Campaign Underway to Build New Trails on Badger Mountain in Richland.
Work begins on new Badger Mountain trail
By Sara Schilling, Tri-City Herald
Work has started on a new 2.5-mile trail on the south side of Badger Mountain.
The new trail will start and end from the existing Skyline Trail, traversing the lower part of Badger's southern slope, above a nearby orchard.
It's been planned for years and is moving forward after the company that owns the orchard -- Premiere Columbia Properties -- agreed to allow the trail to pass through a section of its land at no cost.
"We're thrilled at the way it worked out," said David Comstock, vice president of the nonprofit Friends of Badger Mountain.
It should take about two weeks to build a rough version of the new trail, with help from a small excavation machine, said Jim Langdon, trailmaster for Friends of Badger.
The trail will open up once that phase is completed, with further work -- from smoothing the trail bed to adding gravel -- done in the following weeks, he said.
The hope is to have the new trail finished by the end of April, Langdon said.
He and other volunteers are doing the work, and more help is needed. The trail construction is being paid for with a portion of a $10,000 grant from REI.
The trail will be the fourth major trail in the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, which was established in 2005 and now totals about 650 acres.
Benton County owns and operates the preserve, while Friends of Badger has coordinated construction and maintenance of the trails.
The Badger preserve is the most popular park in the county's inventory and one of the most popular recreation spots in the region. Last year, about 200,000 visits were recorded.
Officials said the new trail will further enhance the offerings at the preserve. "I think that folks, when they get on this trail ... it's a whole different experience than they have elsewhere on the mountain," with different views and even some different plants and wildlife, said Adam Fyall, the county's sustainable development coordinator.
People will be able to use it on its own for a gentler, less steep hike or bicycle/horseback ride, and also use it as part of longer routes in combination with other existing trails, officials said.
The county is in the midst of developing a management and master plan to guide use and shape future improvements at the preserve. A Spokane-based community planning and design firm is helping with the process, and the county held a pair of public workshops last year to gather input.
Fyall said he expects a draft of the plan to be rolled out in April, with plenty of time for public comment before it's finalized. More information about the plan process is at tinyurl.com/BadgerPlan.
To help with the construction of the new trail, email Langdon at [email protected] or call 943-3992.
To suggest a name for the new Badger Mountain trail, email [email protected].
Hikers Aim To Preserve The Tri-Cities’ Dramatic Ridgelines
By ANNA KING
The close proximity of a group of mountains known as The Rattles to the the Tri-Cities in southeast Washington, means urban dwellers can hike a 1,500 foot peak and enjoy dramatic views on their lunch break -- or even after supper.
But it also means these ridgelines are prime turf for expensive view-homes.
Now, a band of avid hikers are trying to protect as much of the area from development as they can. They want to raise money to buy land for a network of public trails.
“This is some of the best sagebrush stands that we have on the ridges because you know there haven’t been so much activity here so it’s not disturbed,” explains Sharon Grant.
It’s a lovely, but tough hike. Just a rough, steep road cutting up the roll of the mountain. It isn’t the most dramatic peak here, or the tallest, but as we trudge up the slope Grant says that it’s a very important link for the 20-mile network of trails she envisions.
That network would connect the peaks of Red, Candy, Badger and Little Badger mountains.
“We really only have this time to create another preserve and to save the access so we can create the trail,” explains Grant.
It will cost a lot of money -- $1.5 million -- but Grant’s done it before. She and her group raised nearly $700,000 to buy the neighboring mountaintop, Badger.
“When we saw that Badger was for sale we jumped in with all of our energy and we were able to raise the money and secure the land,” Grants says.
That land is now home to three public trails and sees about 200,000 users a year.
“I’ll never forget how incredibly exciting that was for us. I felt like if I never do anything else in my life, I’ve done this. But now, of course, there is a lot more to do,” Grant says with a laugh.
Of course $1.5 million is a bit more than $700,000. But if the peaks are preserved, Grant sees tourists and trails connecting to Red Mountain wineries and marathon running events.
“I’ve done these hike wine and dine events," she says. "Oh they’re so popular. It doesn’t matter the weather, we’ve done it in the middle of winter and the hottest days of summer and I always get the maximum signups.”
With Badger Mountain off in the distance, Grant says people often misunderstand the desert. She could be right. A recent Newsweek article, penned by a New York-based author called -- Rattlesnake Mountain a “low, ugly hump.”
“You know one of the things I’ve always said is that you can drive by this land and it all looks brown and grey," says Grant. "And as you say, what’s special about that? But I have always said get on the land, because when you get on it, you see all the little special parts. You see wildflowers will start here in February and we’ll see them until September.”
On today’s hike, it's just too windy and cold to reach the peak, but in our short burst up the mountain, we take in old-growth sagebrush, a hawk-drafting overhead, and southeast Washington’s wide-open vistas.
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