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Dosewallips River Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

The Dosewallips is a moderate sized river (Jerry Adams)
Old road bed at the boundary of Olympic National Park (Jerry Adams)
After Dosewallips Campground, the trail is easy, although not as wide. (Jerry Adams)
There are occasional glimpses of ridges above, but mostly this is a forest/river hike. (Jerry Adams)
Route of the former Dosewallips River Road and trail as far as Dose Forks Camp (bobcat) Courtesy: Caltopo/MapBuilder Topo
  • Start point: Dosewallips TrailheadRoad.JPG
  • End point: Dose Forks Camp
  • Hike type: In and out
  • Distance: 16.0 miles
  • Elevation gain: 1640 feet
  • High point: 2,020 feet
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Seasons: Year round, except in periods of low level snow
  • Family Friendly: Yes, for a shorter distance
  • Backpackable: Yes
  • Crowded: On summer weekends

Contents

Hike Description

The Dosewallips Road Trail is a good early season hike. The trail is fairly low elevation, so it doesn't get a lot of snow. The route follows the Dosewallips River on an old road bed for the first 6 1/2 miles. This is in deep forest with no expansive views. It's on the east side of the Olympics, so it gets less rain than the west side. The trail is well maintained, and you'll note several old mileage signs and speed signs. There are several bridges across major side streams. The first 4 1/2 miles of the trail is in the Olympic National Forest; then you'll enter the Olympic National Park. There are frequent campsites if you're into backpacking. Inside the Olympic National Park, you need to follow rules about using bear boxes, wires, or bear canisters.

In the summer, the route invites a much longer excursion into the national park. Grand Pass is almost 30 miles from the trailhead (see the Grand Valley Loop Hike). You can also take the West Fork Dosewallips River Trail up to Anderson Pass and then join the East Fork Quinault River Trail (see the Enchanted Valley Hike). If you're entering the Olympic Wilderness, which begins just west of the Dosewallips Campground, you will need to purchase overnight permits in advance.

Start at the Dosewallips Trailhead at 520 feet in elevation. The trailhead has been moved east over the years because of frequent washouts. In less than half a mile, you'll pass the junction with the Tunnel Creek Trail and then the site of the Steelhead Campground. The road bed continues above the north bank of the Dosewallips River. Slopes to the north are in the Buckhorn Wilderness. Those to the south lie within The Brothers Wilderness. About 1.2 miles from the trailhead, there's a detour around a road washout from 2003, when part of the hillside slid into the river. (You may also be able to take a shorter but less stable route at the base of the slide on the river bank.) The trail continues on the old road bed, so it's very wide with good bridges across any side streams.

After crossing Stony Brook, you'll see an old road bed leading down to the left. This reaches the Elkhorn Campground, an old car camp, 0.2 miles from the Dosewallips Road Trail and 2.5 miles from the trailhead. There are bear boxes and picnic tables, but no pit toilet. Some of the campsites are right on the Dosewallips River.

Soon you'll pass into the 2009 Constance Burn. About 2 1/4 miles west of the Elkhorn turnoff, you'll cross into Olympic National Park. There's an old gate here. At Constance Creek, you'll pass the very steep trail that leads up to Constnace Lake and the climbing route to Mount Constance. About 1.8 miles east of the national park boundary, and 6.3 miles from the trailhead, is the Dosewallips Campground and the end of the old road. This is also an old car camp. You'll reach it via short trails branching off to the left. There are picnic tables, bear boxes, and pit toilets. There's an old ranger station building and a shed with a plywood floor. The porch of the restroom is covered, so you can use it to cook if it's raining. The ranger station also marks the boundary of the Olympic Wilderness. Pets and bicycles are not permitted beyond here. You do not need a camping permit to stay here (or in campsites to the east), but permits are required if camping anywhere in the national park wilderness.

From the Dosewallips Campground, the trail is narrower but still in good shape. There are bridges across major side streams. West of the Dosewallips Campground are Station Creek and Pass Creek. The trail braids here, with a slightly longer diversion taking you down to the Dosewallips River and then rejoining the main trail before Pass Creek. One and a half miles from the Dosewallips Campground, the West Fork Dosewallips River trail splits off to the left and descends a short distance to Dose Forks Camp, just above the Dosewallips River. Here there are a toilet, bear wires, and several campsites. The bridge over the scenic river defile is just below the camp area.

It's 34.4 miles from the Dosewallips Trailhead over Anderson Pass to the Graves Creek Trailhead on the Quinault.


Maps

Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • No facilities at the trailhead
  • $30 National Parks 7-day pass (America the Beautiful Pass also valid) if you're entering the national park
  • Bicycles and dogs permitted on the old road bed as far as Dosewallips Campground and the former ranger station
  • No dogs or bikes west of the Dosewallips Campground
  • $8 per night backcountry camping fee plus $6 permit fee (see Wilderness Backpacking Reservations) in the Olympic Wilderness
  • Pack all food in a bear canister or use the bear wires or bear boxes if camping inside the national park

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula by Craig Romano
  • Washington: The Creaky Knees Guide by Seabury Blair, Jr.

More Links

More Information

  • Port Angeles Visitor Center (360) 565-3100
  • Forks Visitor Center (360) 374-7566


Contributors

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