After camping at the Sol Duc campground and enjoying the hot springs, we day hiked from the Sol Duc Falls trailhead to Camp #3 along the Sol Duc River. The GPS said it was about nine miles, including a stop at the falls and stops to look at the campsites for future reference.
We had no trouble parking at the large lot at the trailhead (easy drive from the adjacent campground!), but it looked relatively full later in the day. The first .8 miles to the falls is pretty busy, but flat and in quite good shape. After the falls, the crowds dropped away almost entirely. We saw a couple groups of backpackers returning from more exotic destinations, and only one other set of dayhikers.
The trail was flat and easy for a couple miles after the falls, and we made very good time. Apart from a couple easy stream crossings, there were really no obstacles of any kind. It actually got comparatively steep and a little rocky around Camps 2 and 3, but was still pretty moderate. We saw a number of mosquitoes when stopping for breaks, but I seem to have only gotten one bite, including time at the campground (which also had plenty of skeeters).
Not a lot of major scenery on this one, apart from Sol Duc Falls and a few other cascades along the river. But it was still a very pleasant forest walk. It's a good option if you're looking for a place to beat the crowds and not have to climb too hard. Hope to make it back to this area on a backpacking trip in the near future.
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