Hiking Olympic National Park
By Erik Molvar

Ranger Hole Trail

This trail begins 3.9 miles up the Duckabush River at the historic Interrorem 
Ranger Station. This tightly built log cabin with its distinctive pyramidal 
roof served as the original ranger headquarters for Mt. Olympus National 
Monument, which was to become a national park in 1938. A self-guided nature 
trail loops through the forest behind the cabin, which has grown in the wake of 
logging that dates from the mid-1800s. Interpretive plaques identify the plants 
of the lowland forest community. Meanwhile, the Ranger Hole trail winds 
southwest through a second-growth forest. It passes a modern clearcut before 
dropping sharply to reach the banks of the Duckabush River after 0.8 mile. 
Here, the river charts a foaming passage through a narrow slot in the bedrock, 
then spreads out into the placid and crystalline depths of Ranger Hole. 
Steelhead could once be seen holding in the depths of this pool during their 
spawning migrations, but siltation from clear cutting as well as heavy fishing 
pressure have depleted their numbers.