Hiking: Quinault Rain Forest

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From the trailhead, hike to the right on a section of wheelchair-accessible trail. Pass a colossal Douglas-fir and emerge on a high bank above Willaby Creek. Search the sparkling waters for salmon. Gaze up at the towering forest canopy for eagle nests. Then turn right and begin hiking under a canopy of ancient emerald giants: Sitka spruces, western red cedars, and western hemlocks that were mere saplings when Christopher Columbus set sail for the Americas.

At 0.2 mile, the Rainforest Nature Trail Loop continues to the right and returns to the parking lot in 0.3 mile. You want to continue left on Trail No. 854 and eventually cross Willaby Creek. Then gently climb to a junction at 1.1 miles. The trail right—recently maintained—climbs 600 feet in 1.7 miles to the Willaby Creek giant cedar. To get there, you’ll need to ford Willaby Creek, which can be difficult during high flows.

Your loop continues straight, to a cedar bog bursting with pungent patches of skunk cabbage. Traverse this saturated landscape via a boardwalk and come to another junction at 1.8 miles. The trail to your left heads 0.6 mile to the Lake Quinault Lodge; go right instead. Cross Falls Creek and gently climb to a bridged crossing of Cascade Creek at lovely Cascade Falls. Then descend to a junction at 2.4 miles. The trail right goes to Gatton Creek. Head left and cross Falls Creek again. Then climb a little before descending to South Shore Road at 2.8 miles.

Carefully cross the road and continue hiking. Pass Falls Creek Falls, skirt a campground, and then come to Lake Quinault, one of the largest bodies of water on the Olympic Peninsula. The way then heads west along the lakeshore, passing quiet coves, humble cabins, and the majestic 1926 Lake Quinault Lodge. In times of heavy rainfall, this section of trail is prone to inundation. If that’s the case, return via South Shore Road, or head up the Lodge Trail and retrace some of your route.

At 3.7 miles, pass through the Willaby Creek Campground, and the trail resumes, following Willaby Creek upstream, passing beneath South Shore Road, and returning to the trailhead at 3.9 miles.

The Quinault Valley left a deep impression on President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he visited here in 1937. It inspired him to protect a good chunk of the adjacent lands within a new national park. It should inspire you too.

(Description credit: WTA)