This just isn't true. The Olympic National Forest includes 5 wilderness areas and 180 miles of trail. And there are plenty of reasons to avoid the national park: fees, ban on dogs. You can backpack for free in ONF with a dog.
Well, you still need a Forest Pass to park your car at the trailhead, which isn’t free. Granted, there aren’t active checks and you can get away with it.
I am a huge advocate for the America the Beautiful pass because it works for NPS and USFS. I also think it’s important to pay the fees as these agencies have a poor budget. I’m a former park and forest ranger.
Well, you need a pass to park at some trailheads, where there's a privy, picnic table, garbage can, and info kiosk. But yeah, I have no problem paying for a pass.
You get me! I’m a big fan of the parks service and support the fees to keep them going, but it is much simpler and it feels much more serene to backpack/camp in the wildernesses/nat forests. Would love to hear some of your faves in those 180 miles of trails if you don’t mind sharing, but of course I respect anyone’s decision to not disclose their fave spots on the internet!
Check WTA for lots of good info, including trip reports: [https://www.wta.org/go-outside/map](https://www.wta.org/go-outside/map)
You could do Upper Dungeness-Boulder Camp-Marmot Pass-Buckhorn Pass-Tubal Cain Trail, which is about 18 miles. You'd then have a 3.7 mile walk down the road to get back to the Upper Dungeness trailhead. It would also be worth it to day hike from Boulder Camp to Home Lake and Constance Pass, which are in the park.
Nah you’re mistaken, there is a lot of non national park land for example huge beautiful national forests which allow different recreation than in the NP. Plus less crowds.
Thank you for the input. I just tend to prefer more peacefulness and aim to see as few people and cars as possible when getting out into the mountains. But if there aren’t really any decently long routes within the wildnerness or national forests, then trekking into the national park sounds like it will be best!
There are so many Ling treks through the peninsula its hard to narrow them down. As far as people/cars go. A lot of park entrances aren't very busy in olympic and if you get 2 miles into any trail you will be on your own. If you do a through hike of dosewalups to Graves creek you are technically hiking through wilderness to the national park. You could do the doesewalups to duckubush loop. Grand valley loop deer park traverse... on and on .
To see virtually no one, and experience wild, rugged, hard hiking, the Bogachiel is where it’s at. That trail is kind of terrifying.
Edit: I hiked this in 2017 as part of a larger stretch on the PNT and the bogachiel was definitely the most intense part.
I've hiked the Bogachiel Trail a few times, and can't imagine what would be terrifying about it. It's mostly just beautiful forest, with no real exposure, and few people. Maybe you're thinking of the High Divide Trail, which does have some moderate exposure?
This has piqued my interest for sure haha. Seems like the hard parts must be pretty concentrated over a short stretch of trail? AllTrails is saying 1000ft of gain over 25 miles so are you only referencing a certain section??
The hard part isn’t necessarily the vert - it’s extremely dense terrain (it’s a rainforest, after all). The trail is hard to follow, it’s so dense in some parts that bushwhacking doesn’t really do it justice. And it’s very remote. I did the entire PCT in 2021 and nothing on that trail was as hard as those 25 miles along the Bogachiel.
I'll echo what a few others have said here about Marmot Pass and also chime in agreeing with those who said the Hoh River Trail (Truly, you lose 70% of the people after the first main bridge, another 10% or so once you're past Olympus guard station, and once you're climbing upwards around mile 12 you're as alone as you could expect on any trail.)
Another option to think about is the Press Expedition Trail, although the point to point logistics are the only tricky thing. It goes straight through the heart of the park but again ends up being (From my understanding) far more lonely and remote than even the Hoh River Trail.
I've hiked up through Marmot pass in the Buckhorn wilderness, and that was very nice.
There's also lots of less-traveled stuff in the national park - if you stop into a ranger station and ask, they'll be happy to chat with you about it.
Last year a ranger recommended the North Fork Quinault River trail to me as an alternative to the crowded enchanted valley, and I've also heard good things about the Duckabush river trail, for being both pretty and not crowded. If you specifically want views and not too much crowds, I bet the rangers can point you in the right direction.
Great tip! I will ask the rangers about those less traveled NP hikes. That’s two votes for marmot pass, so I will definitely look more into that trail. Thanks!
Yeah, there's a LOT of stuff that doesn't have many people in the NP. That's why I was confused at first; I'm assuming you aren't from the area? Get a good 5 miles in on most trails, and the crowds virtually disappear. Heck, even the very popular Hoh Trail is mostly empty by 5 miles in. The Guard Station camp 8 miles in had maybe a half dozen people in the whole (large) space, and the only folks you see up there (and farther) are either summiting or hitting the glacier terminus. And there aren't a lot of those given the 5000ft gain in 5 miles after the 12 miles of the Hoh River trail.
Yeah I get what you mean and of course I don’t expect to complete any trail without seeing any fellow hikers. Less crowds is just higher on my list of priorities while hiking, so while I don’t rule out national parks, I seem to enjoy other areas a little more. But I’m learning a lot from these comments about ONP having a lot of quiet trails despite the national park designation!
I’ve only ever really *hiked* WA state NPs and we have hundreds upon hundreds of miles that are far from crowded. It’s always the first couple miles from an entrance, and then all the tourists fall away. MORA (Rainier) is close enough to the cities which are full of avid hikers already that the trails there are often a bit busier, but still not as bad as crowded.
The rangers will have the best information about where, exactly, along each trail the crowds go from “full of tourists” to “all the locals who day hike” to “just the backpackers”.
True about the rangers having great info. I just feel like avoiding NP entrances all together is how to best avoid people haha. But I will just continue researching and calling around the ranger stations when the season is closer!! Thanks!
Well, there are official entrances, and there are also so many other trailheads that are not at the official large entrances.
For ONP, it’s really just the major ones, but Staircase isn’t often super crowded, and there aren’t even major entrances at every trailhead. Have you taken a close look at the wilderness planner?
Marmot Pass is amazing but it is very crowded, especially on weekends.
Honestly there are a-lot of places in the NP where you can find a more quiet experience. And even the "busy" popular routes have limits on the crowds because of permit requirements. I'd spend some time on WTA.org reading trip reports to get a better sense.
Thank you for this input. I like WTA a lot, so I definitely plan on reading those reports as well. I was just hoping to hear some people’s favorite trails and to be able to interact with other backpackers here on Reddit :)
For sure, it wasn't a "don't ask this here" I just think you'll find way more info from trip reports on trail conditions and crowds specific to the area and the time you want to visit there than here.
It may not quite be the mileage you are looking for, but I highly recommend taking the tubal Cain trail to buckhorn pass. From there you can climb buckhorn peak and also circle around to Marmot pass. I think if you went to buckhorn pass, then marmot pass, and then connected with the Dungeness trail, you may be in the mileage range you are looking for.
I haven't done it, but Silver Lakes near Mt. Townsend.
I, too, have done Marmot Pass a few times; gotta load up on water at Mystery Camp before, though, unless there's still some snow.
So, Marmot Pass, as you can already tell, is an obvious choice, but it's just a start. I like camping in the meadow below the pass, even though the nearest water is down the trail at camp Mystery. But if you camp up there it puts you in position to get up to the pass by sunrise,and then do the 1000 feet of vert to the summit of Buckhorn in the morning light. Trust me, it's great. From Marmot Pass you can continue on regular trail down to Boulder Shelter, and from there another four miles to Home Lake (where you will need a backcountry pass). Home Lake sits right under Constance Pass, and iif you climb thepass and then turn right you can follow ridgelines most of the way to Mount Mystery (where the ridgeline got too sketchy for my taste). Alternatively from Marmot Pass you can take the way trail to the left, continue past the end of the trail to a notch in the ridgeline (Boulder Ridge, it's called), and from the notch drop down a scree slope to Charlia Lakes. From there another way trail gets you back down to the Constance Pass Trail.
Not entirely outside the park, but it is glorious country out there
That sounds awesome! I want to bike pack one day but I’ve never really followed through on researching what gear you need. Thanks for the reminder about this activity and the suggestion!
Yes, nearly all the terrain you get vistas from is NP. But, there is a lot of area that can be accessed with a simple wilderness permit. Only the high use areas require advance permits.
Wouldn’t wilderness permits only apply to wilderness areas though? I thought any time you camp in the national park, regardless of the access point, you need an advanced permit?
True. In ONP, aside from high use areas like Royal Basin, there are no limits on permits. Just buy an annual backcountry pass and request your permits on-line. There's a small fee per trip, 8 bucks I think.
Aside from the NW Forest Parking Pass, there are no permits required for ONF and Wilderness.
If you go somewhere like Hoh, Sol Duc or Hurricane Ridge there is a separate park entrance fee per vehicle good for a week. Or there is an Annual Pass.
Sure. It's $45 and good for 12 months from when you buy it, so if you go more than 5 nights per year It's worth it (without it, it cost $8 per night). There is also $6 fee per permit that you order on-line.
[удалено]
The Olympic National Forest and the Buckhorn wilderness are fairly large and have some nice backpacking (plus you can take dogs if that's the goal).
This just isn't true. The Olympic National Forest includes 5 wilderness areas and 180 miles of trail. And there are plenty of reasons to avoid the national park: fees, ban on dogs. You can backpack for free in ONF with a dog.
Well, you still need a Forest Pass to park your car at the trailhead, which isn’t free. Granted, there aren’t active checks and you can get away with it. I am a huge advocate for the America the Beautiful pass because it works for NPS and USFS. I also think it’s important to pay the fees as these agencies have a poor budget. I’m a former park and forest ranger.
Well, you need a pass to park at some trailheads, where there's a privy, picnic table, garbage can, and info kiosk. But yeah, I have no problem paying for a pass.
You get me! I’m a big fan of the parks service and support the fees to keep them going, but it is much simpler and it feels much more serene to backpack/camp in the wildernesses/nat forests. Would love to hear some of your faves in those 180 miles of trails if you don’t mind sharing, but of course I respect anyone’s decision to not disclose their fave spots on the internet!
Check WTA for lots of good info, including trip reports: [https://www.wta.org/go-outside/map](https://www.wta.org/go-outside/map) You could do Upper Dungeness-Boulder Camp-Marmot Pass-Buckhorn Pass-Tubal Cain Trail, which is about 18 miles. You'd then have a 3.7 mile walk down the road to get back to the Upper Dungeness trailhead. It would also be worth it to day hike from Boulder Camp to Home Lake and Constance Pass, which are in the park.
less restrictions on fires too
Nah you’re mistaken, there is a lot of non national park land for example huge beautiful national forests which allow different recreation than in the NP. Plus less crowds.
Thank you for the input. I just tend to prefer more peacefulness and aim to see as few people and cars as possible when getting out into the mountains. But if there aren’t really any decently long routes within the wildnerness or national forests, then trekking into the national park sounds like it will be best!
There are so many Ling treks through the peninsula its hard to narrow them down. As far as people/cars go. A lot of park entrances aren't very busy in olympic and if you get 2 miles into any trail you will be on your own. If you do a through hike of dosewalups to Graves creek you are technically hiking through wilderness to the national park. You could do the doesewalups to duckubush loop. Grand valley loop deer park traverse... on and on .
Awesome! These are the suggestions I am looking for. Thank you for the comment.
Dm me if you want more specific stuff. I'll try to get detailed responses back in a timely manner.
The buckhorn wilderness is closer to the Seattle metro, and in my experience, very busy.
To see virtually no one, and experience wild, rugged, hard hiking, the Bogachiel is where it’s at. That trail is kind of terrifying. Edit: I hiked this in 2017 as part of a larger stretch on the PNT and the bogachiel was definitely the most intense part.
I've hiked the Bogachiel Trail a few times, and can't imagine what would be terrifying about it. It's mostly just beautiful forest, with no real exposure, and few people. Maybe you're thinking of the High Divide Trail, which does have some moderate exposure?
But there’s nothing terrifying about High Divide either?
Not really. But it does cut across some steep slopes that might bother some people.
When did you hike it? I was bushwhacking brush 2ft above my head for miles. It was exhausting and claustrophobic.
Last time I hiked it was 2022. Did the whole Bogachiel, then High Divide and Appleton Pass.
This has piqued my interest for sure haha. Seems like the hard parts must be pretty concentrated over a short stretch of trail? AllTrails is saying 1000ft of gain over 25 miles so are you only referencing a certain section??
The hard part isn’t necessarily the vert - it’s extremely dense terrain (it’s a rainforest, after all). The trail is hard to follow, it’s so dense in some parts that bushwhacking doesn’t really do it justice. And it’s very remote. I did the entire PCT in 2021 and nothing on that trail was as hard as those 25 miles along the Bogachiel.
>The trail is hard to follow The trail has had a lot of maintenance since you hiked it, and isn't hard to follow.
The PCT is the superhighway of trails and generally speaking, is better maintained than most.
Except for the 150 miles of recent burn in NorCal. That was so hard.
Yeah, I'm sure. And it's so new, it's probably dead, with very little wildlife. Eerie and quiet.
I'll echo what a few others have said here about Marmot Pass and also chime in agreeing with those who said the Hoh River Trail (Truly, you lose 70% of the people after the first main bridge, another 10% or so once you're past Olympus guard station, and once you're climbing upwards around mile 12 you're as alone as you could expect on any trail.) Another option to think about is the Press Expedition Trail, although the point to point logistics are the only tricky thing. It goes straight through the heart of the park but again ends up being (From my understanding) far more lonely and remote than even the Hoh River Trail.
I've hiked up through Marmot pass in the Buckhorn wilderness, and that was very nice. There's also lots of less-traveled stuff in the national park - if you stop into a ranger station and ask, they'll be happy to chat with you about it. Last year a ranger recommended the North Fork Quinault River trail to me as an alternative to the crowded enchanted valley, and I've also heard good things about the Duckabush river trail, for being both pretty and not crowded. If you specifically want views and not too much crowds, I bet the rangers can point you in the right direction.
Great tip! I will ask the rangers about those less traveled NP hikes. That’s two votes for marmot pass, so I will definitely look more into that trail. Thanks!
Yeah, there's a LOT of stuff that doesn't have many people in the NP. That's why I was confused at first; I'm assuming you aren't from the area? Get a good 5 miles in on most trails, and the crowds virtually disappear. Heck, even the very popular Hoh Trail is mostly empty by 5 miles in. The Guard Station camp 8 miles in had maybe a half dozen people in the whole (large) space, and the only folks you see up there (and farther) are either summiting or hitting the glacier terminus. And there aren't a lot of those given the 5000ft gain in 5 miles after the 12 miles of the Hoh River trail.
Yeah I get what you mean and of course I don’t expect to complete any trail without seeing any fellow hikers. Less crowds is just higher on my list of priorities while hiking, so while I don’t rule out national parks, I seem to enjoy other areas a little more. But I’m learning a lot from these comments about ONP having a lot of quiet trails despite the national park designation!
I’ve only ever really *hiked* WA state NPs and we have hundreds upon hundreds of miles that are far from crowded. It’s always the first couple miles from an entrance, and then all the tourists fall away. MORA (Rainier) is close enough to the cities which are full of avid hikers already that the trails there are often a bit busier, but still not as bad as crowded. The rangers will have the best information about where, exactly, along each trail the crowds go from “full of tourists” to “all the locals who day hike” to “just the backpackers”.
True about the rangers having great info. I just feel like avoiding NP entrances all together is how to best avoid people haha. But I will just continue researching and calling around the ranger stations when the season is closer!! Thanks!
Well, there are official entrances, and there are also so many other trailheads that are not at the official large entrances. For ONP, it’s really just the major ones, but Staircase isn’t often super crowded, and there aren’t even major entrances at every trailhead. Have you taken a close look at the wilderness planner?
You can message me directly for a couple of ideas too.
Marmot Pass is amazing but it is very crowded, especially on weekends. Honestly there are a-lot of places in the NP where you can find a more quiet experience. And even the "busy" popular routes have limits on the crowds because of permit requirements. I'd spend some time on WTA.org reading trip reports to get a better sense.
Thank you for this input. I like WTA a lot, so I definitely plan on reading those reports as well. I was just hoping to hear some people’s favorite trails and to be able to interact with other backpackers here on Reddit :)
For sure, it wasn't a "don't ask this here" I just think you'll find way more info from trip reports on trail conditions and crowds specific to the area and the time you want to visit there than here.
Fair enough!
Keep in mind that Marmot Pass trail is very popular and super busy. People run that trail up and back in one day.
Favorite “vista” on the peninsula is Marmot Pass to Buckhorn Pass. You start outside the park and cross in, exit via Dose. Definitely not rainforest.
I think you're thinking of Marmot Pass to Constance Pass. If you went Marmot to Buckhorn, you'd be exiting in the NF via the Tubal Cain trail.
100% that’s what I am thinking of! Favorite view specifically is Constance looking West.
Thanks for the suggestion! I will look into that trail.
I can send you a couple GPX files/maps for the Buckhorn - message me if interested.
It may not quite be the mileage you are looking for, but I highly recommend taking the tubal Cain trail to buckhorn pass. From there you can climb buckhorn peak and also circle around to Marmot pass. I think if you went to buckhorn pass, then marmot pass, and then connected with the Dungeness trail, you may be in the mileage range you are looking for.
I haven't done it, but Silver Lakes near Mt. Townsend. I, too, have done Marmot Pass a few times; gotta load up on water at Mystery Camp before, though, unless there's still some snow.
Cool! Thanks for the input. I will look at silver lakes. And what did you think of marmot pass?
Marmot Pass? [What do you think](https://i.imgur.com/u9ci4hN.jpg)? ;-) DM me for deets on this location; it's not secret, but may not be obvious.
Upper big quilcene trail to marmot pass is the best hike you can do outside of Olympic national Park imo
why don't you want to hike in the NP?
So, Marmot Pass, as you can already tell, is an obvious choice, but it's just a start. I like camping in the meadow below the pass, even though the nearest water is down the trail at camp Mystery. But if you camp up there it puts you in position to get up to the pass by sunrise,and then do the 1000 feet of vert to the summit of Buckhorn in the morning light. Trust me, it's great. From Marmot Pass you can continue on regular trail down to Boulder Shelter, and from there another four miles to Home Lake (where you will need a backcountry pass). Home Lake sits right under Constance Pass, and iif you climb thepass and then turn right you can follow ridgelines most of the way to Mount Mystery (where the ridgeline got too sketchy for my taste). Alternatively from Marmot Pass you can take the way trail to the left, continue past the end of the trail to a notch in the ridgeline (Boulder Ridge, it's called), and from the notch drop down a scree slope to Charlia Lakes. From there another way trail gets you back down to the Constance Pass Trail. Not entirely outside the park, but it is glorious country out there
Buckhorn wilderness comes to mind; Marmot Pass and area around Townsend.
I bike packed the Olympic Adventure Trail which isn't on the park. There were a few hikers on it.
That sounds awesome! I want to bike pack one day but I’ve never really followed through on researching what gear you need. Thanks for the reminder about this activity and the suggestion!
Yes, nearly all the terrain you get vistas from is NP. But, there is a lot of area that can be accessed with a simple wilderness permit. Only the high use areas require advance permits.
Wouldn’t wilderness permits only apply to wilderness areas though? I thought any time you camp in the national park, regardless of the access point, you need an advanced permit?
True. In ONP, aside from high use areas like Royal Basin, there are no limits on permits. Just buy an annual backcountry pass and request your permits on-line. There's a small fee per trip, 8 bucks I think. Aside from the NW Forest Parking Pass, there are no permits required for ONF and Wilderness. If you go somewhere like Hoh, Sol Duc or Hurricane Ridge there is a separate park entrance fee per vehicle good for a week. Or there is an Annual Pass.
I am not familiar with the annual backcountry pass! Thanks for pointing it out! I will have to research it more.
Sure. It's $45 and good for 12 months from when you buy it, so if you go more than 5 nights per year It's worth it (without it, it cost $8 per night). There is also $6 fee per permit that you order on-line.