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(15 mi one-way, 3568 feet gain). Hike along the river to the First Divide and the Duckabush River.
A wilderness gateway to alpine meadows, jeweled lakes and ice-carved peaks. The valley has a scenic loop drive and trails through temperate rain forest in both Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest. The Quinault Valley has a number of short hiking trails, including a 1.3 mi loop to the old Kestner homestead, and another that winds through groves of bigleaf maples. More info can be found through the Quinault Rain Forest Ranger Station. The Quinault Valley ends at Lake Quinault.
To preserve nearly an entire glacially carved rain forest river valley from source to sea, President Truman added the narrow Queets corridor to Olympic National Park in 1953. Glaciers and snow on Mount Olympus feed the Queets River on its descent to the Pacific. This quiet area is a popular place to spot wildlife including salmon, deer and elk.
of precipitation each year fosters a lush, green canopy of old-growth trees and a floor blanked with thick mosses and ferns. Watch for herds of elk in the area, roll down the window (even if it is raining) and take in the smell of what seems a recently drained underwater world. Stop by the visitor center, walk the Hall of Moss interpretive trail, or hike further along the Hoh River all the way to Mount Olympus.
Old-growth forest, sub-alpine lakes, and snowy peaks populate the Sol Duc landscape, while the Sol Duc River serves as a key highway for coho salmon, running through the valley and ascending to the lakes and headwaters in the surrounding mountains. The Salmon Cascades overlook is a popular destination during late October/early November. About 5 mi down the Sol Duc Road, visitors come to watch the determined coho salmon leap over the falls on their way to spawn upstream in the Sol Duc River.
Nestled in the northern foothills of the Olympic Mountains, the pristine waters of this deep, glacially carved lake make it an ideal destination for those in search of natural beauty.
A massive landslide isolated Lake Crescent from Lake Sutherland approximately 7,000 years ago. There are two uniquely adapted populations, the Crescenti and Beardslee trout, that resulted from genetic isolation following this event.
There are plenty of picnic areas around the lake. Fairholme, Bovee's Meadow, La Poel, and the North Shore all have tables.
The Olympic Peninsula's largest watershed. Prior to the construction of two dams in the early 1900s, it was known for its impressive salmon returns. Today, the dams are gone, and the Elwha River is now one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects in National Park Service history. The Olympic Hot Springs Road and Whiskey Bend Road offer sightseeing opportunities through the valley's lowland and montane forests, as well as access to two picnic areas and a number of hiking trails. Stop to see Madison Creek Falls, a quick walk with superb views of the gushing Elwha River to the falls, with poems in between.