Hike of the Week: Spruce Nature Trail

Plenty of big maples line the way too on the Spruce Nature Trail

Spruce Nature Trail

An easy stroll for all in the Hoh Rainforest

by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

Quick Facts
Location: Hoh Rainforest Valley
Land Agency: National Park Service
Roundtrip: 1.5 miles
Elevation gain: None
Contact: Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center (360) 565-3100; http://www.nps.gov/olym
Notes: Dogs Prohibited, National Park Entry Fee
Access: From Forks travel south on US 101 for 12 miles turning left onto the Upper Hoh Road. Continue east for 18 miles to visitor’s center and trailhead.

The most famous of all the Olympic Rainforests; the Hoh is one of the busiest places in the entire Olympic National Park. A visitor’s center, a campground, a long-distance trail into the heart the park, and a couple of well-groomed nature trails annually attract busloads of admirers from Seattle to Seoul, Boston to Berlin. But in the heart of winter you can often have this rainforest to yourself. And chances are good to excellent that you’ll get to witness some of the valley’s most famous residents, majestic Roosevelt elk, when you take to the Hoh in the rainiest of seasons.
If you don’t feel like venturing far, or perhaps you have a few youngsters in tow, the Spruce Nature Trail makes for a great short escape. Start by following the paved Hall of Mosses Trail .2 mile to a junction. The Hoh River Trail continues straight for over 16 miles to Mount Olympus. Head right onto the Spruce Nature Trail for a delightful 1.3 mile loop. Pass by colonnades of spruce and under awnings of moss-cloaked maples. Licorice ferns and club mosses cling to overhanging trees like Christmas decorations on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. And while the surroundings are lush, the understory is fairly open. You can thank the elk for that, their constant browsing helps keep the shrubs and bushes well-trimmed.
And if you don’t see any of these large mammals you will most certainly see some of the rainforest’s smaller denizens. A cacophony of bird song; wrens, nuthatches, woodpeckers, chickadees and thrushes usually fill the forest air. Look for them under the towering canopy. And admire too the mighty river that slices through this primeval forest. The nature trail brushes up alongside it for a short way as it loops back to the visitor center. And if after you finish your rainforest odyssey, you crave for more. Consider hiking a short way up the Hoh River Trail or head to the .8 mile Hall of Mosses Trail, where some of the most photographed trees in America can be seen.

For information on lodging and other attractions near Spruce Nature Trail visit
Click here for link to Olympic Pennsula