Sherman Creek

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One of the best hiking options in the 90,000-acre Capitol State Forest, the Sherman Creek Loop travels up and down two visually appealing valleys. No grand views or grand forest here - just miles of tranquil woods and creekside walking and some historic relics from the golden age of logging. Equestrians and mountain bikers share these trails, but crowding isn't an issue. Come during the week and have this place to yourself.

This loop begins by following the Mima Porter Trail (Trail No. 8) for 0.4 mile down to a junction in the Lost Valley Creek. The trail on your left is your return route. These trails are in excellent shape thanks to the volunteer work of the Backcountry Horsemen (and women) of Washington.

Head right on Trail No. 20. Climbing gradually, pass a few big firs, a lot of skunk cabbage, and an active beaver pond. In 1.4 miles come to a junction with Trail No. 6, the Green Line. Turn left and follow this good trail. Climb a bit more, and after crossing a logging road enter a mature second-growth forest. Begin a long descent into the Sherman Creek valley. At 2.6 miles emerge from the forest to cross a recent cut. Notice the temperature change. Notice Capitol Peak and Larch Mountain in front of you. Notice, too, that there are no larches on Larch Mountain. Hmm.

At 3.25 miles reach the lovely Sherman Creek valley, where you'll come to another trail junction. The trail right crosses the creek (bridge out as of summer 2006) and heads to the Fall Creek trailhead and onward to the Capitol Crest. You'll want to continue left on Trail No. 8 for an enjoyable journey down the valley. Plenty of lunch spots along the way will entice you to take a break.

After about 3 miles of hiking along the creek you'll come to an old trail junction. There used to be a trailhead on the other side of the creek, but it and the road no longer exist. This decommissioning has helped return a little solitude to this region. The trail now leaves Sherman Creek to follow Lost Valley Creek upstream. This is the best part of the loop. Under a canopy of moss-draped alders and big cedars, the trail uses an old logging railroad bed. After 1 mile of heading up Lost Valley Creek, look for trestle remnants. Look, too, along the creek for relics from the old logging days. Broken bricks and porcelain plates litter the area. Be sure to leave these artifacts for others to enjoy.

Hike about 1.5 more miles upstream back to the junction with Trail No. 20. Turn right and follow Trail No. 8 for 0.4 mile back to your vehicle.

Driving Directions:

From Seattle take I-5 south to exit 95. Follow Maytown Road west for 3 miles until reaching the small town of Littlerock. At a stop sign proceed west on Littlerock Road, which soon turns left. Bear right here onto 128th Ave, following sins for Capitol State Forest. In less than 1 mile turn left at the T intersection on Mima Road and after 1.5 miles turn right onto Bordeaux Road. Follow the paved road for 3.5 miles until the fork in the road. Bear right and following the D line for 0.6 mile to a four-way intersection on a hill crest. turn right onto the the D-4000 Line and follow this good gravel road for 2 miles to its junction with the D-5000 Line, where you find the trailhead.

Recent Trip Reports

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There are 4 trip reports for this hike.

Sherman Creek — Sep 04, 2011 — SecretSquirrel

Overnight

Features: Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries

Issues: Mudholes

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A pleasantly underrated hike through a beautiful section of Capitol Forest, myself and two others backpacked this seemingly miscredited loop....

A pleasantly underrated hike through a beautiful section of Capitol Forest, myself and two others backpacked this seemingly miscredited loop. According to the above report, this hike is the "Sherman Creek Valley" trail. Instead, we could only find D.N.R. markers labeling it as the Mima-Porter Trail #8. This confusion made us wonder if we reached our intended destination, or were settling for another hike based on directions acquired and convenience. The directions listed are somewhat incorrect, you will probably still find the not-so-clearly marked trailhead following them, but not without doubts. you can easily web search directions to Bordeaux Rd. and from there take a right at the first fork you come to, drive less than half a mile, turn right onto D-4000 (look closely for the road sign on a large tree), and then park at the intersection of that gravel road with D-4400. From there you will start the trail heading in the westerly direction (or on the driver's side if your car is on D-4000). Look for a D.N.R. marker labeled Mima-Porter trail #8 and you are on your way. A few short minutes into this hike you will be provided with an option, the path forks and there is a sign indicating you can go left 6 miles to Falls Creek Campground, or right 3 miles to Falls Creek Campground. This is due to the fact the trail is an oval-shaped loop with the longer portion going left (or southward). There are good and bad points to this hike as follows.

The trail itself is secluded, but on a nice weekend (like Labor Day wknd for example) you will encounter a few people. This trail seems to be far more popular with mountain bikes and equestrians than it is with backpackers. As such you should not be surprised to have to yield to these faster and more momentous trail users often. Also, watch out for road apples. The scenery is very nice, you forget that you are in a heavily-logged forest because this stretch is essentially untouched by chainsaws. The trees provide welcome shade for 90% of the hike, and you are walking along a small creek for at least half of the trip. Being an avid fisherman, I was disappointed in the waters--no real places to dip a line to speak of. I did spot a couple of pan-sized trout, but 99% of the waters are realy unfishable. Another disappointment was the lack of suitable campsites. I enjoy seclusion when backpacking, and did not attain that on this trip. Camping is discouraged most everywhere, with the exception of improved and boisterous campsites. Despite our best efforts, we had to settle for a spot a few feet away from a logging road with some traffic. On a positive note, there were lots and lots of edible wildberries (huckleberries--both pink and blue varieties, little wild blacks, thimbleberries, salal, etc.)

All-in-all, not a regretable hike, but if you are accustomed to the glory of the Olympics, this hike will not imrpess you. However, for an overnight getaway, very near town, it is surprisingly beautiful. Happy trails!

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Sherman Creek — May 29, 2011 — Dante

Day hike

Issues: Mudholes | Water on trail

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I can confirm the former entry: "We actually found it at the junction of the D-4000 and D-4400 lines. We...

I can confirm the former entry: "We actually found it at the junction of the D-4000 and D-4400 lines. We marked the spot with our GPS at N 46 55.228, W 123 06.927. From that spot the Mima Porter Trail No. 8 also goes south to Mima Falls. This hike goes north across the road down to Trail No. 20." You will find a little parking area right at the trail head.
Trail right now is very muddy - met some mountain bikers that gave up. This is not a spectacular hike with grand views, unless you consider massive clear cuts as such. Although not a short hike, it is easy with no strenuous elevation gains (took me less than 4 hours). Multiple streams are crossing the trail and further into the summer, you might want to bring mosquito repellent. Most of the way you are covered by foliage, so sun blocker is not a must. I heard a lot of shooting practice at the beginning and end of the hike, but most of the times, it is very peaceful.
The Lost Valley Creek part is the definitely the prettiest part.
This is surely one of the better hikes in Capitol forest.

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Sherman Creek — Dec 12, 2010 — MKretzler

Day hike

Issues: Water on trail

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This is a fine little hike in the Capitol Forest. Check out the Hiking Sawtelles' Feb. 2010 report for some...

This is a fine little hike in the Capitol Forest. Check out the Hiking Sawtelles' Feb. 2010 report for some useful details.

It has been raining for days, now, so the creeks were high. Sherman Creek, in particular, was roaring. All of the bridges were intact, but nearly all of the trail was a puddle.

The Lost Valley Creek segment is especially pretty, featuring a number of active beaver dams. I think I'll come back in the spring.

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Sherman Creek — Feb 06, 2010 — Hiking Sawtelles

Day hike

Issues: Water on trail

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What an awesome hike. We found this in the Day Hiking, Olympic Penninsula book and decided to make a...

What an awesome hike. We found this in the Day Hiking, Olympic Penninsula book and decided to make a go of it. The directions to the trailhead were a bit confusing and we think that the road names may have been altered since the book was published. The book says to find the trailhead at the junction of the D-4000 and D-5000 lines. We actually found it at the junction of the D-4000 and D-4400 lines. We marked the spot with our GPS at N 46 55.228, W 123 06.927. From that spot the Mima Porter Trail No. 8 also goes south to Mima Falls. This hike goes north across the road down to Trail No. 20.

The wife, dog and I really loved this trail and the variety of environments. That first breakthrough into the cut area was magnificent. Once we got down to Sherman Creek, the soothing water sounds stayed with us all the way around and back to the No. 8 and No. 20 junction again.

Quite a bit of the trail was muddy, but not too bad. We especially enjoyed the last leg along Lost Valley Creek through what looked like a tree tunnel.

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