Trip Report
Spruce Railroad Trail
Flat and easy paved trail running along the backside of Lake Cresent. Great for Walking, Running, and Biking.
Justin Battaglia
- Sat, Feb 4, 2023
- Spruce Railroad Trail
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Easy to get to from Hwy 101, about 30 minutes west of Port Angeles. The path is paved and in very good condition. There was no snow or ice present. Some debris began about 5-6 miles in from wind storms but was easily navigated. This trail system stretches from Port Townsend to the Ozette Area on the coast. This is a small portion of that trail covering the North side of Lake Cresent.
Great paved trail that runs on the Northern side of lake Crescent, across the water from Hwy 101. This trail is part of the Olympic Discovery Trail system and is quite long. It is also inside of Olympic National Park so a day or annual pass is required. We rode our mountain bikes and stopped 9 miles from our starting point and turned around for a total of just shy of 18 miles. The path leads through a couple of old train tunnels and is very well-kept. It was mostly clear until about the 6-mile mark where it is less traveled. A wind storm the night before left a lot of debris across the path but it was still easily navigable. The trail has a slight upward grade heading west from the start and took us about an hour and a half to ride to the turnaround point, we made it back to the car in about 45 minutes with the downhill grade heading east. There is the added bonus of a side trail that takes you to a feature known as the Devil's Punchbowl, a small very deep inlet of the lake that almost glows blue in the sunlight. Overall this is an outstanding path to work on conditioning and check out beautiful Lake Crescent.