Over-the-Hill Hike Descriptions -- April, 2025
We have no hike leader for June 4th.
Fri, Apr 25 Storm King [Mod to Diff] 4.1 / 1831' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$5
Park at the Storm King Ranger Station at Lake Crescent. Proceed towards Marymere Falls. Storm King Trail will be on left. From there it is a climb!
Wed, Apr 30 Waterfalls [Easy to Mod] 5-5.5 / 1000' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$10
Visit ~3-4 waterfalls, which should be at their prime: Falls View (a hiking loop near Mt. Walker, Rainbow Falls across from Mt. Walker, then Rocky Brook Falls near Brinnon, perhaps a picnic lunch, & then Murhut Falls up the Duckabush, if time allows. Bonus options are seeing the High Steel Bridge or visiting Whitney Gardens in Brinnon to see the fabulous rhodies. A $1 donation is suggested for visiting the gardens! Choose your carpool accordingly. Over-the-Hill Hike Descriptions -- May, 2025
Fri, May 2 Dungeness Spit / New Dungeness Lighthouse [Easy to Mod] 10.5-11.5 / 140'-167' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$3
Walk down ~ 1/2 mile from parking at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge to the beach & walk on the spit to the New Dungeness Lighthouse for ~ 5 miles. We plan accordingly to walk/hike at the best minus tide. This is a "must do", if you haven't done it already; or make it an annual tradition!
Wed, May 7 Gibbs Lake County Park [Easy] 5-6 / 250'-500' n/a ride-$5
There are many loops & hiking options here. One popular route is around the lake in this 700-acre County Park in Jefferson County. The Walt Hoffman Trail (with peekaboo views of the 90-acre lake) & possible add-ons of Jack’s Track Trail, Springboard, Ameri-Corps, Scout's Trail add a nice variety. There is a convenient picnic table and restroom at the lake for a snack and lunch.
Fri, May 9 Slab Camp to the Benches [Mod to Diff] 5.5 / 1660' NW Forest/Golden ride-$5
This is a moderately difficult to difficult hike as there are some steep grades, especially between the 1.5 – 2.7-mile mark. You can go as far as the “Benches” at 2.7 miles or to the ONP boundary at 3.3 miles or continue on to the Deer Park Campground at about 5 miles. Or, if not enough, can go on another .8 miles to Blue Mt. and the .5 mi. Rainshadow Nature Trail!
Wed, May 14 Lower Big Quilcene to Bark Shanty [Easy to Mod] 5.5-6.5 / 200'-600' NW Forest/Golden ride-$7
This hike starts along the Lower Big Quilcene River from the Lower Quilcene trailhead and follows along an old roadbed (sometimes called the "Champagne Trail") amongst both young forest and old-growth cedar trees. We’ll turn around at Bark Shanty, the 1st established campsite right along the river or continue past the slide bypass.
Fri, May 16 Tubal Cain / Tull Canyon [Mod to Diff] 7.2-8 / 1100'-1600' NW Forest/Golden ride-$7
Trail starts towards the end of the Upper Dungeness Rd. Pass the Silver Creek Shelter and cross Silver Creek on a log bridge entering the Wilderness at ~ a 1/2 mile. Hike through 2nd-growth conifers and a tunnel of rhodys. At 3.2 mi., come to a junction. Can go up to the left steeply less than a mi. to Tull Canyon and the plane wreckage of a WWII, B-17 bomber. Or, can go straight up valley towards the Tubal Cain mine & the site of the old Copper City near Copper Creek.
Wed, May 21 Eden Valley West [Easy to Mod] 8.0 / 750' Discover ride-$5
Enjoy this 8-mile R.T. portion of the 25-mile OAT (Olympic Adventure Trail) that goes from Hwy. 112, Mile (0) to Lake Crescent. Hikers can hike on this portion of the trail from the Eden Valley Road off of Dan Kelly Rd. @ ~ M.P. 7.5 and go west for about 4 miles to ~ M.P 11.5 to the picnic table immediately after crossing Bear Creek.
Fri, May 23 Smokey Bottom - W. Lake Mills [Easy to Mod] 11-11.4 / 1016'-1154' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$5
Hikers depart from Madison Falls along the old roadbed and bypass up to Glines Canyon Dam, which is ~ 3.75 miles. The Smokey Bottom Trail departs just west of the dam along the shoreline and in the old Lake Mills lakebed. Spring (late May) is a good time to see some native flowers that were planted during the Elwha Revegetation Project like lupine, Nootka roses, Oregon sunshine, etc.
Wed, May 28 Mt. Zion [Moderate] 4.5-5 / 1340'-1535' NW Forest/Golden ride-$5
This trail offers one of the quickest & shortest ascents of ~ 1.8 mi. to a summit in the Olympic Mts. One passes a site of an old fire lookout built in 1935 and can proceed on to another rock outcrop/overlook after ~ a 1/2 mile for better views of Mt. Townsend and Gray Wolf Ridge. May see lovely blooms of the Pacific rhody.
Fri, May 30 Kloshe Nanitch [Mod to Diff] 6-6.4 / 2352'-2410' Discover ride-$7
Hike before Forks and south of Mt. Muller on Snider Ridge. Follow Sol Duc River for short distance (~ 1/4 mi.) before heading up on the trail, which climbs steadily through ~ 30 switchbacks & crossing 3 small creeks. On a clear day, it offers fabulous views of Sol Duc Valley, Mt. Appleton, Mt. Tom, & Mt. Olympus from a viewing platform that used to be a fire lookout tower until 1965 & then a replica from 1996-2012. Kloshe Nanitch is Chinook for "standing guard". Go up to the platform, up a road, and then do a loop to N. Point and back around to the trail.
NOTE: As with any hike, do your own research on a particular hike and assess whether it is of your hiking ability. Always carry your Hiking Essentials and do not rely on others to bring them for you. Thank you!
DISCLAIMER: OTHH assumes no collective or individual liability for any mishaps on any of their hikes or outings. Please use discretion and be safe. Please read the Hazards & Liability section on the Home page of the OTHH website and refer to the link given and agree to the conditions set forth in that document.
WILDERNESS HIKE: One hike listed above (Mt. Townsend to Silver Lake) goes into the Wilderness, so there is a Wilderness Regulation of a limit of 12 in a group. Please honor this and divide up.
EARLY START: Watch for an e-mail from the leader(s) ahead of time indicating what time to meet at the Sequim Safeway Gas Station parking lot.