the trail.
Paintbrush
Buckwheat
Juniper trees
Threadleaf phacelia
Signpost ahead for the trail junction.
We took a much-needed break at the junction before detouring left (west) on the School Canyon Trail for a tenth of a mile to a spur trail on the left that led to a Helispot Viewpoint where there were several rock pinnacles.
Wildflowers along the trail.
The spur trail on the left to the Helispot.
Penstemon
Pine Hollow Reservoir in Central Oregon.
We returned to the junction after visiting the helispot and followed the School Canyon Trail as it gradually descended to a ridge below Ball Point.
Woodland star
This was the most significant obstacle we had to navigate on the entire loop.
Yarrow
A dogwood on top of the rocks and penstemon below.
First view of Ball Point.
Penstemon
From the ridge we could faintly make out Broken Top and the Three Sisters.
The Three Sisters on the right and Broken Top with Tam McArthur Rim (post) to the left.
Pen Point across the Tygh Creek Valley.
The trail left the ridge and traversed the hillside around Ball Point.
Passing through the 2009 Ball Point Fire scar.
Pen Point toward the center and the taller Hootnanny Point to the right.
Death camas
View east as we came around Ball Point.
Desert yellow fleabane.
Prairie smoke aka Old Man’s Whiskers
On the far side of Ball Point the trail descended fairly steeply along a ridge covered in wildflowers and a view of Mt. Jefferson.
Heather coming down the ridge.
I think this is a western racer.
The trail dropped off the ridge and descended just over a mile to the trailhead. The wildflowers and views were nice along this entire stretch.
Looking up at the ridge.
A clarkia
Lewis’ woodpecker
Lizard
On last view of Mt. Jefferson
Ball Point
Butterfly on whitestem frasera
Signs at the trailhead.
The loop ended up being 9.9-miles with 2150′ of elevation gain.
Orange is the road + cross country portion.
We really enjoyed the variety this hike provided, and we only saw two other hikers all day. The climb from the cabin site to the School Canyon trail was tough but we were glad to have tackled it. We checked in to our room in The Dalles and after having dinner and picking up some snacks for the room we turned in so we could get another early start the following day. Happy Trails!
Flickr: School Canyon-Little Badger Loop
This trail is part of the 
Damaged footbridge over Morganroth Creek at the 0.2-mile mark.
The Wetland Loop Trail split off just beyond Morganroth Creek. I stayed right and planned on returning via the loop.
This was a muddy trail which isn’t surprising for an area that receives 120″ of rain (3 meters) on average annually.
Youth-on-Age
Approaching the Bogachiel River.
Bogachiel River
The other end of the Wetland Loop was approximately a half mile from the Olympic National Park boundary.
Kahkwa Creek. The log down in the distance was crossable but I opted to ford the creek on my first pass.
Ford at Kahkwa Creek.
Signs at the park boundary. The trail name changes here to the Bogachiel River Trail.
Wilderness permits for back country camping. At this point I was not only in the park but also the 
The dry creek where I turned around.
The log crossing over Kahkwa Creek.
The Wetland Loop Trail junction was near the Kahkwa Creek crossing.
The Wetland Loop began along Kahkwa Creek.
Skunk cabbage
The Wetland Loop traversed up and down along a hillside above some wetlands.
Scouler’s corydalis
Wetlands below the loop trail.
Completing the loop.
Fairy lanterns
James and Little James Islands
The beach was mostly small pebbles to start. Our steps often sunk more than expecting requiring more effort than we’d have guessed. We spent quite a bit of time trying to find the most solid ground.
Our footsteps on the beach.
Stump in the sand.
Ellen Creek. The creek flowed under the beach and emerged shortly before the ocean.
Seagull
Bald eagle
Looking back through the arch.
This racoon was searching the tide pools for breakfast.
Looking back toward Hole-in-the-Wall.
Many of the dark spots on these rocks are the small crabs.
Does anyone know what this is?
Oyster catcher
Cormorants
Cape Johnson in the distance.
Paintbrush
Unnamed creek not quite making it to the ocean above ground.
Cape Johnson
I turned around at the slide ahead.
Hermit crab shells
A good example of the challenging terrain.
Seagull, oyster catchers, and a cormorant.
Paintbrush on the cliffs above the beach.
Hole-in-the-Wall and James Island back in view.
Not a great picture due to the extreme zoom and low lighting. After looking closer at this photo I began thinking it was just a rock in the surf. Then I looked at the next photo and what would be the foot and the head were in different positions.
Possible sea otter.
The area around Hole-in-the-Wall was a lot busier on the way back.
Driftwood on the beach.
Heather spotted this little starfish while exploring the tide pools near the arch.
Heather also spotted this which we believe is a velella velella.
Starfish and anemones
Bald eagels
On the jetty looking at James Island.
La Push across the river.
Sea lion in the river.
Heading back to the trailhead along the jetty.
The jetty is actually part of the Quileute Indian Reservation.
Hall of Mosses pointer.
Spring fed Taft Creek.
Start of the one-way loop.
Interpretive sign along the loop.
Looking up from the interpretive sign.
Maple Grove
Nursery log
Fallen sign for the Spruce Nature Trail.
This was another interpretive loop.
Hoh River from the trail.
This huge root ball was hosting its own mini forest.
Taft Creek
The trail extends all the way up to Glacier Meadows below Mt. Olympus.
Violet
Fungi
Another type of violet.
Hoh River
Bunchberry and strawberry bramble
Slug
Trillium
Squirrel
One of the “ups”.
Star flower
Hoh River
Mineral Creek
Scouler’s corydalis along Mineral Creek.
Mineral Creek Falls
Unnamed creek a short distance beyond Mineral Creek.
Waterfall on the unnamed creek.
Sign for the spur trail to Mount Tom Creek Camp.
Wren
Vanilla leaf
Water droplet on a vanilla leaf.
More violets
Salmonberry along the trail.
Big leaf maple canopy.
There were a few obstacles such as this closer to 5 Mile Island.
Cougar Creek crossing.
Marker at the spur trail for 5 Mile Island Camp.
Hoh River at 5 Mile Island Camp.
View upriver from the same spot.
Privy at 5 Mile Island Camp.
Crow
Cat Peak, Mount Carrie, and Ruth Peak partly under clouds.
Cat Peak
We saw a lot of robins, on this hike and the over the next four days.
Slug
Candy flower
Almost back to the trailhead.
There were a couple of downed trees and at least one spot where part of the tread had given way on the hillside. A bigger issue was the broken glass and other garbage left by mouth breathers that was littered about.
It was just over a third of a mile to the falls.
Beaver Creek below the falls.
Trail snail
Fringecup
Starflower
Fairy lanterns
Scouler’s corydalis
Bleeding heart
False lily of the valley
Highway 30 crossing.
Sign along the section of trail between the highway and the fish hatchery.
Trail pointer on the shelter at the fish hatchery.
Youth-on-age
Numbering on a tree for the interpretive trails.
Bigfoot off the Gnat Creek Trail.
Trillium
Huckleberry blossoms and a downed tree along the Gnat Creek Trail.
Scouler’s corydalis along the trail.
The start of the short loop.
One of two benches along the loop.
Gnat Creek from the bench.
The backside of the loop was a little overgrown.
Star-flowered Solomonseal
We mostly stayed right at junctions to keep along the creek.
Barrier Falls
Unnamed waterfall near the hatchery trailhead.
Mill Creek from the bridge.
Stellar’s jay
Chipmunk
Loon Lake
The lake was formed by a landslide. The boulders in the Mill Creek picture above were part of that landslide.
Trillium
This was our first hike in the Elliott State Forest and possibly only hike given the forest webpage states under “There are no established trails, restrooms, or trash receptacles.”
Fairy lanterns
Given that the unnamed stream that feeds the waterfall appears to start just a bit further uphill I suspect it doesn’t often have much of a flow, but it was a decent waterfall in a lovely setting.
A very short path led down to the waterfall.
Camp Creek Falls. The rock here is sandstone which creates the 31′ stairstep cascade.
Snail
Before reaching Highway 38 I had to pull over to get a couple of photos of an elk herd.
Camas
Not sure why this was lying on the side of the trail away from the trailhead, but it provides information on the seasonal allowed usage of the units.
Geese
Roses
Channel along the dikes.
Rough-skinned newt
Slug
Snail
Made it out.
Bench along Coyote Creek
I should have gone this direction. The presence of the bench should have tipped me off.
Overgrown but in the right spot.
The orange section is where I turned right instead of left as I should have. I estimate that going the correct way would have added approximately 0.75-miles. I don’t know what type of condition the other section of trail through the woods is in.
Road to Fisher Butte,
Camas
Bird viewing platfrom.
Red-winged blackbird
Bullfrog. They were everywhere and continuously startled us when they would make a loud “alarm” sound before jumping into the water.
We turned left at the platform onto this dike.
Sparrow
Blue-winged teals. This was the first time seeing this species during Wildlife Week. We had seen a couple of these ducks back in 2021 at Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon (
Another big field of camas.
Fisher Butte at the end of another dike.
Geese in formation.
Checkerbloom
Blue sky, a far cry from the low clouds and showers we’d driven through in the Eugene area earlier in the morning.
Geese and cinnamon teals.
I needed a more powerful camera to make out the various ducks and other birds we were seeing in the distance.
There were a number of great blue herons hunting in the wetlands.
Another viewing platfrom.
Looking toward the Royal Avenue Unit.
Pelicans. Another species that I hadn’t seen at any other wildlife area this week.
Purple martin
One of at least a half dozen American bitterns that we saw in flight. We were unable to spot any before or after they were in flight.
Swallows in flight
There was a lot happening in this part of the unit.
White pelicans and a mute swan (non-native)
Geese
Another first this week – greater white fronted geese. It’s a blurry photo but it was the best I could do given their distance.
Goose passing the swan.
Same goose passing a pelican.
Northern shoveler
Hawk
Another large group of various ducks and other birds.
Bald eagles
Two types of camas
Heading back to the trailhead along the side of Fisher Butte.
Flax
The final stretch of Wildlife Week.
All trails are open from February 1st through September 30th, then from October 1st through November 30th the final 1.3-mile stretch to the right (south) is closed, and there is no hiking allowed during hunting season from December 1st to January 31st.
Geese
Osprey
Killdeer
Meadow checker-mallow
Wood ducks
Northern shovelers
Ducks, geese, and a heron.
Scrunched heron
Stretched heron (same heron)
Sparrow
A different heron and a duck.
Yep, it’s a nutria.
Spotted sandpiper
One of several benches located along the dikes.
American coot
Gadwall
Dove
Crow
American kestrel
Swallow
Cinnamon teals having a disagreement.
End of the trail to the south.
View from the end of the trail.
Wood ducks
Robin
Short billed dowitchers
Green winged teal
Hooded merganser and a gadwall
Ring-necked ducks
Heading to the left (NNE) now.
Red-winged blackbird
Egrets, herons, and ducks.
Great blue heron and egret
Cinnamon teal and northern shoveler
Hooded mergansers and a cinnamon teal
Northern shovelers and a northern pintail on the right.
California quail
End of the trail in this direction.
My 3.3-mile track with minimal elevation gain.
Swallow
Osprey
Killdeer
American coot
Mallard
Anna’s hummingbird
A bit of the pink on it’s throat.
Ring-necked ducks
Bald eagle
Gadwalls
Song sparrow
Purple martins
Pied billed grebe
Mallard and ducklings
Mallards
Fringecup
Rabbit
Sandpipers
Ground squirrel
American goldfinch. I’d seen a number of these this week but had only managed a picture of the back of one at Finley Wildlife Refuge.
The orange track is a portion of the Wetland Trail that I had not previously hiked.
Mt. Hood from the Wetlands Trail.
I spotted a couple of deer shortly after setting out.
I believe this is a savannah sparrow.
Geese families
Killdeer
It was just under 40 degrees Fahrenheit when I started, but the forecast called for temperatures to reach 80 by the afternoon.
Geese, goslings, and goose eggs.
Sandpiper
Not sure what type of fish this is but they were thrashing about near the shoreline, and I had seen similar behavior the day before in McFadden Marsh at Finley NWR.
Duck and ducklings
Sleeping nutria
Purple martins and a swallow (bottom left).
Egrets and a great blue heron.
Closer look at the egrets and heron.
Robin
Mallard
Sandpipers
Riverside Trail
Tualatin River
Song sparrow
Inside-out flower
The Ridgetop Trail to the left. There is a bench and railed overlook but the view is blocked by trees. If there hadn’t been any leaves there may have been a view but today there wasn’t.
The only trillium I saw with any petals left.
Bleeding heart
Northern flicker
I spotted an American kestrel in this snag. I had been hoping to see one during this week’s hikes.
American kestrel
Crow
Northern shoveler
Wildflowers near the trailhead.
Lupine, plectritis, checkerbloom, and golden paintbrush.
This route came to 4.4-miles and just 35′ of elevation gain.
Camas
Larkspur
Not a native wildflower but pretty.
Columbine
Rabbit
The look on their faces seems to indicate they were not expecting to see me there.
Going back the other way.
Karaoke
Helpful maps and/or pointers are located at trail junctions.
Swallow
Swallows
Cinnamon Teal
Ring-necked ducks
Purple martins
Canada geese
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail passing Oak Island Marsh.
Crow harassing an osprey over Oak Island Marsh.
I thought flamingos were pink.
American coot in NW Pond.
Another napping nutria.
Robin
Gadwall
Egrets at Wapato Marsh.
Great blue heron in Pintail Pond.
Lupine along the trail.
Green winged teal
Heading toward Salamander Slough.
Two turtles and a mallard.
Long billed dowitcher
Cabbage white?
Checkerbloom along the Coyote Hill Trail.
Common yellowthroat
Savannah sparrow
Spotted towhee
Tualatin River
Deer crossing Pintail Pond. I think these are the same three I saw earlier.
I’ve been spotted.
Rabbit on the left along the River Trail.
Salmonberry
Western meadowrue
Wild rose
Stairs leading to the trail on the River Trail.
The orange loop is the Mill Hill Loop.
The orange section on the right is my detour with the solid cyan representing the 2024 route. (Other colored lines are from the other previous visits.)
Rabbit
Sunrise view
Mt. Jefferson
I hadn’t gotten very far before I spotted a couple of elk ahead.
Coyote
I stopped here not wanting to get any closer and waited to see what the elk would do.
The lead bull here seemed to have a leadership role because once he emerged and headed across the field the herd followed and then circled up.
On my 2024 hike I had turned left here on the track at the edge of the photo, but with the elk out there I stayed straight(ish) along the tree line. Apparently that is part of the Prairie Extension Trail, but it was a more obvious path and there was an equally obvious path that angled off the extension trail back to the main Prairie Trail.
It was a wet muddy hike this time of year.
Camas and buttercups
McFadden Marsh sending up a light fog.
Wood ducks
Northern shoveler
Mallards, a green winged teal, a cinnamon teal, and a wood duck.
Ruddy duck
I’m sure it’s a nutria, it’s almost always a nutria.
Cinnamon teals
Female wood duck
Bald eagles on the far side of the marsh.
Blackbird
Buffleheads
Great blue heron
Green winged teals and American wigeons
Dove
Marsh wren
Heron hanging out near the Mcfadden Marsh blind.
Egrets and ducks
Egrets
Robin
There were actually two bitterns.
Their camo is so good.
American coot
Swallows
Pied billed grebe
Ring-necked duck
Cinnamon teals
Manroot and the Cheadle Barn
California scrub jay
Bittern flying over the Cheadle Barn Pond with Pigeon Butte in the background.
Iris and golden paintbrush on the side of Pigeon Butte.
Golden paintbrush and I guess the beetle counts as wildlife.
Savanah sparrow near the Finger Ponds.
Geese in a field near the Finger Ponds.
Turkey vulture
Goose and goslings in Cabell Marsh.
Great blue heron at Cabell Marsh.
American goldfinch near Cabell Marsh.
California quail near Cattail Pond.
Pied billed grebe at Cattail Pond.
Camas along the Cattail Pond Trail.
Pacific waterleaf along the Beaver Pond Trail.
Checker lily along the Beaver Pond Trail.
Fairy lanterns along the Beaver Pond Trail.
Giant white wake-robin along the Beaver Pond Trail.
Bullfrogs and blackbirds were all I saw at the Beaver Pond.
Turkeys along the Beaver Pond Trail near Park Headquarters.
The start and end of the Mill Hill Loop.
Yellow violets in the midst of invasive herb robert.
Bleeding heart
Gray squirrel
Star flower
Spotted coralroot
I’d once spotted a turtle on this log in a pond below the Mill Hill Loop so I took a picture hoping for another one. Instead I got a bullfrog.
Mallards in the same pond.
Solomonseal
Tolmie’s mariposa lily
The forest is pretty along the Mill Hill Loop.
Poet’s shooting star
Small-flowered woodland-star
The end and start of the Mill Hill Loop.
Tough-leaved iris
There were a bunch of bullfrogs sunning at the little pond along the Woodpecker Loop.
Lomatium on the Woodpecker Loop.
Woodpecker Loop Overlook. I took a break on the bench here and changed into dry socks after having a snack.
This northern harrier was putting on an aerial display while I took my break.
Wildflowers along Bald Hill.
Wild rose
Checkerbloom
Tough-leaved iris and golden paintbrush
More turkeys along Finley Refuge Road.
Cabell Barn across from the entrance road to the Cabell Marsh Trail.
Honeybee swarm along the road to the Cabell Marsh Trail. It looks a little like a heart.
This end of Cabell Marsh was practically deserted. My guess was that there was plenty of water right now in less visited areas, so the birds were avoiding this area for now.
You can almost always count on a coot though.
Cormorants out on a log in the middle of the marsh.
Homer Campbell Boardwalk
Wood ducks. These might have been the first significant wildlife I’d seen from the boardwalk. It’s a really neat trail I just rarely see any wildlife from it (with the exception of the shelter).
Turkey vulture flying over Turtle Flats.
Turtles at Turtle Flats!
You can actually see some of the route I explored on the left side between Parvipes Marsh and the butte and at the bottom of the picture wrapping around the butte.
Manroot
Camas
Plectritis
Checkerbloom
Tolmie’s mariposa lilies
Morgan Lake with a bit of Moffitti Marsh to the left.
Columbine
Iris
Robin
Sparrows
Gold crowned sparrow
The grass was low enough that the lake was fairly visible. Later in Spring you’re lucky to see any water from the trail.
Not a great picture due to the distance and light, but there are a couple of ruddy ducks to the left hanging out with some ring-necked ducks.
Mallards
American coot
Gadwalls
Buffleheads
Common yellowthroat
Looking for a bittern.
American bittern. I could only see the bittern from a very short section of trail and as soon as I lost a little elevation it disappeared from sight. It never flew off, but I couldn’t see it even knowing where it was.
Following the trail next to Smithfield Road.
Lots of red-winged blackbirds near the trailhead.
Finch
Heading back toward Baskett Butte and Moffitti Marsh.
Northern flicker
Moffitti Marsh
American wigeons
Female common yellowthroat
Spotted towhee
I watched a crow chase off a hawk that had apparently gotten too close.
The official trail heads up the hill to the left. I veered right just beyond the trail sign pointing toward Moffitti Marsh.
Lilac
Parvipes Marsh ahead to the right.
The tractor turned right and drove over a dike at the end of Parvipes Marsh to a field on the other side.
Deer farther up the hillside.
This appears to be balsamroot. There were just a couple of patches on the SW side of the butte.
Cottonwood Pond
Buttercups and miniature lupine
Meadow checker-mallow
Lomatium and plectritis
South Slough Pond
I was a bit surprised to find a bench along this route given it isn’t shown as an official trail.
Grass pea
More checkerbloom
Golden paintbrush
If I hadn’t been looking for the tread I don’t think I would have noticed it.
Lupine
Another Tolmie’s mariposa lily
Western meadowlark
The overlook ahead.
The obligatory photo from the overlook.
Lots of patches of plectritis on the butte.
Ground squirrel
Swallow
Baskett Butte from the Cottonwood Pond parking area.
Mallards
Northern pintails
Northern shovelers
Lesser scaup. They look a lot like ring-necked ducks only without the ring.
Ring-necked ducks
Nap Time.
wanderingyuncks 