Over-the-Hill Hike Descriptions -- Feb, 2025
Wed, Feb 26 Marymere Falls/Moments in Time [Easy] 4.7-6 / 586'-772' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$5
Easy hike near Lake Crescent Lodge. Add on by going up Barnes Creek Trail to 1st bridge, come back & do the Marymere Falls Trail, go towards Lake Crescent Lodge and Bovee's Meadow, then on the 2/3-mi. Moments of Time Nature Trail. Go by the Nature Bridge Camp. The "Moments in Time" self-guided, nature trail (with signs offering history of the area, etc.) used to be called the Barnes Point Nature Trail. It takes you along the lakeshore, through mature forest, & past a meadow (old homestead). Leave & go west from the Storm King Ranger Station parking lot.
Fri, Feb 28 Mt. Walker [Mod to Diff] 5.5-7.2 / 2050'-2145' NW Forest/Golden ride-$5
Although this is a short hike, it is steep & considered Moderate to Difficult! You can hike up the steep 2-miles to Mt. Walker and see the views of Mt. Constance and the Olympics from the 1st viewpoint and then walk ~ a 1/2 mile along the Summit Rd. to the 2nd viewpoint looking towards Puget Sound & Hood Canal and the N. Cascades and then walk down the road on a much gentler grade for 4 miles back to parking.
Over-the-Hill Hike Descriptions -- Mar, 2025
Wed, Mar 5 Dungeness Spit / New Dungeness Lighthouse [Easy to Mod] 5 - 7 miles / 140'-167' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$3
Walk about 1/2 mile from parking at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge to the beach. We’ll walk on the spit for 2.5 to 3.5 miles then turn around to admire stunning views. We plan this hike accordingly to the best low tide schedule.
Fri, Mar 7 Cassidy Creek [Moderate] 10.5-11 / 1350'-1550' Discover ride-$3
This is a road hike on DNR land off of Atterbury Rd. and is an out-and-back hike. At the first high point at ~ 2 miles, there are great views of Blue Mt., Tyler Peak, and other surrounding mountains in the Olympics. This is a multi-use area with a variety of other routes and trails off of the main road. Go to high point for more views and to road end to complete the route! Can do a loop coming back through the woods, if feeling "adventurous"!
Wed, Mar 12 Heart of the Forest [Easy to Mod] 5-5.5 / 650'-850' Nat'l Park/Golden ride-$5
This is a pleasant nature trail leaving from Loop "E" in the Heart of the Hills Campground @ ~ 1,400'. It offers beautiful, old-growth trees, plenty of fern varieties, and other flora in a rainforest-type ecosystem. While hiking on this trail, carefully cross puncheon walkways, as they can be slippery. Hikers go to a big, fallen tree above Lake Creek, which makes a good turn-around point before leaving the Natl. Park boundary.
Fri, Mar 14 Deer Park DNR Snowshoe [Easy to Mod] 3.4-3.7 / 527' Discover ride-$7
This uses a DNR area off of Deer Park Rd. before the gate (on the right-hand side). We can snowshoe along the road for a bit and then head left uphill toward the top and to a log landing. It often offers some good views of Port Angeles and gives a decent workout!
Wed, Mar 19 Little River [Moderate] 7-9 / 875'-1745' Discover ride-$5
This is a hike close to Port Angeles off of the Black Diamond Rd. The trail enters Natl. Park at about 1.2 miles. This used to be a historical trail leading to mines. You will pass by rock walls, old growth trees, and cross log bridges across the S. Branch of the Little River about 5-7 times and can end up at a log bridge (with a rope for support).
Fri, Mar 21 Elbo Creek / Buck Mountain [Mod to Diff] 9.3-9.6 / 2824'-2925' NW Forest/Golden ride-$5
This is a moderately difficult hike, especially the first 2.5 miles and then becomes moderate after that point hiking along a F.S. road. There are a couple of viewpoints at ~ the 4-mile mark (Mt. Jupiter, Constance, & the Brothers) and at ~ the 4.5-mile mark, can get views towards Hood Canal & the Cascades. Then, one can continue on up to a cell tower up on Buck Mt. Then, there is a “goat trail” up to a cliff edge for even better views.
Wed, Mar 26 Striped Peak [Easy to Mod] 7 / 850' n/a ride-$5
Go to the Striped Peak @ 1,166’ (not a real peak but a high prominence), on a newly built trail in this County Park and 1500-acre DNR area. There are also fabulous views of Crescent Bay, towards Vancouver Island across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, etc. One might even get to see Mt. Baker! https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/striped-peak
Fri, Mar 28 Miller Peninsula [Easy to Mod] 6-9.7 / 600'-1014' Discover ride-$3
Many routes & options are at this State Park, depending upon what the leader chooses, whether it be from E. Sequim Bay Road, along the Manzanita/Bluff Trail; off of Pierce Road; or from the main parking area off of Diamond Point Rd.; to the beach, to Captain Thompson's grave, etc.
NOTE: As with any hike, do your own research on a particular hike and assess whether it is of your hiking ability. Always carry your Hiking Essentials and do not rely on others to bring them for you. Thank you!
DISCLAIMER: OTHH assumes no collective or individual liability for any mishaps on any of their hikes or outings. Please use discretion and be safe. Please read the Hazards & Liability section on the Home page of the OTHH website and refer to the link given and agree to the conditions set forth in that document.
WILDERNESS HIKE: One hike listed above (Mt. Townsend to Silver Lake) goes into the Wilderness, so there is a Wilderness Regulation of a limit of 12 in a group. Please honor this and divide up.
EARLY START: Watch for an e-mail from the leader(s) ahead of time indicating what time to meet at the Sequim Safeway Gas Station parking lot.