Best Dog Friendly Hikes Olympic National Park – Although Olympic National Park covers most of the Olympic Peninsula, one might be tempted to think that there aren’t many dog sledding spots in the area. Fortunately, the Olympic Peninsula has many state parks and national forests where dogs are allowed to roam.
To get away from Annie and be a little more alone, Tina and I go hiking in the Olympic National Forest. Lucky for us, several roads lined the Hama Hama Road where we camped.
Best Dog Friendly Hikes Olympic National Park
First, let me start by saying, I learned about Elk Lake at the Hood Canal Visitor Center in Hoodsport, which provides a wealth of information about the park. Actually, it’s listed on the USDA website, and I thought it was a monitoring station
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The old lady at the shop gave me handouts for hiking in the area and this was one of them. The handout includes the general location of the route, the distance and description of the route, and a map showing the direction of the route.
There are three different trails in the Elk Lake area, two on the North Branch and one on the South Branch Our boys went on a trip to find them
Since we had a midnight kayak trip, we wanted Annie to walk for a while. Thinking that the trail would be more interesting than one of the many surrounding forest roads, we followed FS Road 2401 which leads to the top of the South Branch and the left fork of the North Branch. When we went up the mountain we found a fallen tree, where the VANgos could not enter
As a result, we bailed on our first attempt at Elk Lake and drove along FS Road 2480 for some great scenery and wildflowers. A while later, on our way to kayak, we bumped into a park ranger at the nearby Hama Hama Campground and told him about the situation.
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Fast forward two days, and we shot again. This time, we were very familiar with the area, and followed Forest Service Road 2421 which was on the map, but not part of the written directions. It leads to the right bank of the North Branch Warning: Do not do this!!
The road is narrow, stony, many dig in the deep mud bank to get water. Some routes include small logs that fall over them, but we still have to walk in these cracks near the canal. When we got to the usual place of the trail, which in the end, we didn’t find, we found ourselves in a forest full of many fallen trees! They are beautiful!!
Although this part of the trail can be reached after crossing the canal on the left side of the North Branch, I will leave it all together. In fact, this is a very dangerous and flammable area, and to my surprise, the Forest Service will include it in the handout.
Undeterred, as we love to go to the lake, we decided to try FS Road 2421 and, surprisingly, the forest department cut down the trees! We don’t expect immediate results, but the weekend is coming
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After the nuxal white experience in 2421, my emotions were shot When we counted the kilometers, we saw only a trace Maybe, my car with a high clearance does not have the same kilometers as a normal car or the forest handout is wrong.
Anyway, when we got to the intersection where it turned, I said, I assure you, there is no one here.
When Tina got out of the VANgo to read a nearby sign pointing in the opposite direction, she warned, “Watch out, there’s a car behind you!”
It’s been an hour since we saw anyone on this crazy road! As it turned out, they caught us at the last minute and went to look for a campsite the following weekend.
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However, the South Branch Trail is located on the steep road we see today.
The walk through the old growth forest to the lake is flat and only 0.5. It was miles Although we loved the big trees, it was disappointing to leave trash in the fireplace Who do they think is going to take their bottle of alcohol? We don’t use ours, otherwise we might screw something up, but it’s a lot more trash than the little VANgo trash can hold.
Before we headed back, we enjoyed seeing Elk Lake, even though it was like a large lake. Half a mile was a tough workout, so we loaded up the van again and hiked along a beautiful waterfall on the side of the road to a small area near the left fork of the North Branch.
The trail descends about a kilometer through chest-high pines and brush to the burnt forest on the other side of the lake. Again, the view was great, but the house was nothing to write home about We just wanted more training for the 1.5 miles That said, I recommend this part of the trail if it’s raining or if you don’t mind getting wet like us!
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On the way back to our campsite, Tina was afraid of losing her umbrella and car keys along the way This short and easy journey brought many trials and tribulations If I was alone, I would curse the storm Together, we just laugh at all the challenges
The Lena Lake Trail is one of the best dog hikes on the Olympic Peninsula that we’ve been on. The 7 mile round trip trail is very popular and well maintained The trailhead is located on Hama Hama Road in a dirt parking lot with a pit toilet.
Walking down the lake below is a beautiful waterfall with views over several bridges while climbing through continuous, moss-covered trees. Passes through the back camps by Aqua Lake with a few unobstructed views The road leads to the beach where the tributary enters Log Jam at the west end Great view of Lake Lena, before arriving
There are many signs along the way Some, however, are confusing, so keep the ultrarail map close It is also important to be aware of the boundaries of the Olympic National Park, which are clearly marked, as dogs are not allowed in the park or the upper lake.
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I don’t agree that we went all these routes, or for some reason we didn’t want to try. It was included in another Forest Service giveaway, but the lady at the counter didn’t point it out Our kayak guide told us about Hama Hama Falls and trails near Milford Lake. He warned that going to the lake requires discrimination and is difficult to find.
We decided to take a break from the heavy rains during our visit to the Olympic Peninsula As a result, we headed to Hama Hama Falls hoping to stretch our legs. As a result, the walk is not far
Remember that Chance said the first part of the trip to Mildred Lake was good, we hiked for a while because we had a few hours of daylight. Our kayak guide was great, this first part was small, well laid out
Ferns grow on the rocks as new forest grows on the trunks of old trees. After walking two kilometers, here we are back
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Later, I checked out the Ultrarail I’m glad we did The 9 mile round trip trail gets pretty steep in the 50-70% range. The odds don’t play against each other! I wouldn’t have made it, and I doubt Annie would have either
He was able to do what we were walking without a problem. He saw the kindness and was very angry. When he tried to run Tina, he moved to the left to slow down, he climbed sideways on a sharp stone. When I saw him tearing the back leg with the tip of the knife, I winced and thought to myself that it must be painful.
It wasn’t enough to slow him down He was so impressed with this bird, which was the greatest kindness I’ve ever seen, that I had to put him on it after I called him. Eventually, we reached VANgo after a few kilometers, he had calmed down, but when I rolled over to wipe his dirty paws, I saw.