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How to Plan the Perfect Backpacking Trip through the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park


Tall trees, ferns, and moss as viewed from the Hoh Rainforest trail in Olympic National Park

If you're planning on visiting Olympic National Park, you can't miss the Hoh Rainforest. The Hoh Rainforest is part of the longest continuous network of temperate rainforests that spans the coast of the Pacific Northwest. It is hailed unofficially as one of the quietest places on Earth and is quite possibly one of the greenest places I've ever been as well.


On this backpacking trip, you'll be able to hike for miles through lushy, mossy forests laden with ferns. The last 7 miles of this out-and-back route takes you up and out of the rainforest, where you receive some of the most breathtaking views of Mount Olympus and the surrounding Olympic mountain range. This backpacking trail also features an iconic rope ladder down a steep chute that will certainly make the trip memorable. I had done this trip in 3.5 days, but a proficient backpacker can complete the trail in a single weekend.

 

Contents

 

The Route

Here are a some key features about this route:

  • Length: 34.1mi

  • Elevation Gain: 5600ft

  • Route Type: Out-and-back

  • Direct Link to Trailhead

A Caltopo topographic map of the Hoh Rainforest area of Olympic National Park, with the Hoh Rainforest to Blue Glacier Route marked in red. Red markers indicate major waypoints, a green line indicates an alternative overland route that circumnavigates 2 creek crossings, and an orange tent marker shows the recommended campsite.
The Route, Out-and-Back from west to east

While you can also find this trail on AllTrails, I wanted to share a specially drawn, downloadable version of the route with some key markers and waypoints.


On the image of the route above, you'll find 3 markers in red. The first 2 markers indicate the location of 2 major seasonal creek crossings, and the 3rd marker indicates the location of the iconic rope ladder.


When I backpacked this route, the seasonal creek crossings had high flow, so I made sure to explore and track my path through on the primitive trail that circumnavigates the creek crossings in green.


The tent symbol in orange indicates where we had set up camp at the Lewis Meadow backcountry campsite.


I highly recommend downloading this map for offline navigation, especially if you plan on taking the primitive trail.

Terrain stats of the Hoh Rainforest to Blue Glacier Route in Olympic National Park. The route has a distance of 34 miles and 5600ft of elevation gain. Most of the elevation gain does not happen until the 12mile mark.
Terrain Stats

The first 12 miles of the trail follow the Hoh River. It's essentially a flat stroll through the rainforest.


The final 5 miles of the trail, shortly past Lewis Meadows, is a steep ascent up a mountain ridge. As you approach the rope ladder (labeled "The Ladder of Death" on my downloadable Caltopo map), the route gets pretty narrow and the footing gets loose.


Trekking poles are highly recommended on this trail.

 

Where to Camp on the Hoh Rainforest Trail

The Olympic National Park Wilderness Planning map with the Hoh Rainforest to Blue Glacier route marked in red.
Campgrounds along the Hoh Rainforest Trail

There are so many great options to camp along the Hoh Rainforest Trail. We decided to camp at Mt Tom Creek on Day 0 of our backpacking trip and set up base camp at Lewis Meadow for Days 1 and 2.

Campground

Distance from Trailhead

Food Storage

Fire Pits

Toilet

Mt Tom Creek

2.8mi

Bear Wire

Yes

No

Five Mile Island

5.0mi

Bear Wire

Yes

Yes

Happy Four

6.3mi

Bear Wire

Yes

No

Olympic Guard Station

9.0mi

Bear Wire

Yes

Yes

Lewis Meadow

10.4mi

Bear Wire

Yes

Yes

Martin Creek

14.3mi

Bear Wire

Yes

No

Elk Lake

14.6mi

Bear Wire

No

Yes

Glacier Meadows

16.6mi

Bear Wire

No

Yes

All the campsites are situated with easy access to water.


I've heard from other hikers that Elk Lake can be full of mosquitos in the summer and recommend avoiding it if possible as it is the only still-water campground.

 

How to Obtain Backpacking Permits for The Hoh Rainforest Trail

A screenshot of the Olympic National Park Wilderness Permit page of the Recreation.gov website
Reserve backcountry permits through recreation.gov

Olympic National Park backcountry permits are reservable through the Recreation.gov website (keyword: Olympic National Park Wilderness Permit). Once you get to this page, you'll want to click "Check Availability" on the top right of the screen.


Select Hoh as the starting area and input information about your group size and starting date.


A Note on Day 0 Camping --

I personally prefer to be close to the trailhead the evening before the start of a big backpacking trip. On this particular trip, I ended up backpacking into the first backcountry campground at Mt Tom Creek; however there is also the option to camp near the trailhead at the Hoh Rainforest Campground (reserved on a separate website).


As of 2023, these campground reservations are released on a rolling basis:

  • 33x A loop campsites will be available for reservation 6 months in advance.

  • 25x C loop campsites will be available for reservations 2 weeks in advance.

  • 8x B loop campsites will be available for reservations 4 days in advance.

 

Food Storage on the Hoh Rainforest Trail

Sarah from The Wild Compiled slowly hoists her food and stove down from the bear wire.
The magic of bear wires in action

All campgrounds along the Hoh Rainforest trail are equipped with bear wires as black bears and other smaller hungry critters are known to frequent Olympic National Park.


Bear wires are a great campground amenity as they offer a low-cost, lightweight solution to food storage. All you need to do is put your food, stove, and scented items into a bag, clip it onto the bear wire using the provided carabiner, hoist the bag up, then clip the other end of the bear wire onto a metal ring you can find on a nearby tree.


If you're uncomfortable using a bear wire, bear cans will suffice.

 

Will I be able to find water in the Hoh Rainforest?

A small creek flowing, surrounded by mossy rocks and ferns, along the Hoh Rainforest Trail in Olympic National Park
You can see lush creeks flowing like this all throughout the hike

Yes! Water is plentiful. Beyond the 2 major creek crossings marked on the map, there are numerous small ankle-deep creeks all along the trail, especially between the trailhead and Lewis Meadow.


On the steep section between Lewis Meadow and Glacier Meadows, there were fewer accessible spots to filter water. Elk Lake is a good spot to fill up; however, the water there is still and may have some swampy flavor to it. Halfway between Elk Lake and Glacier Meadows, there's another creek crossing that you can rock-hop across; this is a much better place to fill up. Bring plenty of water with you on this section as it is strenuous and unshielded from the sun sometimes.


 

Were there bugs along the Hoh Rainforest Trail?

Surprisingly, we made it out of the Hoh Rainforest without a single bug bite!


We made sure to cover ourselves with a Deet-based bug spray on Days 0-2 of the backpacking trip, but on Day 3, we opted not to re-apply. We saw a few swarms of midges at head-level throughout the hike and even more midges at the bog around Elk Lake, but not a single mosquito.

 

Trail Report

This trail was hiked on 05/26/23 - 05/29/23.

Day 0 - Hoh River Visitor Center to Mt Tom Creek Campground


Day 0 of the backpacking trip included the drive from Seattle to the Hoh Rainforest and a short 2.9mi hike out to Mt Tom Creek.


As someone who identifies with being a night owl more than being an early bird, I prefer to do long drives to my destination the evening before a trip and camp nearby rather than wake up at an ungodly time in the morning the next day. We started off our long weekend by leaving work early and driving straight to the Hoh Rainforest.


Without traffic, the drive to the Hoh Rainforest from Seattle takes around 3-3.5hours. However, with the traffic we bumped into after work, it took us closer to 5 hours to reach our destination. The Hoh Rainforest reports that during peak times on the weekends, a line at the entrance may form, causing delays of a few hours, but when we arrived around 7pm on Friday night, there was no line and no one managing the booth.

A trail sign for the Hoh River trail that reads "Elevation 573ft, Tom Creek 2.9mi, Happy Four Shelter 5.8mi, Olympus Guard Station 9.1mi, Hoh Lake Trail Jct 9.7mi, Elk Lake 15.1mi, Glacier Meadows 17.3mi, Glacier Moraine 18.1mi, Sol Duc Ranger Station 26.3mi"
Your journey begins here

The trailhead starts at the Visitor Center. If you have extra time before or after your trip, you can also enjoy a side quest on the Hall of Mosses trail.


Immediately, I entered a mystical wonderland of ancient trees and ferns, with moss draping the landscape like silk curtains.


The hike to Mt Tom Creek was entirely flat. At around the 1-1.5 mile mark, we encountered a branch-off that looked like a deprecated campground. This is not Mt Tom Creek; be sure to keep on hiking until you see an obvious trail sign.


As we were approaching Mt Tom Creek, a day hiker coming from the opposite direction had told us that he had encountered a heard of elk up ahead on the trail, but we unfortunately did not get to see the elk.

A trail sign along the Hoh Rainforest Trail in Olympic National Park that reads "Mt Tom Creek, 2.9mi"
Made it!

The Mt Tom Creek campground has its bear wire right by the group site. Most of the campsites were right along the Hoh River. The campsites were not demarked by site numbers, but were instead marked with fire pits. On a busy weekend, you may need to squeeze in with other groups.

A campsite at Mt Tom Creek campground along the Hoh River. The campsite includes a fire pit and logs to sit on.  This campground is along the Hoh River Trail at Olympic National Park.
Home for the night

Day 1 - Mt Tom Creek Campground to Lewis Meadow

Ferns and tall lush trees draped in moss as viewed along the Hoh Rainforest Trail in Olympic National Park
Another beautiful day in the forest

On Day 1, we ventured from Mt Tom Creek campground to Lewis Meadow campground, which was another 7.6miles in. We had a slow start to our morning as we didn't have too much ground to cover and enjoyed a lazy stroll through the forest.

Ferns and tall lush trees draped in moss as viewed along the Hoh Rainforest Trail in Olympic National Park
Creek Crossing 1

At roughly the 7.4 mile mark, after Happy Four but before Olympic Guard Station, we encountered 2 major creek crossings. Later in the season, we've heard that the waterflow of this creek can be as low as ankle deep, but at the time of writing, the creek was knee-deep for me (5'4" for reference).


There is an alternative trail that avoids BOTH creek crossings you can take if you feel the water levels are unsafe or if you want to keep your shoes dry. A downloadable version of this alternative route can be found on my Caltopo map.


Many taller, sturdier hikers than me had made it across the creek crossing with no issue, but I lost my footing on this creek crossing. Always be sure to use trekking poles and unclip your backpack straps when attempting risky, high-flow creek crossings. Luckily, my partner grabbed me in time, and we made it safely to shore with no casualties except for a few wet sleeping bags.


The second creek crossing is .25-.5miles after the first one, and we found the stream to be a little slower flowing than the first, but just as deep.

A fallen log over a creek along the Hoh Rainforest Trail in Olympic National Park
Creek Crossing 3

There was a 3rd creek crossing, shortly after the junction to Seven Lakes Basin. This one was no-where as deep as the first two creek crossings, but it would get your feet wet for sure. This was was roughly shin deep.


If you're sick of creek crossings by the time you get to Creek Crossing 3, there's a nice wide log that you can take to get across if you're an experienced hiker with sure footing.

An REI Flash Air 2 trekking pole tent set up with doors extended in the Lewis Meadow campground of the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park.
Squirrel mode activated

We made it to camp pretty early in the day. Depending on your preferences, Lewis Meadow offers multiple campsites in the meadow, where deer often frequent; along the Hoh River, where we stayed; and on the gravel bar across a small section of the Hoh River for the adventurous.


Our early arrival at camp gave us plenty of time to dry out our gear before night fall.


Day 2 - Day Trip to Glacier Meadows

On Day 2, we left most of our backpacking equipment at camp and set off on a day trip to Glacier Meadows.


The first 1.5-2miles of the trail past Lewis Meadow were relatively flat, similar to what we had experienced the previous day. Once we hit our first switchback, the trail only ascended from there on out.

The Hoh River as viewed from the bridge along the Hoh Rainforest Trail in Olympic National Park
Be sure to look down as you cross the Hoh River Bridge

The first major landmark we hit was the Hoh River Bridge. It was a relatively mundane wooden bridge, but it crossed the Hoh River from hundreds of feet in the air. As you cross the bridge, you can see the strength and beauty of the Hoh River flowing down below you.

A hiker holds a warrior pose in front of Elk Lake along the Hoh Rainforest Trail at Olympic National Park
Stretching at Elk Lake

The next major landmark we hit was Elk Lake. The trail does not bring you straight to the lake, but you can follow a small primitive trail from the emergency shelter down to the lake. From Elk Lake, I was overwhelmed with a sense of smallness as I viewed the surrounding forest and snow-peaked mountains looming around me. Unfortunately, the area around the lake was very boggy and did not make for a good spot to sit and relax. We did a couple of stretches around Elk Lake, then returned to the emergency shelter for a snack break.

A gravel creek crossing with cairns indicating the most opportune creek crossing location. This is along the Hoh Rainforest trail in Olympic National Park
Creek Crossing 4, featuring cairns

There is a 4th creek crossing not too long after we left Elk Lake. This one is along loose gravel. Be sure to follow cairns along the creek as they will guide you to the best location to rock-hop across.


The trail then took us back into the forest. As we continued to gain elevation, we started to see some of the best views of Mount Olympus and the Olympic Mountain Range poking out from behind the trees. This is where you'll find the best views of Mount Olympus, so be sure to soak it in.


Shortly after the first glimpses of the mountains, the trail had a couple of sections that are not recommended for beginner hikers. These featured loose gravel on narrow sections, not quite wide enough for both your feet to stand side-by-side, and a steep drop-off downhill.

The iconic rope ladder along the Hoh Rainforest trail in Olympic National Park
The scariest rope ladder in Washington

If you've made it through 16 miles of hiking, 4000ft of elevation gain, 4 creek crossings, and several narrow landslide areas, you've finally made it to your final challenge -- the iconic rope ladder. This rope ladder is at least 100ft tall and situated at roughly a 50 degree angle. Light gloves are recommended to help prevent rope burn. A neck gaiter or buff is also recommended as loose gravel slides can kick dust up into your face. We went took our time to descend the ladder one at a time, and boy was my heart racing the whole time!


At the bottom of the ladder, we encountered the first bit of snow, which disappeared as we climbed back into the forest. The next trek through the forest was a short one before we made it to Glacier Meadows. The entire campground was covered with quickly melting snow at the time of writing. The snow near Glacier Meadow was crunchy, with a few spots where you might poke through. In another week or two, I would expect it to be fully melted out.

The Atlas mountain range as viewed from a backcountry location near Glacier Meadow
This made the journey all worth it

We did not make it to the Blue Glacier overlook as the snow levels made the creek crossing inopportune, but we did venture out into the backcountry to find a clearing with an epic view of the Olympic mountain range.


We saw a couple of excited ski mountaineers making their return to Glacier Meadow after a successful journey up to Mount Olympus -- one for the bucket list!


We ventured back to Lewis Meadow for our final night of the trip.


Day 3 - Lewis Meadow to Hoh River Visitor Center

Sarah, a hiker from The Wild Compiled blog, putting up a windscreen around her camp stove as she prepares breakfast for her final day in camp.
Final day in camp

We had a relaxing final day in camp, being one of the last ones to leave. The return trip to the visitor center was relatively uneventful compared to the previous days. We decided to explore the primitive trail rather than getting our feet wet again at the first two creek crossings.

 

Closing Remarks

This was such an incredible route to kickoff my first backpacking trip of the summer season. I had been eyeing this route on my paper copy of the NatGeo map for over a year now, and it ended up being much more adventurous than I could have imagined. The hike all the way to Glacier Meadow is not for the faint of heart: 17 miles of distance to cover, 4000ft of elevation gain, 4 major creek crossings, several narrow landslide areas, and the scariest rope ladder that I have ever climbed down. This is one of a few backpacking trips where I can firmly say that the journey was just as memorable as the final viewpoint. Highly recommend!

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Hi There!

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I'm Sarah, and I'm a backpacker based out of Washington State.

 

I started this blog in 2022 to share the best hiker-oriented destinations for others to enjoy one weekend at a time.

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