CONNECTS TO: GRAND PASS TRAIL ELK MOUNTAIN PRIMITIVE TRAIL BADGER VALLEY TRAIL
THREE FORKS TRAIL CAMERON PASS TRAIL CAMERON CREEK TRAIL
GRAND VALLEY CAMERON CREEK TRAIL UPPER GRAYWOLF RIVER TRAIL


DIRECTIONS TO : DEER PARK OR OBSTRUCTION POINT TRAILHEAD

TRAIL OPTIONS :

From the parking lot of Obstruction Point, follow the trail to the left. (The right goes to Grand Valley.) In 2 miles you'll find yourself at the breathtaking top of Elk Mountain. Over the next 5.5 miles, you will pass through Roaring Winds Camp (not misnamed), up to Maiden Peak and finally Green Mountain. In late June the air is filled with the smell of Lyle's lupine, which grows amid the loose scree. This is a good turnaround point, unless you want to descend to Deer Park.

In front of you are peaks and lakes and marmots and deer and more marmots and more peaks. Several different loop trips are possible. You could also head south, cross Grand Pass, Cameron Pass, and Lost Pass, then either head west (across Hayden Pass) to the Elwha, or east down the Dosewallips.


NEAREST CAMPGROUND: Heart O' the Hills (5 miles from Port Angeles)


RANGER STATION : Hurricane Ridge

BRING WATER AND STRONG SUNBLOCK AND BUG SPRAY
There is a shortage of both trees and water on this hike.

SEE BADGER VALLEY TRAIL FOR ALTERNATIVE IF STORMING.

INFO ABOUT TRAIL :

CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS

TRAIL MAP

GRAND VALLEY TRAIL

PARK OVERVIEW

NED HILL TRAIL

HURRICANE LOOKOUT TRAIL

GRAND RIDGE TRAIL - 1

TRAIL OVERVIEW

GRAND RIDGE - 2

BACKPACKER MAG #1

BACKPACKER MAG #2

THE PARK

GRAND VALLEY

GRAND VALLEY INFORMATION & MAP

JOURNAL

DEER PARK OVERVIEW

SARBAR

BLUE MOUNTAIN

DEER PARK INFO & MAP

The various loop trails around Hurricane Ridge are fine, but one of the pre-eminent wildflower walks of the park -- best in late June and early July -- is the Grand Ridge Trail between Obstruction Point Road and the Deer Park area. So bring your camera, but don't pick. You'll also see more common paintbrush, lupine, phlox, aster, avalanche lilies and heather. Try the Hurricane Hill Trail, starting where the road ends, for 3 miles (round-trip) of wildflowers and stunning mountain views. Layers of sedimentary rock along the trail stand folded and tilted on end from the continental collision. The summer wildflower hike to Roaring Winds camp from Obstruction Point, a 6.4-mile round-trip walk with a one-way option for hikers with cars parked at Obstruction Point and Deer Park.

OBSTRUCTION PEAK :

Obstruction Peak (6,450'/1966m). Obstruction Peak is located at the eastern end of Hurricane Ridge. It is easily ascended from the Obstruction Point-Deer Park Trail leading NE from the end of Obstruction Point Road, or via a direct cross-country hike and scramble from the road.

Klahhane Ridge extends from the peaks of Mt. Angeles through Rocky Peak to Burnt Mountain. Hurricane Ridge proper extends from Hurricane Hill above the Elwha Valley to Obstruction Point and continues, with a name change as Grand Ridge, all the way to Deer Park where it is truncated by Blue Mountain, but it could be said to extend all the way down Deer Ridge to Ned Hill above the Dungeness River.

Lillian Ridge is a spur of Hurricane Ridge. Therefore, the highest peak on Hurricane/Grand Ridge is really Elk Mountain (6764 feet elev.) but since most people associate this mountain with the name "Grand Ridge", Obstruction Point is a good terminus and high point for "Hurricane Ridge". Most tourists fail to realize that Hurricane Ridge is NOT visible from Port Angeles and vicinity. What they are looking at (and calling Hurricane Ridge) is actually Klahhane Ridge and the Elwha River Range.








GRAND RIDGE :

The entirety of the Grand Ridge Trail, which links Hurricane Ridge to Obstruction Point, is above tree line, and most of its length is along a knife-edge ridge with huge views spilling in either direction. Most of the trees are subalpine fir. Their distinctive steeple shape helps shed snow. Near tree line, a 3-foot-tall tree may be 100 years old; summer wildflowers thrive where no tree can take hold. Grand Ridge (Obstruction Point to Green Mountain)--11 mi. RT. Moderate.



CLIMATE :

I WOULD USE SEQUIM WA. FOR CLOSEST WEATHER FORECAST. The northeastern corner of Olympic National Park lies in the rain shadow of the mountains, making it one of the driest areas in the park. The difference in plant communities is visible as you hike through the region with lush plant growth on northern aspects of the area and drier southern facing hillsides.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.