Enchanted Valley via East Fork Quinault River — Wednesday, Jul. 2, 2025

I hiked this with trail with my almost 3 year old daughter and my mom & it was a very special trip! Hard, enchanting, long, beautiful, a little brutal, & fun.

We broke our trip up into 4 days, 3 nights:

Day 1: We arrived at the trailhead at 10:30 a.m. which was full but still had a few open spots. The bathroom at the TH was fully stocked and clean. Hit the trail at 11:00 a.m. and were stopped just a few minutes in by a group of rangers. They checked our permits and made sure we had a bear vault for staying in the valley. The first 2ish miles before dropping down to Pony Bridge are kind of a rough way to start the hike. The trail is essentially straight and continually uphill. Once you pass this section, the trail becomes a lot more enjoyable. We stopped at Pony Camp about 2.5 miles in for lunch before continuing on. We did pass another ranger who made sure we already talked with his co-workers. The trail was not crowded at all but we did pass a few groups of hikers. Our first night was spent at O’Neil Creek Camp (about 6.5 miles in but we clocked over 8 miles). We snagged the last open site right on the river. There is a bear hang wire set up at this camp if you don’t have a vault. Enjoyed our evening before turning to bed for some much needed sleep.

Day 2: We had a slow morning sipping coffee and eating breakfast before hitting the trail at 9:00 a.m. This stretch of trail to the valley becomes even more beautiful with lots of meadows and glimpses of mountain peaks ahead. Passed a herd of elk with a few babies! Stopped at Pyrites Camp for lunch before pressing on to the valley. After Pony Camp, the elevation gain is very gentle - lots of small ups and downs so you never got super tired of just going up.

Got to the valley around 2:30 p.m. (we clocked 8 miles) and had plenty of campsites to pick from. Only 3 other groups were staying in the valley and everyone was very kind. We were so spread out it felt like we had the whole thing to ourselves which was lovely. Our afternoon was spent chilling by the river, checking out the chalet, and exploring the valley. SO enchanting- it definitely lives up to its name. Dinner tasted especially good this night!

Day 3: We woke up to an elk across the river from our tent and took our sweet time soaking in the valley while drinking coffee and packing up. It would have been nice to have stayed one more night in the valley in hindsight, but I feel lucky we even got the 1.
Started our trek back to O’Neil around 10:00 a.m. We passed a few folks who warned us about bears they had passed but we never saw one. This night we were all alone at O’Neil.

Day 4: We woke up around 5:30 a.m. to try and get an early start for our hike out - Hit the trail at 8:00 a.m. Stopped at a gorgeous little camp spot right on the river with good sun before Pony Camp for lunch and chatted with a couple groups of other hikers. Made it back to our car at 1:00 p.m.

Our final stats:
Miles: 32.25
Elevation Gain: 3,942