Spruce Railroad Trail

Trip

Day Hike - Spruce Railroad Trail

Day hike the historic Spruce Railroad Trail, the most scenic section of the new Olympic Discovery Trail, passing through a restored railroad tunnel and by the Devil's Punch Bowl, where cliff divers are often seen.

  • Easy
  • Easy
  • Mileage: 5.2 mi
  • Elevation Gain: 250 ft
  • High Point Elevation: 700 ft
  • Pace: 2.0 mph

Meet at 11:30 AM on Saturday in the lobby of the Log Cabin Resort, 3183 E Beach Rd, Port Angeles,  reached by driving west on US 101 from Port Angeles, turning right at E. Beach Road (just before reaching Lake Crescent) and turning left into the Log Cabin Resort on the north side of the lake.  No parking pass is required at the Log Cabin Resort.   There are a store and restrooms there.

This hike is part of a two day car camp involving hiking the Spruce Railroad Trail on Saturday, camping Saturday night at Sol Duc Campground, hiking the Sol Duc Falls Loop on Sunday and taking a dip in Sol Duc Hotsprings on either Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon. Anyone registered for the Spruce Railroad Trail hike must also register for the Sol Duc Falls Loop hike and vice versa, and also camp Saturday night in one of the reserved campsites at Sol Duc Hotsprings.  Leader permission is required for this hike to assure compliance with this requirement. 

 From the Log Cabin Resort we will caravan west on E. Beach Road to the Spruce Railroad Trailhead at the end of the road.  There we will have our trail lunch at a picnic table and hike 2.6 miles on the Spruce Railroad Trail through a restored railroad tunnel and by the Devil's Punchbowl on the return hike.

After returning to the cars, we will drive back to US 101, where we turn right and drive past Lake Crescent to Sol Duc Hotsprings Road, where we show one National Park Pass for each car and continue to the Sol Duc Hotsprings  Campground to check into campsites 78 and 79 in Loop B. and set up camp.  Then we have the option to soak in the hotsprings for what in 2018 was $10 to $15 per person, depending on age and time of day.   In the evening we'll have a camp dinner at a picnic table, followed by smores around the campfire.  The camp fee will be divided equally among the participants and could be as low as $5 per person with full participation.

For full information about this car camp click here: Sol Duc Hot Springs Car Camp

For more  information about all the car camps I'm leading this summer, click here: 
2019 Car Camps

 

 

Route/Place

Spruce Railroad Trail


Roster
Required Equipment

Required Equipment

The Ten Essentials

  1. Navigation
  2. Sun protection
  3. Insulation (extra clothing)
  4. Illumination
  5. First aid supplies
  6. Fire
  7. Repair kit and tools, including knife
  8. Nutrition (extra food)
  9. Hydration (extra water)
  10. Emergency shelter
Trip Reports