Hiked up to deer lake on the 4th of July. Beautiful lake and very memorable hike!

Hiked from my campsite at the Sol Duc Campground - loop B. Nice easy hike but what a beautiful forest! I enjoyed taking pictures of all the spring flowers and plants I didn't recognize to identify later. Snow-free. The CCC cabin near the falls was very cool! And the falls themselves are great. I arrived at 7am and had the place to myself. Nice to be above the falls. So powerful. There is a nice virtual geocache here if anyone is interested (geocaching is what got me hiking last summer): http://coord.info/GC6125 Highly recommend this hike. It's flat and easy, sometimes just what you need. Lots of trails heading into the backcountry start here.

This was my first time coming to the Olympic National Park. My friends and I left Port Angeles, I was staying the weekend there, in late morning. We probably started our hike around noon. It sprinkled a bit when we arrived at the trail head, and I was a little worried that it would soon pour on us, but we went anyway. I'm glad we did. I thoroughly enjoyed the hike. The temperature felt just right for hiking---not too hot, not too cold. Our first hike was to Sol Duc Falls. The trail was in good condition---there were mud puddles in some areas but not too bad. I found the hike to be relaxing. I loved looking at the scenery---the trees, foliage, old growth, mini falls coming out through the cracks in the rocks. The foliage was such a bright green color, and there is no shortage of moss around here! The falls is beautiful! I liked that you can view the falls from several different angles---from the bridge that the trail leads you to, a look-out point (after you cross the bridge) and an area past the look-out point where you can view the falls with the bridge (that you just crossed) in the background. After we made it to Sol Duc Falls, we continued on to Deer Lake. The trail started to climb, but more of a gradual climb so it was not bad at all. There was more water on the trail heading up to Deer Lake. Still, the trail wasn't too bad. I don't know how far up we got (or how much farther it was to Deer Lake) when we hit snow. You couldn't see the trail anymore but there were footprints from previous hikers who did continue on up. We decided to turn around since we weren't wearing the right kind of gear to walk through snow. By this time, the rain was coming down much harder so I had to put my camera away. It's a shame because the view, of the surrounding mountains, from this point was just amazing. I can't wait to come back and hike the Deer Lake trail again later this summer and, hopefully, make it all the way to Deer Lake!

Left Kitsap county at 6am to meet up with the rest of our church hiking crew. (They made the smarter choice to spend the night at the Sol Duc HotSprings Lodge!) Weather forecast was questionable, but very glad we went! Hit the trail around 8:30 am, right as the clouds were starting to burn off. Slowly climbed out of the valley and up to Heart Lake. (Bridges are out at Cross Creek, but the creek isn't flowing that deep.) Plenty of ripe berries once you hit the high country. Saw our first 3 bears of the hike around this point. Had lunch at Heart Lake, enjoying the GORGEOUS scenery. (My camera battery died, so I don't have any shots!) A little higher up the ridge, the view of Olympus was spectacular. Deep blue sky and clouds moving in and out. The stuff postcards are made of. There are even a few snowfields that have hung on through the summer. After a short trip up to Bogachiel Peak (another beautiful view, of course) we continued on, enjoying the high country. Wish we could have stayed longer, but I had to make it back to Kitsap for an evening meeting. Continued the rest of the hike with one hiking partner. About a mile after the Hoh Lakes turn off, we saw a few more bears down the ridge. Then, after the 7 Lakes trail and some interesting boulder washes we startled a good-sized black bear. It barked a warning, so we waited awhile for it to leave. Some tense moments when it ran a few steps towards us... Never carried pepper spray in the Olympics before, but I might start now. (At least for Autumn hikes in the high country.) One more close run-in with a black bear just before Lunch Lake. Joined up with two more hikers for some added bear security. Ran into quite a few overnighters along the way. Lots of people planning to fish. Deer Lake had quite a few people. At the very end, we were dazzled by Sol Duc Falls. (We'd walked right past them at the beginning of the hike!) All in all, it was a great hike. Trail is in great condition. And I made it home in time for my meeting...only to find out it had been cancelled. Should have lingered in the high country...and finished the day at the Hot Springs!

Our fourth and final toddler/grandparent-friendly hike of the Labor Day holiday. We were returning from La Push, and thought a hike to Sol Duc Falls would break up the long day nicely. I know it was a holiday weekend, but WOW, this is a popular hike. You have backpackers accessing the High Divide, hikers headed to Deer Lake and hordes of folks walking just to the falls. The hike is actually much shorter than Craig Romano's guidebook and his Hiking Guide entry here at wta.org suggests. Few people that I saw had started their journey at the resort. Instead, they drove to the road's end and filled up the enormous parking lot (like we did). This makes the hike only about 1.6 miles roundtrip instead of more than 5 miles. Since we had a 1 1/2 year old insisting to walk (instead of taking a ride on mama's back), we saw every hiker going up and coming down. Dozens and dozens of them. I was encouraged by the cultural diversity of my fellow hikers - different skin colors, different languages, young, old - all out enjoying this beautiful forest and falls. Sol Duc Falls was nice. The water drops into a chasm far below. This could be dangerous, but the National Park Service has installed fences just about everywhere. We held our toddler's hand firmly, but never really worried that she would tumble over the edge.