Olympic National Park: the Enchanted Valley
Quick Reference
Reason to go: Backpacking, giant ferns, lush rainforest, solitude, major contrast in environments
Where we stayed: La Quinta Inn (Olympia-Lacey, WA), Pyrites Creek Backcountry Site (East Fork Quinault River Trail), Our Car at the Graves Creek Trailhead
Map: Olympic National Park (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map), Google Maps for driving tour, CalTopo for backcountry route planning
Permits: No reservations needed for this backpack. Obtain permits day-of at the South Shore Lake Quinault Ranger Station if you are adventuring before Sept 30. If you plan your trip after Sept 30, you must grab your permits at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles.
Time to visit and weather: We went in mid-Sept. Fall is undoubtedly a fantastic time to go. It’s the perfect time to backpack, but there are adventures to be had in all seasons.
Emergency #s and Land Managers: Olympic National Park (National Park Service)
Cell service: No cell service beyond the Quinault Ranger Station on South Shore Road in Quinault. Spotty service on the drive around the park.
Vehicle needs: anything will work in early-mid fall when we went. Check NPS recommendations here.
Activities: backpack into the Enchanted Valley, circumnavigate the park on a self-guided driving tour, spot some whales from Second Beach near La Push
Best Coffee: Mocha Motion drive-through in Forks, WA & Bada NW Coffee Shop in Port Angeles, WA
Trip highlights: Sol Duc Hot Springs & spotting whales off the coast near La Push
What to pack: In addition to a standard list for any backcountry backpacking trip, you will need to store your food in bear canisters. These can be rented at ONP Ranger Stations or you can buy your own.
My PNW Bucket List is huge. It's so big I'll have to post another entry all about the things I want to do in Upper Left, USA. It began, however, with one destination: the Olympic National Park in Washington state. I've been biding my time and saving my miles ever since I moved to the Bay Area in 2014, knowing I'd eventually make the trip to this enchanting peninsula. The question was how would I do it? I would need time and money. I don't have a million vacation days, and to do this trip in the way I wanted, I would need to take several days off work, purchase plane tickets to Seattle, rent a car, check all of my backpacking equipment for a fee, make time to grocery shop and purchase cooking fuel once I arrived. Then I'd have to get to the park via a four-ish hour drive. And before all of that I'd need to decide where to spend my time in the park. Because there are a ton of tempting backpacking routes. Of course, it would all be worth it (because it always is!), but the timing would need to be right.
When we moved to Oregon this past summer, I knew it was finally time to venture into ONP. I'd saved up miles on Alaska Airlines, so we were able to purchase flights from southern OR to Seattle for a few bucks and being so close to WA already, we wouldn't need to take extra time away from work to travel to and fro our destination. So, how did we do it? We bought tickets leaving Medford at 8pm on a Thursday evening in mid-September, arriving in Seattle around 9:30pm. We drove to Olympia, WA to spend the night in a roadside hotel and woke up on Friday morning to bust out the rest of the drive to Quinault and finally, our trailhead. And so our backpacking/snacking/driving/whale-watching/coffee-drinking adventure began!
Before we get into the specifics: Why the Enchanted Valley route?
- Simply put, we're not currently in backpacking shape. This route offered a relatively mellow amount of elevation change (the trail follows the Quinault River most of the way).
- The name (and reputation!)! Who wouldn't want to backpack into an Enchanted Valley? It was it's own special version of Fern Gully!
- It was doable in a short, three-day weekend. We wouldn't have to take an enormous amount of time away from work to backpack this route.
Oh hey did I mention that this trip would be the first time Kevin and I would go backpacking NOT for work in about four years? We were stoked to get back out there on a personal trip!
Trip Itinerary
Day 0 - Sea-Tac International Airport to Olympia, WA
This was our travel day. Important tasks on this day were flying to Seattle, picking up our rental car, and making it to Olympia, WA where we sorted our gear and crashed in a La Quinta Inn after eating Five Guys french fries for dinner.
Day 1 - Olympia, WA to Pyrites Creek Backcountry Campsite
We woke up and hopped in the car! 2 hours later we were at the South Shore Quinault Ranger Station to pick up permits for the Enchanted Valley and rent a bear canister. There were a few other people in line behind us aiming to travel the same route we were planning to do- this route is popular, so arrive as early in the day as you can to score both a permit and a canister. We drove South Shore road all the way to the Graves Creek Trailhead. The road changes from asphalt to gravel soon after you pass the lake. It is rough but well maintained. After 30 minutes of driving, we reached the busy trailhead and waited for a good parking spot. The busy-ness of the trailhead surprised us and made us nervous about possible crowds in the backcountry sites and on the trail, but it turns out that this is a popular day-hiking trail as well as a backcountry destination- there was nothing to worry about.
The trail itself is beautiful. We hiked our way across Pony Bridge (about two miles from the trailhead) and ten miles into the valley. The river twinkled in the sunlight, the ferns grew wild, green, and gigantic. Our challenge was remembering our backpacking legs and re-hydrating our bodies after a flight and whirlwind travel day. We took it slow, stopped frequently, and enjoyed the novelty of traveling in a rainforest and spotting bright orange toadstools. We found an unnamed campsite just south of Pyrites Creek, right next to the river, and set up camp. We waded in the ice cold galcier run-off to sooth our tired feet. For dinner we whipped up some cheesy instant mashed potatoes and hot tea on our JetBoil stove. Finally, we dragged our sore butts into sleeping bags and fell asleep by 7:30pm. Total success of a day.
Day 2 - Pyrites Creek Backcountry Campsite to Graves Creek Trailhead
We woke up to sounds of the river, boiled some water for coffee & oatmeal, packed our day packs, bear-proofed our camp, and started walking toward the Enchanted Valley. We decided the night before that we would do an out-and-back trek from the Enchanted Valley, so there was no need to drag our full backpacks up the trail! The weather was amazing, the trail was super mellow, and it was just what we needed for our sore leg and butt muscles. The trail wound back and forth to the river and through huge green fern and trees dripping with moss. The deeper we hiked, the more beautiful, green, and wild the valley became. The trail is straightforward and consistent until you reach a cattle guard, where the scenery starts to change- the view you see in the above photo reveals itself about 100 yards beyond the cattle gate. This the Enchanted Valley we came to see. We hiked across a log bridge for that leg's final crossing of the Quinault River, and headed for the Enchanted Valley Chalet, a structure built in the 1930s and rich with history. Read up on it here. My understanding is that the building is not used any longer, but it's an awesome and welcome sight at the end of the hike and there is a ton of flat land around the Chalet used for camping. We hung out at the Chalet for over an hour and enjoyed gummy worms, views of waterfalls, the glacier, and the Quinault River & surrounding gravel beds.
Stoked from our time in the Valley, we hiked quickly back to our campsite from the night before and packed up the rest of our belongings. We loaded up our heavy packs and headed down the trail. Going back the way we came was unexpectedly awesome- we experienced the trail from a different perspective and felt super excited by every bright orange toadstool we saw and each majestic elk bugle we heard, so we took our time enjoying the journey. Our original plan was to camp by Pony Bridge, about two miles from our parked car at the trailhead, but we arrived and almost all of the campsites were occupied. We also considered how amazing it would be to have a hot breakfast in the morning and make time to explore the Olympic National Park in a different way the following day. Tired but determined, we made it to the trailhead and climbed into the back of the car to get cozy for the night, happy we wouldn't need to break down camp in the morning. Our evening got a little crazy when car alarms started going off in the parking lot. Keep in mind we were parked at a rural trailhead that you have to work to get to, so we froze in our sleeping bags, a little creeped out, but eager to figure out what was trying to break into the vehicles. Because it was so hard to get in and out of the car, we didn't get out to survey the scene, but we assume raccoons were getting excited by food left inside vehicles by other backcountry travelers. The other fun thing? Mice had moved into our wheel-wells over the past 24 hours and eventually worked their way into the cab. Critter proofing your stuff in no joke in the Olympic NP! Overall? This incredible day was a 10/10 and I think we both re-caught the backpacking bug.
Day 3 - Road Trip Day! Graves Creek Trailhead to Sea-Tac & eventually, home to Southern Oregon
We packed this day full! Waking up in a car that's too small to stretch out your body in is a rough way to start your day. On the flip side, it's also super easy to wake up because you can't wait to get out of such an uncomfortable position. So, muscles and bones creaking, we rolled out of the car and drove into town. We stopped briefly at the Quinault Lake Lodge, a NPS lodging option, to scope out breakfast. We were turned off by the prices for breakfast, but impressed by the sprawling property. We used their bathroom to freshen up, rested & warmed our toes for a few by their giant fireplace, explored the lakeside grounds, and eventually headed down the road to find some cheaper breakfast options. We ended up at the Quinault River Village Internet Cafe. They offered a classic, delicious diner breakfast with good, fast service- eggs, hash browns, bacon, etc. Just what the doctor ordered for some fresh-off-the-trail-backpackers.
This is where our whirlwind road trip began- our first stop after breakfast was Beach 2 (or Second Beach), just south of Kalaloch Lodge on the coast. We pulled off on the side of the road near the Second Beach Sign and located a hidden trailhead- we hooked up with the short path and found ourselves on the beach! Walking up to the waves, we were 100% surprised to see fins, water spouts, and the occasional whale tail poke up above the surface. We were enthralled and stood watching them eat and play and swim for what seemed like hours. There are several other beaches in the area we wanted to explore, but we were on a tight schedule. When we go back, they will be a priority! Our second stop was the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center. We didn't do too much at the Center except wander around, enjoy the scenery of the drive on the way there, and get stoked to plan another trip to the Olympics- for our next backpacking trip in ONP I want to hike from the Visitor Center to the summit of Mt. Olympus! Third stop? Forks, WA! I've read all of the Twilight books and felt compelled to stop and spend some time in this little town. It looked nothing like the movies, but the grocery store, Thriftway, was a perfect stop for snacks on the drive, and bonus: it's attached to Forks Outfitters which sells the biggest inventory of fleece Acorn brand socks I've ever seen. We grabbed coffee at Mocha Motion and continued our drive.
Our fourth and favorite stop was Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort where we paused for a soak in the rain. At $15 per person for the day, it felt a bit steep knowing we only had an hour or two to spend, but the lodge was well-maintained and the soak felt amazing. We weren't the only ones who had the brilliant idea to soak in a warm pool on a chilly, rainy day, so it was quite crowded but not uncomfortable. The facilities available to day-rate guests include a large pool, three warm soaking tubs, clean and spacious locker rooms with showers and ample changing rooms. The ambience is more "community swimming pool" than "natural hot spring," but we think all hot springs are awesome. Just set your expectations accordingly. Bring your own towels or you'll pay $3.25 per towel rental. We left our valuables in the car, but the lodge does offer locker rentals for $3.25 for the day. It seemed like most folks used the hooks in the pool area to hang up bags, towels, and clothing rather than pay the fee. We soaked, we showered, we hit the road and drove the short distance to our fifth stop: Lake Crescent Lodge. By this time the wind and rain was quite wild, so we peeked inside the lodge long enough to appreciate the roaring fireplace, old school hotel bar and protected sunporch, complete with card games and comfy chairs. The highlight was venturing out onto the dock in our rain gear and letting the cold, hard rain hit our smiling faces. The sixth stop of the day was Port Angeles, WA for some coffee to make it through the home stretch to the airport. We found Bada NW Coffee Bar and ordered (read: totally indulged) in the Timber Beast beverage. Needing to get on the road, and knowing that most shops were already closed on Sunday evening, we left Port Angeles headed to Whole Foods before returning our rental car and catching our flight.
Our only regret from the trip was not planning to spend more time on the Olympic Peninsula. Of course, we'll be back, and I can't wait to explore more of the Park and the special communities that live just outside the Park boundaries. Stay tuned- I fully expect to write 4-5 more Olympic National Park posts in the future (in addition to wanting to backpack to Mt. Olympus, I also want to re-do the road trip portion, take more time, and spend a night in each of the four Park lodges!).