Bikepack - Olympic Hot Springs, Boulder Lake & Appleton Pass

Trip Report

A small group of 3 tackled this beautiful route to the Olympic Hot Springs on a fall week-end.

The route is mostly on a paved road that was washed out after the Elwha Dam was removed.  There is a short (less than 1 mile) section that is on a single-track trail and it is mostly NOT rideable and requires some relatively easy hike-a-bike.

Then the road is smooth and mostly paved all the way to the Appleton Pass TH. A very worthwhile side stop is the site of the old Elwha Dam which has an interpretive signage with pictures and the history of the dam.

After leaving bikes (we stashed and locked them to a tree a short distance from the Appleton Pass TH),we hiked 3 mile on the old unpaved road and crossed a couple of creeks  until we reached the Boulder Creek Campground.

Overnight backcountry reservation required (can be obtained online). We shared this old campground with several other groups. It has one pit toilet (who is in bad need of maintenance) but is large and very quiet in the forest with plenty of room to disperse. The best part is that the hot springs are a short (1/2 mile) walk away after crossing a very solid bridge. There are many pools with varying temperatures. The best is the highest and also the hottest. We had it for ourselves.

Water can be easily collected from Boulder Creek upstream of the bridge (and the springs which would contaminate it). We had dry conditions in the evening at camp and only a slight drizzle overnight which was fortunate as one of us forgot his side of the tent (including poles and fly) so we had to resort to some creative means to prop the tent up and protect from rain. Thank goodness for those Mountaineer's skills we learned over the years (rope and ground covers also proved very useful). :-)

The next morning the weather was a bit socked in so we forgo the idea of hiking to Boulder lake and after a leisurely start, we hiked back to the bikes and then descended the road back to the TH. Back at the cars before lunch time.

Trip stats:

Day 1: Bike: 9.2 miles and 1800 ft of gain; Hike 3 mile and 640 ft gain . Total time 4:30 hours including stops and time to transfer gear from bike bags to backpack

Day 2: Hike 3 mile and Bike 9 miles, almost all downhill. 2:30 total including gear transfer time and stops.

Highly recommend this trip in the fall or late spring when the crowds are minimal. Hot springs were much nicer than anticipated.  A hike to Boulder Lake would be a nice complement on day 2 before returning to the cars.

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