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2019

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Day 1

Transfer to Lake Quinault

Mima Mounds; 1.5 miles, easy. Optional afternoon walk to arrive at lodge on foot; 2-3 miles; easy

Your guide(s) will meet you at the The Westin Seattle at 8:30 a.m. in the lobby. Your guide(s) will be wearing a Country Walkers shirt. Please be dressed for walking.

Approaching Olympic National Park, you enter into a landscape of majestic Douglas firs and red cedars. Stop en route to explore the Mima Mounds Natural Preserve, where you explore an enigmatic prairie of six-foot-high mounds. Enjoy an optional second walk through temperate rainforest to arrive at your lodge on foot.

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Accommodation: Lake Quinault Lodge, Quinault

A rustic lakeside lodge offering comfortable, contemporary rooms in the heart of the Olympic National Forest.

Day 2

Graves Creek to Pony Bridge and Quinault Valley

5-8 miles, easy to moderate

Start your day with a visit to the world’s largest Sitka spruce before rambling along the Quinault River through a magnificent forest of giant firs and cedars, perhaps glimpsing Roosevelt elk. Eat lunch beside Pony Bridge and, in the evening, enjoy drinks by the fire with our friend Harvest Moon, a Quinault elder and storyteller.

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Accommodation: Lake Quinault Lodge, Quinault

A rustic lakeside lodge offering comfortable, contemporary rooms in the heart of the Olympic National Forest.

Day 3

Kalaloch to the Pacific Coast

Ruby Beach; 3-5 miles (tide dependent), easy; The Hoh Rainforest; 2-5 miles, easy

Heading to Kalaloch, enjoy the Pacific Ocean during a walk along Ruby Beach, a pristine region of tidal pools, sea-stack rock formations, and colossal mounds of driftwood. Keep an eye out for pelicans, eagles, seals, and whales. In the afternoon, stroll through the incredibly lush Hoh Rainforest, through groves of 300-foot-tall spruces draped in moss and licorice ferns.

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Accommodation: Kalaloch Lodge, Forks

A comfortable National Park lodge offering cabin-style accommodations, situated on a high bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Rooms do not have televisions or telephones.

Day 4

Sol Duc Valley and Lake Crescent

5-9 miles, easy to moderate

After breakfast overlooking Kalaloch Creek, enjoy a walk that begins at the iconic Sol Duc Falls and climbs 1,500 feet through changing forest zones to stunning Deer Lake, a jewel nestled in subalpine meadows between high ridges. Alternately, you may enjoy an easier jaunt down Lover’s Lane Trail to quaint Sol Duc Hot Spring Resort, where you can soak in healing mineral waters.

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Accommodation: Lake Crescent Lodge, Port Angeles

A historic National Park lodge offering cottage and motel units nestled among giant fir and hemlock, and overlooking stunning Lake Crescent. Rooms do not have televisions or telephones.

Day 5

Hurricane Hill Trail

3 miles, easy

Head to Hurricane Ridge for a walk on the majestic Hurricane Hill trail. Here, you take in the sweeping grandeur of the Olympic Mountain Range to the south and the San Juan Island to the north. This afternoon, head to the former Elwha Dam site and discover how it’s being removed to restore salmon runs in the area.

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Accommodation: Lake Crescent Lodge, Port Angeles

A historic National Park lodge offering cottage and motel units nestled among giant fir and hemlock, and overlooking stunning Lake Crescent. Rooms do not have televisions or telephones.

Day 6

Marymere Falls

2 miles, easy to moderate. Departure from Seattle

Enjoy a final walk to Marymere Falls and take in the dramatic 90-foot plunge of water. Depart for Seattle via Bainbridge Ferry, stopping on the way to enjoy a special lunch.

2019 Dates

Per person, double occupancy

Single Supplement

Jul 7 - Jul 12

$3,898

$998

Aug 18 - Aug 23

$3,898

$998

Sep 8 - Sep 13

$3,898

$998

Sep 15 - Sep 20

$3,898

$998

Guides

Our guides' experience, dedication, and enthusiasm make them ideal ambassadors for your destination. They chart the course, finesse the details, and speak the language (English, as well as the local language). They also possess a truly rare skill, knowing when to let serendipity and inspiration take the lead.

Eric Kessler

One of our most veteran guides, Eric Kessler has guided over twenty years with CW! After studying the natural history of the Olympic Peninsula in college and exploring its jagged peaks and forested valleys as a wilderness traveler, he went on to devote his career to sharing this remarkable national park with guests. Eric has guided worldwide and pursues his parallel photography career documenting the planet’s native peoples and ecosystems. He is currently working on a writing/photo project on the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River, which was part of the largest dam removal and watershed restoration project in US history. Eric often guides with his partner and CW guide Heather Harding.

Heather Harding

Heather Harding has been guiding for many years on both Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where she lives, and in the canyons and plateaus of the Southwest, where she earned college degrees in biology and Southwest Studies. Heather brings a world-wide background of whale research and Waldorf teaching to her guiding. During the winters, Heather leads People to People tours in Cuba with her partner and frequent co-guide Eric Kessler.