Hiking The Granger Lake Loop

My friends Maya, Elizabeth and I did a thing.

We completed what we believe was the first circumnavigation hike of Granger Lake. There was no established trail around this lake, so we mapped one out and hiked it.

We followed established trails where they existed, traversed service roads or animal trails at times, and bushwhacked when needed.

There were a number of deep water crossings which required that we swim ourselves and float our packs to cross.

From the maps you can see the route that we mapped versus the route that we hiked. The divergence was often due to navigating through forests, bushwhacking through sumpweed fields, avoiding ravines and swimming across rivers and creeks. Our original route was estimated to be about 24 miles. Our final route was tracked to be about 29 miles. It was a gritty hike.

We enjoyed a few moments of bliss traversing fields of flowers and took time to appreciate all the little things.

Research the regulations, plan thoroughly, take safety precautions, tread lightly, leave no trace and enjoy it if you attempt this route. It’s no walk in the park, but should be a good adventure.

For more info about Granger Lake and the park facilities: https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/granger/ For a route map and GPX files: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-28a543c--21?u=i