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Murhut Falls

This short and easy trail in the Hood Canal Ranger District on the east side of the Olympics takes hikers to a relatively unknown waterfall.

If no pain no gain is your mantra, you might want to skip this trail. But if you like a short trail that delivers its reward - a captivating 130-foot plunging waterfall - in just under a mile, then this hike is for you. What is more, you’ll hardly break a sweat in the easy climb of 250 feet elevation gain to reach the tiered falls. And amazingly, you'll probably not have to put up with many other hikers along the way, as the trail is still relatively unknown.

The well-maintained trail Murhut Falls Trail begins with a gradual ascent, then flattens out before the final steep ascent to your 1050-foot destination. This is Pacific Rhododendron country, so if you hike this trail in spring you’ll find yourself surrounded by pink bursts of bloom splashed against the surrounding green forest. You may or may not notice that the trail was converted from an old logging road—hence the easy, well-smoothed tread. The roar of the falls will be with you for the final stretch of trail as you descend into the hidden ravine that shelters the tiered falls. Take a rest to enjoy the powerful force of the waterfall as it pitches itself into the narrow ravine. Exercise caution and hold small hands in the final stretch where the trail narrows and there is a dropoff to one side.

If you like a lot of bang for very little buck, this trail is definitely for you and makes a wonderful family outing.
Driving Directions:

The hike is in the Duckabush Recreation Area between Shelton and Quilcene on Hwy 101 on the Olympic Peninsula. From US 101 south of Quilcene, turn west at milepost 310 onto Duckabush Road. Drive 6.3 miles. You will pass the Collins Creek Campground and go over the Duckabush River Bridge. Bear right at the road junction, signed Murhut Falls Trail. The 1.3 miles remaining on gravel road takes you to the trailhead.

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Recent Trip Reports

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There are 42 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.
Murhut Falls — Apr 26, 2013 — storm2382
Day hike
Features: Wildflowers blooming
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Road and trails in good condition. ...
Road and trails in good condition.
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Murhut Falls — Mar 10, 2013 — NW Girl
Day hike
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The road and trail were in good condition, no snow or other debris were to be found. The waterfall l...
The road and trail were in good condition, no snow or other debris were to be found. The waterfall looked beautiful.. we would definitely do this hike again!
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Murhut Falls, Duckabush River, Ranger Hole - Interrorem Nature Trail — Feb 09, 2013 — Nutmeg
Day hike
Issues: Blowdowns | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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The road is great to Ranger Hole Trail head. After that it’s still easily passable with a 2WD seda...
The road is great to Ranger Hole Trail head. After that it’s still easily passable with a 2WD sedan, but look out for the potholes! The road is completely snow-free all the way to Murhut with some small branches down from the Murhut cutoff to trailhead, but easy to avoid or go over.

Photos from today’s hikes to Murhut, River Camp on the Duckabush River Trail, and Ranger Hole are at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

Murhut Falls – the trail has a little snow in spots and some trees and limbs down but is easy to hike. The excellent drainage work on this trail means there is no water or soggy spots. We were surprised by the number of people on the trail – almost a dozen besides us, one dog off leash, one on (ours). The falls were really flowing, but as there were people smoking at the falls (seriously?), we could not stay to enjoy and headed straight back down. We continued up the road about a mile before hitting snow and turned back there.

Duckabush River Trail – 4 cars at the trailhead when we arrived around 1 p.m. There’s a tree across the trail right at the beginning and lots of limbs and branches down, including a few more trees (most 8” or less). After Little Hump much of the trail is still snow-covered, but it’s only a few inches deep, well compacted, and melting out. We only went to River Camp at 2.5 miles, and the trail was easily hikeable in boots alone. A hiker coming off Big Hump told us it’s mostly melted due to the southern exposure with snow started up again on the far side. I can’t wait to get back out here with WTA in May and work on this trail!!!

Ranger Hole and Interrorem Nature Trails – Oh, my stars! When I was here in January, these lovely little trails were almost impassible due to the snow, trees, and branches down. Mt. Rose Trail Crew went out and voila! All issues cleared, and beautifully, too. The trail is in great condition and lovely with mossy maples and red-brown leaves. Pretty as the trail is, the frothing green of Ranger Hole puts all other colors to shame. It is raging and gorgeous. As we stood mesmerized by the river, a bald eagle flew right over us, landed in a tree for a while peering into the calm pool down from the rapids, then flew off down the river. Spectacular!
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Murhut Falls — Dec 01, 2012 — Bob and Barb
Day hike
Features: Fall foliage
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We had hiked this trail on 11-27 and returned today to see how full the falls were after 4 days of h...
We had hiked this trail on 11-27 and returned today to see how full the falls were after 4 days of heavy rain. We were not disappointed as the falls and creek were flowing full. This is a well maintained trail and it actually had no standing water because of the many drainage ditches. As we approached the falls we could hear the roaring sounds of the creek and falls! We met a couple with 2 unleashed dogs as we neared the TH.
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Murhut Falls — Nov 27, 2012 — Bob and Barb
Day hike
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After setting up camp at Dosewallips SP, we had just enough time to do this short easy hike. The wel...
After setting up camp at Dosewallips SP, we had just enough time to do this short easy hike. The well-maintained trail gains 250 feet before descending a few feet to the viewpoint of the falls in a grotto-like setting at the end of a dark ravine with Murhut Creek cascading below. Total distance RT is 1.6 miles. The upper tier of the falls drops over 100 feet and the lower their 30 feet. There were no other hikers and this was one of the few times we have done this hike with no rain.
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Murhut Falls Lance McCoy.jpg
Murhut Falls. Photo by Lance McCoy.
Location
Murhut Falls (#828)
Olympics -- East
Olympic National Forest - Hood Canal Ranger District
Statistics
Roundtrip 1.6 miles
Elevation Gain 300 ft
Highest Point 1050 ft
Features
Waterfalls
Old growth
User info
Good for kids
Northwest Forest Pass required
Guidebooks & Maps
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula (Romano - Mountaineers Books)
Green Trails: The Brothers #168

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Red MarkerMurhut Falls
47.6763852 -123.0205225
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