Bradley Creek Trail Map

Route map of the Bradley Creek Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...

Bradley Creek Trail Map

Route map of the Bradley Creek Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...

Bradley Creek Trailhead @ Yellow Gap Road (F.R. 1206) -- 2,750'

Finding the Bradley Creek Trailhead on Yellow Gap Road can be a bit tricky. Your best bet is to park in one of the small pull-offs on the east side of where Yellow Gap Road crosses a small unnamed tributary of Bradley Creek, then walk uphill watching for where the path heads down the slope into the woods...

Bradley Creek Trailhead @ Yellow Gap Road (F.R. 1206) -- 2,750'

This is the Bradley Creek Trail as it departs Yellow Gap Road...unsigned as of 2020, you can see how it can be easy to miss...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,720'

From the road the trail immediately drops steeply down the slope...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,690'

The initial steep stretch is short lived, however, as the trail soon reaches the flats along the creek above a couple large campsites...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,680'

Heading downstream from the campsites in the previous shot the trail isn't blazed all that well. The route is fairly obvious though...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Yellow Gap Creek -- 2,660'

About a quarter-mile in the path hops across tiny Yellow Gap Creek...

Yellow Gap Creek -- 2,660'

Yellow Gap Creek empties into Bradley Creek, as seen from the crossing in the previous shot...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,660'

Beyond Yellow Gap Creek the trail now begins to rise along the steep hillside bordering Bradley Creek...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,650'

This is a very peaceful bit of trail...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,640'

Hopping over another tiny tributary...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,650'

The trail now begins to rise along the steep hillside bordering Bradley Creek...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,700'

It doesn't take long before you're looking far down at Bradley Creek again...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,650'

Descending again, and cutting beneath some low-hanging rhododendron...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,620'

Before long the trail drops back down to the beautiful forested flats, just prior to the first ford of Bradley Creek...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #1 (SB)/#14 (NB) -- 2,610'

Now it's time to get wet. At 0.6-mile in the first of FOURTEEN such fords along the Bradley Creek trail is reached. None of the future thirteen will be any easier, so be warned...

Ford #1 (SB)/#14 (NB) -- 2,610'

Looking upstream from the above ford...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,610'

Just south of the first crossing the trail follows along what obviously was an old forest road, at some point in the past...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,600'

The relatively flat nature of the terrain means encountering a few fairly muddy spots like this one...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,590'

The forest is beautiful but, as you can see, the trail can be quite damp...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #2 (SB)/#13 (NB) -- 2,590'

Ford #2 (SB) / #13 (NB) is reached at 0.7-miles...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #2 (SB)/#13 (NB) -- 2,590'

Looking upstream mid-ford...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,580'

It will be apparent by this point you're on a stretch of the trail which few hikers ever visit...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,580'

The trail never strays far from the creek...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #3 (SB)/#12 (NB) -- 2,570'

Ford #3 (SB)/#12 (NB) is located at the 0.9-mile mark...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #3 (SB)/#12 (NB) -- 2,570'

Looking upstream mid-ford...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,560'

The trail now enters what looks to be, due to the sandy nature of the terrain, an overflow channel for when Bradley Creek rises particularly high...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,550'

Lots of sand here...obviously a spot which likes to flood during high water periods...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #4 (SB)/#11 (NB) -- 2,540'

At the one-mile mark, Ford #4 (SB)/#11 (NB) is reached...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #4 (SB)/#11 (NB) -- 2,540'

Looking downstream mid-ford...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,540'

The sandy trail continues a bit farther...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,530'

Spring greens make this a wonderful trail to enjoy early in the year...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,520'

Passing by what looks to be a surprisingly well-used campsite...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,520'

This trail doesn't require a bushwhack but, at times, it can feel close to being one...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #5 (SB)/#10 (NB) -- 2,510'

After an enjoyable quarter-mile of dry ground it's back into the creek again at 1.3-miles @ Ford #5 (SB)/#10 (NB)...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #5 (SB)/#10 (NB) -- 2,510'

Looking upstream mid-ford...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,510'

The doghobble is thick here...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #6 (SB)/#9 (NB) -- 2,500'

The crossings are coming fast and furious now...the next one coming barely a hundred yards beyond the last...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #6 (SB)/#9 (NB) -- 2,500'

A huge fallen tree lay alongside the creek just downstream of Ford #6 (SB)/#9 (NB)...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,500'

Crossing a small field of young ferns...always pretty...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,490'

At the very least the terrain has been all but flat up to this point, meaning that you should make decent time despite all the creek crossings...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,490'

Spring on the Bradley Creek Trail...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #7 (SB)/#8 (NB) -- 2,480'

Ford #7 (SB)/#8 (NB), reached at 1.5-miles, is a wide one...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #7 (SB)/#8 (NB) -- 2,480'

Looking upstream mid-ford...

Bradley Creek Trail -- 2,480'

Common in these parts, huge dead hemlocks are a frequent sight along the creek...

Bradley Creek Trail @ Ford #8 (SB)/#7 (NB) -- 2,470'

Barely a hundred yards after the last, the next ford is reached...

Bradley Creek @ Ford #8 (SB)/#7 (NB) -- 2,470'

A number of scenic little cascades lay just upstream at the crossing...