Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Mount Rose
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Start by crossing a cascading creek and heading up an old road. Enjoy it, for it's the only level walking you'll see on this hike. Now begin the grind. On good tread, start switchbacking to the heavens. Yes, the grade is steep, but it used to be worse. Over a decade ago a dedicated volunteer trail crew reconfigured much of the way. A carpet of salal lines the trail. Uniform second growth with a few remnant giants (survivors of early twentieth-century fires) offer needed shade. At 0.3 mile pass through a pair of towering Doug-firs that act as a gateway. Despite the roar of a distant creek, the slope is dry, as evidenced by the few madronas and manzanita bushes. At 1 mile and after 1000 feet of climbing, a bench with a view of Lake Cushman invites a break. Catch your breath and continue. After 0.1 mile enter the Mount Skokomish Wilderness. Ironically, the trees are now smaller and less impressive. Perhaps it's due to thinner soils, for the way gets even steeper. At 1.6 miles enter a cool forest of hemlock. A short spur trail leads left to a little cascade, although it may be dry by late summer. In another 0.25 mile reach the summit loop junction (elev. 3050 ft) along with a small plaque honoring the crew that built this trail. Take the left trail-it's shorter and steeper, leaving the longer and more gradual option for the descent, relieving your knees. The summit loop climbs 1,300 feet in just over 1 mile, through recently burned forest and remnant pockets of old-growth. At 2.9 miles from the trailhead reach the 4,301-foot forested summit. Don't despair, a small vertigo-inducing rock outcropping juts out of the forest providing a panoramic payoff. Directly below, waters sparkling, is Lake Cushman. Lightning Peak and Timber Mountain rise majestically behind it. Wonder Mountain and Church Peak are just off to the right. The Skokomish delta, Black and Willapa Hills, and Mount Rainier are all visible from this pulse-raising promontory. Through silver snags and white pines the deep valley of the North Fork Skokomish can also be glimpsed. After your rosy outlook continue on the loop. Along a forested ledge, the trail makes a 1.7-mile saner return to the loop junction. Enjoy glimpses of Copper Mountain, but the real point of interest is a colonnade of four silver firs about halfway down the trail. They have grown so close together they appear fused. Now, test your trekking poles before careening down the mountain.
Driving Directions:
From Shelton travel north on US 101 for 15 miles to Hoodsport. Turn left (west) onto State Route 119, proceeding 9.3 miles to a T intersection with Forest Road 24. Make a sharp left. In 1.7 miles the pavement ends. Continue on FR 24 for 1 more mile to the trailhead, located on your right. Recent Trip Reports
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Snow on trail
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We made it to the summit but wouldn't have been able to without micro-spikes and snowshoes. Needed micro-spikes...
We made it to the summit but wouldn't have been able to without micro-spikes and snowshoes. Needed micro-spikes at 2000 feet and snowshoes at 3500 feet. Otherwise you would sink up to your hips in snow.
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Cold! Snowy & Icy! But we had part sunshine on top and coming down; 3.5 hours up, 2.5 hours down.
This...
Cold! Snowy & Icy! But we had part sunshine on top and coming down; 3.5 hours up, 2.5 hours down.
This is one of the steepest trails for sure, definitely one for trekking poles. Beautiful hemlock & cedar forest, salal & oregaon grape undergrowth. no one else on the trail, no other cars in the parking lot. Since it was the shortest day of the year, we got started by 8am. We took the shorter, last 1.1 mile both ways, instead of looping down the 1.6 mile alternative. The last mile was pretty much all snow and ice on the trail. If we hadn't had microspikes for our climbing approach shoes we probably would have turned back at that point. The sun came out as we reached the summit and what a spectacular view! I recommend this as a winter hike as long as you have the poles and shoe spikes for it.
Mount Rose
— Dec 06, 2011
— weflybye
Day hike
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Beautiful day for a summit hike to Mt Rose. Snow was hard packed and perfect for micro-spikes. ...
Beautiful day for a summit hike to Mt Rose. Snow was hard packed and perfect for micro-spikes. Found snow at 3000 feet. No wind and brilliant blue sky.
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Got a call from Goober Canari telling me he had Friday off. That meant a hike in the Olympics....
Got a call from Goober Canari telling me he had Friday off. That meant a hike in the Olympics. Today's choice, Mt Rose. Left home to mostly clear skies but arrival at trailhead to clouds. Trail is in good shape, steady but not too steep, mostly in forest. A few burned areas which are warned about near trailhead (be careful in windy weather). Trail enters Mt Skokomish Wilderness around a mile or so in and around 2 miles is a fork. The upper part of the trail splits into a loop hike. We went right which is longer to the summit (sign said 1.6 miles). This section of the trail is supposedly more faint and rougher but we found it easy to follow. I got stung on the back of the leg by what I believe might have been a bald-faced hornet although I didn't even see it. We finally broke thru to some sunny skies on the final ridge. The summit is a rocky knob and the wind was blowing. We had views down to Lake Cushman. Summit to Alaska phone call to the "Stinger" and then we headed back down. We followed the shorter (1.1 miles) part of the loop down. Goober suffered a couple of oplas (slips), the 2nd resulting in a scraped arm. No broken bones and Goober soldiered on. Sunnier skies by the time we reached the car. No people encountered on way up, 4 on way down. No wildlife to speak of other than a grouse that exploded out of the bushes. Minor wildflowers and huckleberries on summit ridge. Stop at El Serape in Shelton capped the day.
Mount Rose
— Sep 17, 2011
— dwfreddie
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Great hike. No views until you get to the summit and when we got up there we were fogged...
Great hike. No views until you get to the summit and when we got up there we were fogged in and couldn't see anything, but it was still beautiful and a great workout. I will be going back again on a clear day for sure. More of a physical challenge than Elenor due to the steepness essentially the entire time. I wasn't sore after Elenor, but can still feel this hike a few days later. Though it was a bummer to not have visibility at the summit, doing this hike on a hot day would be brutal.
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Mount Rose trail. Photo by Jennifer S.
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