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Bedal Basin

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
48.0701, -121.3753 Map & Directions
Length
5.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,900 feet
Highest Point
4,700 feet
Calculated Difficulty About Calculated Difficulty
Moderate/Hard

Mountain Loop Highway is closed from Deer Creek (milepost 24) to Bedal Creek (milepost 36) for the winter.

Sloan Peak from the Bedal Basin. Photo by Mina & Co.
  • Wildflowers/Meadows
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Rivers

Parking Pass/Entry Fee

None

Follow a trail up an old mining trail before reaching a boulder-filled basin with views of Sloan Peak above. The first half of the hike is fairly easy, while the second is a steep climb through a creek bed. Navigational skills are required for this hike. Continue reading

Rating
2.12 out of 5

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Hiking Bedal Basin

Follow a trail up an old mining trail before reaching a boulder-filled basin with views of Sloan Peak above. The first half of the hike is fairly easy, while the second is a steep climb through a creek bed. Navigational skills are required for this hike.

The Bedal Creek Trail begins within a stand of old-growth trees. About a half mile in, enter the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness. Look for trillium, asters, huckleberries, salmonberries, and bleeding hearts along the trail. Given that this trail sees very little maintenance, expect thick overgrowth, which may obscure the trail in places. Shortly after entering the Wilderness, look for an avalanche chute at 0.7 miles. A small creek here flows across the trail from Bedal Peak

About a mile in, reach make contact with Bedal Creek. Here, re-enter the forest and begin hiking parallel to the creek. The way peters out about 1.7 miles from the trailhead. Continue up the rocky creek bed. Continue onward through a thin forest where you will find Bedal Basin.

This basin is rugged, but very unique as boulders and wildflowers are strewn about the basin meadow. Looking upward from here is a gigantic rock wall. On a nice day one can see Mount Forgotten in the distance.

WTA worked here in 2011!

Hike Description Written by
Multiple authors contributed to this report, WTA Community

Bedal Basin

Map & Directions

Trailhead
Co-ordinates: 48.0701, -121.3753 Open in Google Maps

Before You Go

Mountain Loop Highway is closed from Deer Creek (milepost 24) to Bedal Creek (milepost 36) for the winter.

See weather forecast

Parking Pass/Entry Fee

None

WTA Pro Tip: Save a copy of our directions before you leave! App-based driving directions aren't always accurate and data connections may be unreliable as you drive to the trailhead.

Getting There

Take exit 208 off I-5 and drive four miles east on the Mountain Loop Highway (SR 530) to Arlington. Continue on 530 for 28 miles more to Darrington. At a three way stop turn right (south) onto Mountain Loop Highway, and continue 17.2 miles turning left on FR 4096 which is about a mile past Bedal campground. Continue on FR 4096 for two miles to the trailhead.

From Verlot, travel east on the Mountain Loop Highway for 26 miles to Forest Service road 4096, turn right and ascend this steep road for two miles.

More Hike Details

Trailhead

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Bedal Creek (#705)

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Darrington Ranger District

Guidebooks & Maps

Day Hiking: North Cascades (Romano - Mountaineers Books)

Green Trails Sloan Peak No 111

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Bedal Basin

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