Open Backpack - Deer Ridge

We’ll be hiking the Deer Ridge trail to Deer Park in the Olympic National Park. Since we will be camping in the National Park, each participant will need to reimburse the leader for the permit fee ($9).  You are still responsible for this fee if you cancel after registration closes.  This ridge hike does have limited, seasonal water access, so we’ll plan to bring enough water for the hike to camp. The trail description can be found on WTA: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/deer-ridge

 Day 1: Starting at Deer Ridge/Slab Creek Trailhead, hike west along Deer Ridge with a climb of 2,800 feet over 4.5 miles to Deer Park where we’ll set up camp. Deer Park is a campground normally accessible by car, but the road is generally not open until later in the year.  After we set up camp at Deer Park, we’ll have an optional .5 mile RT hike of the Rain Shadow Loop trail to the top of Blue Mountain for some great views of the Cascades, Vancouver Island and the Strait of Juan De Fuca (snow conditions and weather permitting).

 Day 2: We’ll break camp and return to our cars via the same trailhead.

 More information for participants will be provided one week prior to the trip via the Hello Hiker email. 

We will meet at the trailhead at the end of FR-2875 (outside Sequim) at the parking area for Slab Camp and Deer Ridge Trails at 9am.

NW Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass required.