QUINAULT LOOP TRAIL

Length 4.0 mi/6.4 km 
Access South Snore Road 
USGS Map Lake Quinault East 
Agency Olympic National Forest

One of three trails south of Lake Quinault, this route makes an 
irregular closed loop that has no beginning or ending point, and 
it lies less than 500 feet above sea level. The trail is described 
counterclockwise, beginning at the parking area on the South Shore 
Road 200 feet northeast of the Pacific Ranger District, Quinault 
office.

The trail follows Falls Creek, which until 2002 had its banks lined 
with baskets filled with stones-to protect the banks. They were 
installed in 1968 because winter floods often caused severe erosion. 
A bridge over the creek leads to the campground and picnic area cast 
of the creek; walk-in campsites on the west side are just ahead.

Coming out to the lake, the trail edges the shore, going by houses 
garages, and boat landings, and one can hear the traffic on the nearby 
road. The path then crosses in front of Quinault Lodge. During hot, dry 
weather sprinklers on the roof of this imposing establishment keep it 
wet as a safeguard against fire.

The jungle along the lakeshore consists of a rank growth of blackberry, 
salmonberry, skunk cabbage, thimbleberry, and hydrangea that has gone 
wild. The view is good across the lake to beautifully forested Higley 
Peak and the ridges to the north, but the mountainside to the northeast 
is scarred by a real estate development on private land within the national 
park boundaries. At one point the hiker can look up the Quinault Valley 
and see Mount Colonel Bob.

At Willaby Creek Campground (0.9 mi/1.4 km), the trail turns away from the 
lake, then crosses Willaby Creek and goes beneath the highway bridge that 
spans Willaby Gorge. The trail now enters the primeval forest, where the 
coolness is inviting on a hot day. This section along the gorge, with its 
luxuriant display of rain forest vegetation and big trees, is the most 
beautiful and imposing part of the route. The broad, smooth path, bordered 
by protective guardrails, climbs as it parallels the steep-sided canyon, 
which is lined with ferns (particularly sword and maidenhair), devils club, 
huckleberry, and salmonberry. The trees are impressive: giant firs, spruces, 
and cedars lift lofty crowns high above the jungle that borders the clear, 
rock-bottomed stream. The forest floor is covered with oxalis and several 
kinds of ferns-deer, sword, and maidenhair. Signs posted along the trail 
give information about the rain forest.

The path climbs to a junction with the Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail 
(1.2 mi/1.9 km). The trail then leaves the big firs as it descends through 
stands of western hemlock (apparently growing on an old burn), crosses Willaby 
Creek, and returns to the virgin forest. Here it enters a swamp where western 
red cedars are abundant, including numerous dead snags. The trail now consists 
of puncheon, much of it an elevated boardwalk that curves around the trees 
and piles of logs.

Leaving the bog, the trail follows Falls Creek to a junction with the Lodge 
Trail (2.9 mi/4.7 km), crosses the creek, and goes through stands of western 
hemlock. After crossing a side stream-a series of cascades and pools-the trail 
descends to the South Shore Road and the parking area at Falls Creek 
(4.0 mi/6.4 km).