| Trip Name |
go there for |
bus stop to trailhead mileage |
access road steepness |
access road condition |
| 1. OLYMPICS NORTH |
| Dungeness Forks |
steep, shadowy river trail leads to alpine meadows and views |
6.5 to 12 miles |
gradually uphill |
paved for first five miles |
| Hurricane Ridge |
alpine panoramic vistas, connections with trails leading south and east |
22 miles |
very steep |
well-paved all the way |
| Whiskey Bend |
The Elwha River in all its old growth glory, direct route to
core of Park. |
9 miles |
4 flat, 5 steep |
4 paved, 5 coarse gravel |
| Barnes Creek |
peace and quiet; steep, shadowy trailleads to seldom visited ridge; connections southward |
no road mileage - trail starts at bus stop |
|
|
| Sol Duc / High Divide |
Lush old growth river trail, access to High Divide and Seven
Lakes Basin |
14 miles |
slow and gradual |
Paved all the way |
| ONP coastal strip North (Rialto Beach entrance) |
rugged open coastline; hop boulder to boulder for miles, inspect tidal pools,count eagles |
5.5 miles |
tending downhill slightly |
paved the whole way |
| ONP coastal strip North (Shi Shi entrance) |
same as directly above; Point of the Arches is at Shi Shi; recommend entering at Rialto, exiting at Shi Shi because of bus schedule |
9 miles |
flat, flat, flat |
first two miles from beach are muddier than you could ever imagine; the rest of the way to Neah Bay is paved |
| ONP coastal strip South (Third Beach entrance) |
old-growth Sitka spruce forest, interspersed with pockets and stretches of beach, some rocky, some sandy. Eagles, seals, and tidal pools. |
Nada. Bupkis. Bus drops you off right at trailhead. |
|
|
| ONP coastal strip South (Oil City entrance) |
as mentioned just above |
11 miles |
tending downhill, but with more uphill than you would expect |
paved for the first ten minutes. Much construction on road recently: watch for trucks |
| Bogachiel River |
pleasant river trail; elk abound |
5 miles |
a few steep uphills near the end |
mostly paved |
| Hoh River |
premier destination: rain forest; huge trees covered with mosses and lichens; lotsa tourists from everywhere |
19 miles |
flat as a board |
well-paved all the way |
| Queets River |
same as above, but without the tourists. River must be forded to reach trail |
15 miles |
flat as a board |
coarse gravel road in poor condition the whole way (but that's why you'll have it all to yourself) |
| 2. OLYMPICS SOUTH |
| Colonel Bob |
long, steep trail leads to panoramic views of entire south end of peninsula |
3.5 miles |
flat as a board |
well-paved all the way |
| Enchanted Valley |
long, flat rain forest trail, with one often-difficult river ford, leads to meadows surrounded by steep rock walls and waterfalls |
16.5 miles |
quite flat most of the way |
paved for first five miles |
| North Fork Quinault |
gently uphill rain forest river valley |
13.5 miles |
some uphill last 2 miles |
paved first 5 miles |
| Irely Lake / Skyline Trail |
tiny beaver pond; connections to scenic ridge trail |
13.5 miles |
some uphill last 2 miles |
paved first 5 miles |
| Graves Creek / Six Ridge |
leave valley floor for wooded ridge, lake; connection to east |
16.5 miles | quite flat most of the way |
paved first 5 miles |
| Fletcher Canyon |
aloneness, dampness, big trees |
10 miles |
flat as a board |
paved most of the way |
| BIG TREES! Quinault Loop Trail 854 |
Big Giant Trees |
zero |
n/a |
n/a |
| North Shore Cedar |
one specific western red cedar |
5 miles |
flat as a board |
paved |
| 3. OLYMPICS EAST |
| Quilcene River |
steep, shadowy river trail leads to alpine meadows and views |
18 miles |
steep |
paved for first three miles |
| Dosewallips |
steep, shadowy river trail leads to alpine meadows and views |
15 miles |
starts out flat,last five or six miles get quite steep |
flat part is paved; steep part is coarse gravel |
| Duckabush |
steep, shadowy river trail leads to alpine meadows and views; a lot of elevation gain and loss to get past Little Hump, Big Hump |
7 miles |
tending uphill; not bad at all |
paved for first four miles, then dirt and gravel |
| Hamma Hamma River |
Easy three mile, wide trail, leads to over-used lake, side trails into park and Wilderness from there. |
8 miles |
first two miles uphill, then level |
paved for first eight miles, no shoulder |
| North Fork Skokomish / Staircase |
Easy river trail for first 9 miles, then heads steeply up country. |
13 miles |
mostly level |
gravel road mostly |
| 4. DARRINGTON |
| Glacier peak |
Gateway to transit dead zone... |
20-23.5 miles |
yes, it's steep |
primitive gravel, but newly repaired as of Oct 2011 |
| 5. GOLD BAR, STEVENS PASS, LEAVENWORTH |
| Skykomish |
Variety of short, steep trails leading into Alpine Lakes Wilderness |
8-20 miles |
tending steeply uphill |
mostly unpaved |
| Stevens Pass |
access to Pacific Crest Trail; walk ridges north or south for views, find a lake of your own |
Zip. PCT intersects Stevens Pass |
|
|
| Enchantment Lakes (Snow Lake entrance) |
one of the premier Cascades destinations; a difficult-to attain high basin with glacier-polished granite slabs, isolated mountain tarns, sharp peaks and goats |
4.5 miles |
first four miles are flat |
flat part is paved; steep part is coarse gravel |
| Enchantment Lakes (Colchuck Lake entrance) |
see above |
13.5 miles |
first four miles are flat; next 9.5 are steeply uphill |
flat part is paved; steep part is coarse gravel |
| Lake Wenatchee |
High ridges and meadows in late summer; long approaches to Glacier Peak |
several options, most 5-15 miles |
steep |
mostly unpaved |
| Mad River |
Share miles of ridge-running trails and tiny lakes with motorcycles |
5 miles |
steep |
unpaved gravel logging roads |
| Ardervoir |
other side of Entiat Mtns. (see Mad River) |
3.5 miles |
steep |
unpaved gravel logging roads |
| Ingalls Creek |
long, pleasant river trail,leading eventually to alpine scenery |
8 miles |
largely flat; slight uphill in last mile |
paved the whole way |
| Lake Chelan |
take boat uplake to Stehekin, access to North Cascades Nat'l Park |
Stehekin even runs a shuttle from the boat landing to the trailheads, so... zero miles |
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|
| 6. PACKWOOD |
| Packwood Lake |
entrance to Goat Rocks Wilderness,PCT, high ridges, elk and goats |
9 miles to lake |
first 5.5 miles are steep, the rest are largely flat |
first 5.5 are well-paved; rest is gravel |
| Tatoosh |
Wilderness Area nestled up against south side of Rainier, great views of the peak |
10 miles |
first five miles are relatively flat, the rest is steep |
first five miles paved |
| Vanson Peak |
Peak offers close views to Adams, St.Helens |
7 miles |
first three miles are flat (along Cowlitz Lake), then gradually uphill |
gravel the whole way |
| Snowgrass Flat |
premier destination, high meadows offering majestic views of Adams, St. Helens, and (eventually) Rainier |
16 miles |
first 13 miles mostly steep with some flat stretches; last 3 miles quite steep |
gravel the whole way |
| Goat Ridge |
Goat Lake, side entrance to Snowgrass Flat, high ridge |
9 hard-ass dry miles (unreliable water - pack it in) |
very steep |
very coarse gravel |
