There was very little snow on the road to the TH except for areas which receive little or no sun and these are probably doable by any car with good tires although we did have our truck in 4WD. There is very little snow on the trail. We hiked a mile to the Royal Basin Trail and walked about 1/4 mile on it. The River and Royal Creek were beautiful with several beautiful ice formations. If time had allowed, we would have gone farther on the Royal Basin Trail which also had very little snow.

We began our hike at the TH beginning off FSR 2860 descending 400 feet in 1 1/2 miles to the River Camp Shelter by the Dungeness River.There were 3 blowdowns, 2 easily gone under and one easily stepped over. This is a very pleasant forest walk along the Dungeness River. There were many varieties of mushrooms along the way. There were many deer hunters along the road, but none on the trail.

The lower Dungeness trail is now cleared of logs. Shorts re-routes have been opened around a washout and a slide, the trail has been brushed, and tread and waterbars repaired. River Shelter is in good condition. It is a late but excellent year for wildflowers; rhododendron, salal, penstemon, columbine, yarrow, paintbrush, lupine, sedum, twinflower, bunchberry and the relatively rare coralroot and larkspur delphinium are now in bloom. The river is running full with snowmelt. The upper portion of this trail, from the upper trailhead to River Shelter, is one of the most beautiful riverside trails in the Olympics. The lower portion, past 3 O'Clock Ridge, is mostly high above the river and cliffs, through second growth. An excellent campsite (depicted as a hike-in campground on old maps, but abandoned 50 years ago) exists only a quarter mile above the lower trailhead on a shelf of towering old growth fir overlooking the river. FS2870 road has been graded, but caution is advised for numerous deer and fawns.

Rhodies, queen's cup, Canadian dogwood (bunchberry), paintbrush and columbine are seen in various places along the Dungeness River trail. We went from the Upper trailhead on Road 2825, to the River Shelter and out near Gold Creek at the Lower Dungeness trailhead on Road 2950 (vehicle shuttle). The trail is clear of logs and is in r good shape: Wood's book lists the trail as 5.8 miles but the posting at the Lower trailhead says 6.3. No matter, it's a lovely hike along the river, then, when some elevation is gained toward three o'clock ridge, there are nice outlook views.