Hiking Olympic National Park
By Erik Molvar

Ancient Groves Nature Trail

From the Sol Due Hot Springs Road, this 0.5-mile loop passes through 
the old-growth lowland forest that covers the banks of the Sol Duc 
River. Most of the oldest trees are Douglas fir, although a few stately 
Sitka spruce rise through a lower canopy of younger western hemlock. 
Well-drained glacial terraces cup swales and glades where lady fern and 
vine maple thrive. Townsend's warblers, dark-eyed juncos, and winter 
wrens are the most prominent forest inhabitants, while belted 
kingfishers and water ouzels are commonly spotted along the river.