East Fork Quinault Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildlife

The East Fork Quinault River Trail ascends up the Quinault River through some very big trees in this old forest. On the way back, we bumped into a forester who showed us a place off trail where we could see old growth trees of three different species, so take the extra time to witness some of these ancient giants.

You can break this route up by camping along the way, about halfway up. While camping along the trail will give you a much more in depth experience, the trail is easily conquered in a single day.

Once you make your way up to the Enchanted Valley, you see why it has earned the name. There are sheer cliffs across the Quinault, with hundreds of waterfalls streaming down it early in the season. You can spend a couple days in the valley exploring, and each day will be well worth your while.

The trail climbs steeply for the last mile or so to its terminus at a junction with O'Neil Pass Trail and West Fork Dosewallips River Trail.

Many bears. We saw two in the valley walking across a snowpack on the opposite side of the river. Also lots of elk are usually present in the area. There are very large Douglas fir, Western hemlock and Western red cedar. At a spot off the trail we saw all three old growth trees together in a small grove