This would be my last overnight back packing trip of the season. I have wanted to do this trip for a while but wanted to go with other people and not alone because I have never camped or hiked out in the olympics. So much for that idea, the person that wanted to go with me had to work so off I went solo to take on this hike. I set out kinda late in the morning and it was a pretty long drive from Tacoma, about over 3 hours including going to the ranger station and getting permit. I did not need a permit because season was over but I wanted someone to know I was out there and where I would most likely be if I never came home. FYI Always get a permit because then rangers know you are out there! I started my hike late I. The day after 2 pm so I had planned on camping first night in seven mile group camp near Appleton Pass trailhead. I had made good time and had plenty of daylight left so I kept hiking, I started getting tired and the sun was setting over the mountains so I started to look for another suitable camp. I stumbled upon the ranger station slab of wooden deck (ranger tent gone for the season), I thought, nice spot to put my tent for the night and close to a stream for water. This was Sol Duc Park Camp on Green Trails Map 133S. It was getting dark quickly. I filtered water for the night and next day, made dinner and was asleep within an hour. I woke up next morning with hearing rain drops on tent at about 0500 so I decided to sleep in. I woke up around 0900 and the sun was shining! Another beautiful day. I packed up and moved onward. I luckily ascended most of the steep section yesterday so today was nice. I was very close to Heart Lake about a mile or so. When I got there I saw one person there. He said no one else was there all night which was interesting because the ranger yesterday said I couldn't stay there because it was full?? The most frustrating thing about thruhiking is that there are always no shows at camps!! People make reservations and get permits and never show up. It would have been a beautiful place to camp! Any way, onward to the High Divide! Absolutely breathtaking! At this point I am enjoying a little piece of heaven up here. My designated next permit site is Lunch Lake. I passed one other hiker on way there who had tent set up near Bogachial Peak, what a beautiful spot to make camp! As I hiked the divide the weather was changing, getting colder quickly and very windy with storm clouds in distance. After taking pictures of the lake basin I decided to not stay at Lunch Lake but instead to finish entire trail today and head home. It got so cold I put on all my layers including down jacket, hat, scarf and gloves. I passed no one for miles. The trail gets very very steep about a mile or so before Deer Lake and just relentlessly continues to be steep jagged rocks all the way down through Canyon Creek down Deer Lake Trail. I made it to my car around 1730. I was feeling the pain in my legs from the downhill trek. I was tired and hungry. I ate in my car and drank tons of water. There were a lot of people at Sol Duc Falls area on the trail. The ride home was painful. Sitting for 3 hours in the car trying to stay awake. My body was saying "REST YOU FOOL" but the thoughts of a hot bath and a warm bed were comforting enough to get me home. This was a beautiful place and I can't wait to go back next summer earlier In the season like June or July and make it a longer trip to enjoy it fully. I highly recommend this hike for the beauty of it all and the well defined trails and that you can actually have a campfire at most of the designated wilderness camp sites. Most of the campsites has a designated fire pit area with fire wood left by other campers. Very beautiful camp sites and more camp sites than what are actually shown on green trails map 133S. There seemed to be a camp site around every 3 miles or so. There are stock camps as well. Hope this report helped.

Took the family up to the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula from Tacoma today, with the intention of hiking to Sol Duc Falls. I had prepared everyone for a 5.5ish mile hike, and had deliberately sought this one out due to reports of it being a great family-friendly hike, but still packing in some distance to appease the mile maker in me. My wife and I carry our toddlers (2.5 and 1.5 years old) in Osprey Poco Packs, and we have done 7 mile hikes with them, so 5.5 relatively level miles seemed like it would be a breeze. I selected that bugs were not too bad, but only because the yellow jackets are swarming right now, and they were out in force in the parking lot. No problems on the trail itself. First off, the trip up US 101 from the Bremerton side is breathtaking, especially once you get up to the northern side. Lake Crescent occupies a significant portion of the trip beyond Port Angeles, and if you haven't seen the lake, you owe it to yourself to get out there. The lake itself is a brilliant blue, flanked on all sides by the steep foothills of the Olympic Mountains. US 101 runs right along the shore, with turnouts every half mile or so to allow you to take a break, stretch your legs, and snap some photos of the beautiful water and sharply ascending mountains. After passing the lake, the turnoff for Sol Duc is plainly marked. The road turns uphill and ascends gradually but noticeably into Olympic National Park. Bring cash to get into the park or (better yet) bring your National Park Annual Pass. We forgot ours, but I pulled out my military ID, and the park ranger let me in for free, as unlimited free National Park access is a benefit of being in the military in any capacity. The coordinates provided on the Trail Guide are good, and put the prospective hiker into a turnout for a large parking lot. From this location, it is about 2.75 miles to the Sol Duc Falls themselves. If you're looking for an easier hike, continue driving uphill. You'll pass the Sol Duc Campground on your right and enter a parking lot at the foot of the trail head. From here, the signs indicate that the falls are 0.8 miles ahead up the trail. That was what my family wanted, so that's what we did. The road is paved and overall in excellent condition, though care must be taken when selecting a parking spot, as some of the spots have sinkholes in them, or others fall away sharply and might cause trouble for compact cars or sports-type cars. The trail itself is great. Dirt and mud (due to the recent rainstorm), with fallen needles and compacted loam, interspersed with the occasional rock or twisted root and railroad-tie-style stair make up the walking surface. The trees are old and large, covered in moss, and very impressive, and the forest just has a good, healthy, evergreen smell. There are white aspens mixed in among the tall evergreens, and the leaves are starting to turn. The somewhat remote location holds the crowds down to a dull roar. We encountered groups of people, but it was nothing like we have seen on more easily accessed trails like Denny Creek or Lena Lake. The trail is relatively wide for most of the trail, and there are a number of seemingly well-constructed bridges. Recent evidence of tree falls can be seen, as there are some trees laying across the trail with seemingly fresh chainsaw dust laying on and around the fallen trees. Streams cross at intervals across the path, but none of them pose a hazard to hikers, as all are crossed by wooden bridges. There are numerous photo opportunities along the way before even reaching the falls. The falls themselves are pretty spectacular. Nothing of the scale of Snoqualmie Falls, but still very impressive for something that wasn't super crowded. It's a multi-step falls, with at least two different sections that are visible from the short trail. The first one that you encounter is right near a log-constructed storm shelter (like a big open-fronted log cabin), and it rushes along quite nicely. A brief distance further ahead, you get to the big falls, and these are loud and pretty spectacular. They rush along and fall down a narrow rocky gorge, to a pool some 30+ feet down, before rushing down into the lower section that I mentioned above. The trail crosses over the top of the falls, providing spectacular vistas up and down river, before providing hikers with the option to travel upstream or downstream. We opted to go upstream a little way further, before turning back and heading down to the parking lot again. By the time we looped around a bit and got back to the car, we had put in a little over 2 miles on our feet. Not too impressive, but considering the view, I would call it a worthwhile sacrifice to lose some mileage for a breathtaking waterfall.

First time at Sol Duc falls. Very easy trail to a beautiful spot.

Such a hot day, so it was a relief that this trail is basically fully covered by the trees! A very short hike, definitely kid-friendly, and it was nice to dip our toes in the river right before the falls! I have to say, the falls are even prettier in real life than the pictures show!

This is actually a much shorter hike if you park at the trailhead and not at the hot springs (about 1.6 miles RT), which is great when you're pressed for time to see everything the national park has to offer! The hike itself was pretty easy and flat. The falls were gorgeous, with many areas to view, including a bridge right in front, but this area gets pretty crowded.