Hiking Olympic National Park

August 4, 2008 8:15 PM

Where should we backpack in Olympic National Park?

Mrs. jpdoane and I are planning a 3-4 day backpacking trip to Olympic National Park in early October as part of a longer visit to Seattle. We would love your advice on which area of the park to hike, as well as recommendations for (or against) specific trails/campsites.

If we don't hike a loop, is there a shuttle service?

Obviously, we are only going to be able to see a small part of the park during our few days of backpacking. Which other places (accessible by car or with a short hike) should we make sure to see as well?

If it matters, we are moderately experienced backpackers and plan to average 7-8 miles a day.

posted by jpdoane to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

I hiked part of the Hoh River trail (decided upon on a whim by my dad and I because we thought the name was funny) and enjoyed it a lot.
posted by rossination at 8:37 PM on August 4, 2008

What part of the park are you going to be in? if you're on the north side, there's Olympic Hot Springs (map). It's been taken off of the official maps, but it's still there. Take the Elwha entrance, and drive up to the end of the road, Then keep walking for (I think) 2-ish miles. There were a few minor wash-outs on the trail when I was last up there, but the rest of the hike is a breeze.

Oh, just so you know, there may be naked people up there (gasp!), so if you are not comfortable with that, you might not want to go.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 8:48 PM on August 4, 2008

I liked to Hoh River trail too. You can camp there, or near there. There is also the Hall of Mosses trail or something similar which is really just a little walk around some big trees, right by the visitors' center but it's also sort of neat in its own way especially if you've never been to a rainforest before.
posted by jessamyn at 8:58 PM on August 4, 2008

Thirding the Hoh River trail. It's been ten years since I've hiked it, but it was fantastic then.

The Washington Trails Association has a really nice website for locating hikes (and finding trailheads), and it has lots of trip reports posted by other hikers. It's no fun getting a day or so into a hike only to find that the trail has washed out and is impassable.

I'd also recommend a trip up to Hurricane Ridge for the fantastic scenery and maybe a day hike, if you can fit it into your schedule.

I'm not aware of any shuttle services for hikers, but again, it's been a while.
posted by Balonious Assault at 9:06 PM on August 4, 2008

There's a loop in the Quinalt that I love.
Sadly, my brain right now cannot find any info.
posted by Seamus at 9:06 PM on August 4, 2008

We just got back from the Elwha Loop, which was quite nice, although far shorter than you want. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Hoh River Trail for a four day hike. I'll try to remember to stop by this thread to tell you about it, although we've only heard good things.

I highly suggest the book Day Hike! Olympic Peninsula because even though it just has one day journeys (although some of them, at 18+ miles, are questionable as one day hikes), it has a whole bunch of good information about the trails around the Olympics.
posted by nursegracer at 9:07 PM on August 4, 2008

Many of the trails in the Hoh River area have so many trees down as to be considered impassible. Do check with rangers before you go. (The higher elevations have 160% of their usual snowpack, so that's a consideration, too.)

I got back from a great four-day trip just yesterday, and will MefiMail you with details. I second the Day Hike! book recommendation, too.
posted by adiabat at 11:56 PM on August 4, 2008

Thanks everyone for the answers. Particular thanks to adiabat who mailed me a lot of great info.
posted by jpdoane at 6:36 AM on August 5, 2008

Years ago (ten?) I got a "Hiking in Washington State" CD-Rom from REI (I think - fairly sure it was REI).

It comes with a map of trails (printable) - descriptions, flora & fauna guides...it helped me choose where to spend many a weekend.

Wonder if software of this nature is still available?
posted by InfinateJane at 8:37 AM on August 5, 2008

This is out of the main park somewhat but the Ozette Loop makes for some fantastic beach scenery. Really my favorite hike that we did while there, although we didn't hike in the interior of the park as much. The boardwalks make it pretty easy in the forest, and it is a 9-mile loop that might make for a nice day hike on either end of your trip.
posted by sararah at 9:01 AM on August 5, 2008

I just did a hike/camp out on the Oly peninsula a couple weekends ago. We did the triangle trail at Ozette. It's GREAT and so beautiful. It's a really easy hike though, so it's really just a 9 mile walk. Info.

Arrr! Sararah, you beat me to it!
posted by Craig at 9:02 AM on August 5, 2008

Sararah, I LOVE the Ozette Loop! I used to take all my non-hiker friends on that trail to initiate them and get them hooked. Very good effort to payoff ratio. I'd recommend making it an overnight trip - camp in the middle (along the beach, not where the trail emerges from the trees) - take your time to enjoy the amazing sunset and sunrise there. Be sure to look for the Native American rock carvings.
posted by InfinateJane at 11:38 AM on August 5, 2008

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you guys. We ended up hiking the Sol Duc Valley and 7 lakes basin area. We wanted to walk out on the Hoh River trail, but in turns out that a shuttle would have been $200, so we had to hike a loop. (In retrospect, I'm pretty sure we could have hitchhiked). We decided to keep our hikes pretty short, so that we could be more relaxed and spend more time in camp.

We spent the first night at Rialto Beach. It was overcast and drizzling. The beach was picturesque with all the driftwood and the volcanic islands in the mist, but camping was so so (wet & rainy, not much to do or see from the campsite off the beach)

Second day, we drove to Sol Duc falls and hiked to Deer Lake (~3mi), which was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

Next day, we hiked to Lunch Lake (~3-4 mi). Now we were essentially on top of the mountains and had amazing views of the cliffs and valleys. Lots of blueberries on the trail - yum! Lunch Lake itself was gorgeous, and theres a lot in the area to explore. We met some guys who were staying at nearby Round Lake, and went fishing together for a while. We also hiked down to a lake below Lunch Lake (can't recall the name).

Fourth day was lunch lake to Hoh lake (~3mi). Saw tons of bear on this hike. Halfway there, we veered off to summit Bagachiel Peak. Amazing view of Mt Olympus. Hoh Lake was really fun, and had great fishing!

On the last day, we had been planning to stay near Heart Lake, but we were feeling good, and decided to hike out the rest of the way (~12 mi). It was a long hike, and not nearly as picturesque after Heart lake, because you are under the tree canopy the whole time.

In all, it was an awesome week we had, and hope to go back sometime. I appreciate all your advice and input, and I wish that we could have seen everything you mentioned. After our backpacking excursion, we stayed a week in Seattle and Vancouver, and had a blast there too.

Here are photos from our trip
posted by jpdoane at 9:16 AM on November 8, 2008