Hike of the Week: Elk Lakes
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| Elk Lakes offer plenty of springtime serenity |
Elk Lakes
Small Olympic lakes bustle with springtime activity
by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin
March 14, 2008
Quick Facts
Location: Hood Canal east Olympic Peninsula
Land Agency: National Forest Service
Roundtrip: 4.0 miles
Elevation gain: 400 feet
Contact: Olympic National Forest, Hood Canal Ranger District (360) 765-2200; http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic
Green Trails Map: The Brothers, WA-No 168
Notes: Northwest Trail Pass required from main trailhead on FR 2401
Access: From Hoodsport, travel US 101 north for 14 miles. At Milepost 318, turn left onto FR 25. Continue for 6.5 mile turning left onto FR 2480. Cross Hamma Hamma River and immediately turn right onto unsigned FR 2421. Follow this primitive road 1.6 miles to a pullout on your left. Park here; trail begins at sharp turn in road. If FR 2421 is too rough, stay on FR 2480 for 3 more miles; turn right onto FR 2401 and proceed 2.5 miles to main trailhead.
This oft-overlooked trail makes for a perfect spring getaway on the Olympic Peninsula. Its low elevation means no snow and lots of blossoming trilliums and skunk cabbage. The lakes themselves, often just grassy marshlands in summer are now overflowing with snowmelt and bustling with breeding birds and singing frogs. And there’s old-growth forest too along this hike; beautiful groves spared from the logging frenzy of the 1980s and early 90s.
The Elk Lakes are easily accessible off of FR 2401, but by taking this back way, you’re guaranteed a quiet journey to them and lots of big cedars and firs to admire along the way. Find the unmarked but well-maintained trail heading west through a tunnel of second-growth greenery. Within a few minutes you’ll emerge on a hillside above roaring Jefferson Creek. Born in the snowfields of Mount Ellinor and her rugged neighbors, Jefferson crashes through a steep and narrow canyon before draining into the Hamma Hamma River.
Next enter magnificent primeval forest and after a series of slight ups and downs arrive at a junction in 1.1 miles. Head right through a grove of monster cedars to the lower Elk Lake. Continue along the shore and witness a fury of avian and amphibian activity. The trail continues on a mostly level course following Jefferson Creek through more impressive old-growth. At 1.9 miles from your start reach the upper trailhead on FR 2401. Retrace your steps or follow the road left for a half mile picking up trail again just after crossing Cedar Creek. The upper Elk Lake is reached on a short path leaving from across the road.
Head left dropping back to the main lake and in .4 mile from the road, reach a junction. The right trail leads .1 mile to the main trailhead. Head left crossing Jefferson Creek on a sturdy log bridge to return back to your vehicle.
For information on lodging and other attractions near Elk Lakes visit
Click here for link to Olympic Pennsula
