Walks in the Olympic Rain Forest

A summer ramble through the Olympic Rain Forest in Washington’s Olympic National Park is a memorable experience. Shafts of amber sunlight penetrate the treetops to cast a kind of long, lingering alpenglow over the wet, ultra-green world below.

But perhaps an even more special experience is a winter walk through the rain forest, when a light rain is falling, the Douglas fir are dripping and clouds enshroud the nearby snowy peaks. About 140 inches of rain a year falls on the rain forest, most of it during winter. A walk in the rain, through the forest primeval, is an enchanting, even eerie experience.

The rain forest is in the western valleys of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, in the northwest corner of Washington, particularly along the Hoh, Bogachiel, Queets and Quinault rivers. While much of the Olympic Peninsula high country receives heavy snowfall and thus gets summer-only use, the rain forest and coastal regions of the area are open year-round.

The rain forest occupies low elevations (under 2,000 feet) and, while exposed to much rain and fog, is protected from cold east winds and snow. The luxuriant vegetation invites comparisons with rain forests in more tropical climates.

Twelve feet of rain a year is a lot of moisture. It drips from the trees, soaks the forest floor, collects in bogs, thunders over falls and cascades down gorges with such velocity that you wonder how the native salmon can possible make it back upstream to spawn.

And of course it’s the rain that nourishes the forest--towering stands of red cedar and Sitka spruce, Douglas fir and Western hemlock. The forest’s exotic, even extra-terrestrial appearance is due to lichens and liverworts, ferns and mosses, which create a green world unlike any other.

The rain forest near Quinault River and lake is one of the best to hike. A good trail system links the scenic wonders of the national forest and national park. Campsites near the lake are excellent, as are accommodations--particularly the classic, 1920s-era Lake Quinault Lodge.

You could spend several tranquil days, even a week, at Lake Quinault, exploring the trails and the rain forest primeval.

Directions to trail head: Quinault Lake is on the southwest side of the Olympic Peninsula. You’ll follow U.S. 101, which makes an inverted U around the peninsula. Approaching from the south, you’ll drive past horrid clearcuts and dreary lumber towns before leaving the highway at South Shore Road and driving two miles to the hamlet of Quinault. The lake, lodge, campgrounds, picnic areas, trail heads and the U.S. Forest Service’s Quinault Ranger Station are easy to find. Be sure to get the latest in trail information and maps from the station.

The hikes: Quinault Loop Trail is a four-mile loop that begins near the lodge and ranger station. The trail meanders along the lakeshore past tangles of blackberry and salmonberry bushes, then crosses South Shore Road and explores the rain forest. Ferns--maidenhair and sword--line the path, which passes beneath towering fir, spruce and cedar. Part of the trail is an elevated wooden boardwalk that crosses a mucky, spooky bog.

Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail is a half-mile loop that climbs through Big Trees Grove, one of the most awe-inspiring stands of Douglas fir remaining on the Olympic Peninsula. The eight-foot-diameter, 275-foot-high giants began growing about the time Columbus set sail for the New World.

Six miles from U.S. 101 on South Shore Road is an entry point to 12,000-acre Colonel Bob Wilderness, set aside in 1984. Colonel Bob Trail ascends 7 1/4 steep miles up fir- and cedar-forested slopes, past meadows known for spectacular summer wildflowers, to the summit of Colonel Bob Peak (4,492 feet). Grand clear-day vistas of Quinault country, as well as the snowy peaks of the Olympic range, including Mt. Olympus, are the hiker’s reward for reaching this peak.

At South Shore Road’s end, some 18 miles from U.S. 101, is the trail head for Enchanted Valley Trail. This path climbs 13 miles through the rain forest to Enchanted Valley Chalet, once a hostelry and now a two-story trail shelter. En route are half a dozen trail camps along the East Fork of the Quinault River.

The trail, which extends deep into the interior of Olympic National Park, offers a splendid backpacking trip, one with many options. For good reason, Enchanted Valley Trail was a favorite of the late Supreme Court justice and great conservationist William O. Douglas.

Quinault Loop, Colonel Bob and Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trails Where: Olympic National Forest, Olympic National Park Distance: 1-13 miles. Terrain: Lush river valley, timbered foothills, a skyline of snowy peaks. Highlights: Rain forest, giant Douglas fir. Degree of difficulty: Easy to strenuous. For more information: Contact the Olympic National Forest, Quinault Ranger District, Quinault, Wash. 98575, (206) 283-2525. Olympic National Park, 600 E. Park Ave., Port Angeles, Wash. 98362; recorded visitor information: (306) 452-9235; park headquarters, (206) 452-4501.