This was our first foray into Douglas Canyon. This deep defile drops off the map with cautionary labels such as “water crossing”.This is definitely enough to catch my attention. Our approach brought us most logically to the north trailhead. There was ample dispersed camping in the area but no formal facilities. 
We hiked northwest from the trailhead following the old railroad bed for about two miles one way. Evening was a fine time to visit as birds were coming alive and the light made for great shadows. 
We encountered several stream crossings that weren’t too bad. Wildflowers kept us busy. 
When dusk settled into The Valley we were ready for sleep.

I love a good new-to-me hike! A friend & I realized we had a free weekend and a favorable weather window, and picked Douglas Creek Canyon since neither of us had ever been there before. It turned out to be the perfect conditions for a short backpack trip here. There are numerous creek crossings to contend with (I lost count of how many), but I was able to boulder hop across all except the last two. For those I switched to my camp shoes but it was an easy wade, less than knee deep. We actually spotted a few trout in the first couple crossings near the trailhead! As we hiked farther up canyon the water became murkier and more stagnant looking, and we didn't see any fish (and I didn't really want to filter from it). There are lots of cow pies around, although the cows have not been moved out onto pasture yet this year.

I'm still a little confused by portions of our route and what's permitted where. The BLM map indicates that most of the trail we were on is non-motorized, but there were a lot of motorized tracks. But the trail also exits BLM property for a while (although all of the "trail" signs along the way are BLM signs), so perhaps the adjacent property owner allows the motorized use. At any rate, we didn't encounter any other trail users while we were hiking (and only saw two others at the TH--folks we knew from Spokane!), so it was a very quiet weekend in the shrub steppe! The wildflowers are just getting started, so I think the next few weeks will be the prime time for visiting. My pup & I didn't pick up any ticks, although my friend found two...so they are just getting started.

Our route took us from the north TH up the trail indicated on the map to where it intersects Ferrell Road, where we turned on a side road that led us back to the main BLM property. Just inside the BLM fence there was a neat old farm, falling to pieces but still very interesting to look at. We found a place to drop down into Duffy Canyon, hoping to cross and camp on the other side, but it was impossible to get across the creek in that location and we didn't want to spend too much time looking for an alternate crossing point. Instead we filled up all of our water containers and headed back up above the canyon to find a tent-spot with a view but not too many cow pies. The views are easy to come by, but the cow plops are harder to avoid!

Our campsite really was incredible, with amazing views of the canyons to the east and the Cascades to the west. While some of the sagebrush was taller than me, there are no trees to speak of outside of the canyon (but the canyon has huge hawthorn, aspen near seasonal seeps, and even a few Douglas fir), so I tied my Ursack to a fencepost a few hundred feet from camp (we did see fresh bear tracks in mud a couple of miles before we camped!).

I slept great, listening to the songbirds at dusk, then coyotes & owls overnight, then songbirds again as the sun came up. We enjoyed a slow morning in camp where the sunrise colors just seemed to go on & on, then had an easy enough hike out despite this portion of the backpack trip being off-trail. Off human trail anyway; it turns out the cows know the easiest path back to water, and we re-joined the main trail where Duffy Creek meets Douglas Creek at another easy ford. The hike in was over 11 miles, but the hike out was only 3.5. Of course, that's just one rendition of a backpack trip here. I'm already hoping to return to start on the other side of Duffy Creek Canyon to explore more of the Badger Mountain side, which looked like more open grasslands from our sage forest camp.     

Hit Douglas Creek for an overnight camping trip for the 4th in search of something out of the crowds where we could do some exploring and swimming. We weren't sure what to expect but overall the group was happy that we chose this area. 

The road coming from the North Entrance was a little choppy. There were 3 or 4 creek crossings across the road that are un-passable without a bigger car. We were driving a highlander and gave up after the second creek and pitched camp. There were 3 or 4 campsites up to the 3rd crossing that were fairly large which were occupied, but on a non-holiday weekend I find it hard to believe these would all be occupied. If you can make it past the 3rd creek crossing where we setup camp, there were some pretty nice areas in the trees. All in all the campsites were pretty nice, not a lot of trash, not too many bugs, free (BLM land), and people were having campfires, but there were no amenities. 

After putting down stakes the group hit the main road to seek out a good swimming hole in the creek. We were hoping to find something a little closer to camp but ended up walking the entirety of the canyon to the south entrance (about 2 miles) where we found the awesome swimming holes. If you're just looking for a day trip to swim, head for the south entrance, we didn't see any other places along the creek that were deep enough or cleared of foliage enough to be called a 'swimming hole'. Unfortunately it got pretty crowded, but it was worth it. Side note- we passed a county sheriff on our 'hike' who was driving a newer explorer, and he managed to make it across all the creek crossings (We watched him tackle the 4th crossing, which was pretty rough), that was the only car that we saw cross the 3rd creek in the 2 days we were there. 

The canyon was pretty, quiet and clean, but nothing spectacular. Besides the main road, there wasn't a lot to explore. I'd give this 3/5 stars, with so many things in the surrounding area to experience I probably won't be making the trip to camp again anytime soon, but I'm glad we had the opportunity to explore and I could definitely imagine going back to the south entrance to hit the swimming holes again. 

Did an overnight camp at Douglas Creek Canyon.  We parked at the North access point (on Google Maps it shows up as Douglas Creek Recreational Site) where there is a large sign from the Bureau of Land Management.  The road does continue past this small parking area but Douglas Creek flows over the road in several spots that really require a high clearance vehicle to pass.

The "trail" heading south is just a walk along Slack Canyon road.  Beware there are some stream crossings on the road that are tough to get across on foot, we had to take our boots off once or twice.  There are many campsites off the side of the road along this route where we saw trucks and RVs with groups of campers.  There were a few little ponds in the creek where I saw some trout swim by but didn't hook anything with the fishing rod.  About 4 miles down we reached the South access point where there were some cars parked with day visitors.  Folks were shooting targets which scared us at first when we thought it was rockfall!  Trek up the short steep section of road for some nice views, and then go back and trek down the side of the canyon to reach some very beautiful swimming holes.

The walk back to the North access point took about an hour and a half.  Then we headed into the North section of the canyon to camp for the night - there is a trail that departs the parking lot past a metal gate.  We didn't make it far (half a mile?) before running into a stream crossing that we didn't want to bother with, though you could continue past this with wet feet into what looks like very beautiful canyon.  Set up camp on some gravel and slept through a windy, rainy night.  Trekked back to the lot in the morning where we had breakfast to a nice view.

Douglas Creek north is a beautiful trail option not too far a distance from Wenatchee or Chelan. After traveling an 8 mile graded road off highway 2 you arrive at the entrance to Douglas Creek recreation area. The North trail is immediately past the BLM sign. The trail is a mixture of sand, rocks, and grass at times. As you travel through this canyon following a creek and old railroad that has been disassembled it is like traveling back in time or a western movie. 

About 1/3 of a mile into the trail there is a nice placard where you can learn about the different species and geological rock formation. Continuing further you come upon pool/stream crossings which all were manageable without getting wet. You'll even notice some small trout in the pools. They aren't too deep though and probably not much to play in. However, it is a cool reminder of the life that thrives in odd eastern Washington places. 

We did happen to come upon a dead hawk on the trail which was pretty cool. There are also some snakes, we saw 2 but they looked like a species of garter snake. 

Not sure where the trail really ends on this. It says 3 miles round trip but if you keep walking along the old service ATV/bike trail you can go further. We did 6 miles round trip just because of how beautiful the canyon was with its wildflowers, sage, parsely, birch trees, the soundscape. Check out this beautiful hike if in the area, it won't disappoint!