LITTLE RIVER TRAIL

Length 8.1 mi/13.0 km
Access Little River Road; Hurricane Hill Lookout Trail 
USGS Maps Mount Angeles; Port Angeles; Hurricane Hill
Agency Olympic National Park

One of several Trails that lead from the lowlands to Hurricane Ridge, this route follows the South 
Branch Little River, which is bordered on the left by Wildcat Mountain and Mount Angeles and on 
the right by the Elwha River Range. The elevation gain is considerable {more than 4000 ft/ 1219 
m); therefore, if a party has two vehicles at its disposal, it is better to leave a car at the lower 
trailhead, then drive to the upper one on Hurricane Ridge and hike down.

The trail begins (990 ft/302 m) on the Little River Road. 0.1 mi/0.2 km east of the junction with the 
Black Diamond Road, and descends to the Little River, which it crosses on a log bridge, then 
meanders to the South Branch. Between the trailhead and the national park boundary (1.3 mi/2.1 
km; 1200 ft/366 m) the trail traverses stands of large second-growth fir on state land. The virgin 
forest was logged years ago, and rotted stumps with springboard cuts are all that is left of the old 
trees.

Within the park the forest consists chiefly of old-growth fir, cedar, and hemlock. Here the route 
passes the initial trailside attraction—a vertical stonewall, followed by the first Gnome Rock (one 
of three). The sheer sides of the huge basalt boulder are covered with ferns, both maidenhair and 
sword. The trail then makes the first of ten crossings of the South Branch; All but the last three 
are spanned by foot logs of varying size, several of them made more interesting by a luxuriant 
growth of devil's club alongside.

The trail forks as it approaches a campsite and the second crossing, where lava cliffs border the 
far side of the stream. The right branch leads to an old, abandoned mine.

After the third and fourth crossings, the trail goes by the second and third Gnome Rocks. Like the 
first one, they are enormous piles of basalt covered with ferns. Once again the trail crosses the 
river—the fifth time in slightly more than a mile. The sixth crossing is the most picturesque—the 
log spans a deep, clear pool. Beyond the seventh crossing the trail climbs steeply, switch backing 
up the mountainside, where it crosses several small streams. The character of the forest 
changes—the Douglas-firs disappear, and the trees are now mostly western hemlock and silver 
fir.

The last three crossings are insignificant because the stream is shallow, little more than a brook, 
and one can step across on rocks. An old campsite is located near the eighth crossing (ca. 6.6 
mi/10.6 km).

As the trail ascends higher, the country becomes more open, with views across a little valley to 
meadowland and slopes covered with cone-shaped evergreens and with brush that turns color in 
the fall. The trail now climbs sharply, switch backing through stands of sub-alpine fir, and the 
meadows are larger. The trail ends in meadowland at a junction (8.1 mi/! 3.0 km; 5125 ft/1562 m) 
with the Hurricane Hill Lookout Trail, at the head of the South Branch between Hurricane Hill 
and Big Meadow, 0,2 mi/0.3 km from the Hurricane Hill Lookout Frail parking area. {Before 
construction of the old Hurricane Ridge Road, the trail went on to the summit of Hurricane Hill, 
but the road obliterated the trail. The Hurricane Hill Lookout Trail then replaced the road, thus 
in effect restoring the old Little River Trail.)