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Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Upper Dungeness River
A delightful hike through ancient timber along the crystal-clear Dungeness River-save this one for a hot or rainy day. Quite possibly the easiest 3.4 miles of wilderness trail in the Olympics, the Upper Dungeness is ideal for introducing neophytes and youngsters to the backcountry. Handy dandy Camp Handy with its restored shelter provides cover on overcast days, allowing you to enjoy your lunch while droplets run down the cedar shingles.
The Upper Dungeness River Trail begins right beside the tumbling and crashing river, never letting it out of eyesight or earshot for the entire journey to Camp Handy. Through a magnificent stand of sentinel Douglas-firs-200 feet tall and several hundred years old-the trail is well sheltered. Embrace its air-conditioning effects on warm sunny days and embrace its protecting qualities on overcast ones. A couple of times the trail comes close enough to the river to allow mesmerizing glances into its frothy cascading waters. After 1 meditative mile arrive at a junction. The trail right travels 6.5 miles along Royal Creek to Royal Lake. Turn left instead, crossing Royal Creek on a sturdy log bridge, and immediately enter the Buckhorn Wilderness. Through cool glens of Doug-fir and hemlock, across numerous side creeks, and along seeps spawning salmonberries, the trail parallels the majestic river. Raucous rapids and placid pools entice you to slow down and marvel at the beauty. In 2.6 miles the trail crosses the river. In 2006 the log bridge sustained serious damage from winter runoff. Hopefully the Forest Service has replaced it. If not, cross with caution. Once across, the trail pulls away from the river, the chattering of resident birds no longer drowned out by the thunderous waterway. At 3.2 miles reach an unmarked junction. Head right to a lovely meadow on the Dungeness, home to Camp Handy. If the weather is agreeable, head to the wide gravel bar for views and feet-soaking. If it's raining, take to the shelter. Be prepared, however, to fend off snack-sneaking chipmunks.
Driving Directions:
From the west end of the Hood Canal Bridge, drive State Route 104 to its end and veer north onto US 101. Proceed 16 miles and turn left onto Louella Road (just before reaching the Sequim Bay State Park entrance). In 1 mile turn left on Palo Alto Road, continuing for 6 miles. Bear right at a junction onto Forest Road 2880. The road descends and crosses the Dungeness River, coming to another junction in 1.7 miles, where you turn left on FR 2870. In 2.6 miles bear right at a junction to continue on FR 2870 (formerly called FR 2860). Continue 6.5 miles to the large parking area just past the Dungeness River Bridge. Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Upper Dungeness River
— May 25, 2012
— kubtastic
Overnight
Issues:
Snow on trail
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I went to Boulder Shelter for a single-overnight trip. Trail is good beyond Camp Handy and beyond th...
I went to Boulder Shelter for a single-overnight trip. Trail is good beyond Camp Handy and beyond the 3,500' marker. The first patches of snow are at 4200' and starting at about 4400' a number of drifts block the trail but are easily crossed. Approaching boulder shelter I met the real snow level. Camping at boulder shelter had to be done on the cleared ground inside - the rest of the area is all under several feet of snow.
The trail to Home Lake is buried and terrain contours just didn't cut it. The way to Marmot Pass is easy to navigate but there's a stretch of snow on the mountainside where the switchbacks run, and it goes from boulder shelter to the crest. The trail does leave the snow field and moves north according to my map but I didn't find it. Day hike
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It looks like it's been more than a month since the last trip report on this trail, so here's an upd...
It looks like it's been more than a month since the last trip report on this trail, so here's an update.
Getting to the trailhead was not an issue, there is no snow left on the road or in the parking area. I hiked to Camp Handy (3.4 miles up) and there isn't any snow on the trail at all, and overall the trail was in great condition. I can't speak for the trail past Camp Handy, as that was my turnaround point. This is a scenic, mellow river hike and perfect for a cloudy, drizzly day like it was on Friday. Multi-night backpack
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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Two nights at River Camp along the Lower Dungeness, with a day hike / snowshoe along the Upper Dunge...
Two nights at River Camp along the Lower Dungeness, with a day hike / snowshoe along the Upper Dungeness
Friday after work under the watch of a starry sky, Chris and I hiked the 4.8 miles from the lower trailhead up to River Camp. Saturday, we trekked the 1.2 miles to the Upper Dungeness trailhead enjoying blue, cloudless skies and the sound of gallons of snowmelt crashing against rocks. We then followed the Dungeness River and Trail almost 3 miles to the second bridge, where we decided to turn back. Sunday, we hiked out in warm, partly cloudy conditions. Trail conditions, Lower Dungeness trail: No snow on the trail, and just a few muddy spots. There are two blowdowns several miles in that are easily crossed by stepping over or ducking under. Trail conditions, Upper Dungeness trail: Melt-off is underway, but snow completely covers the Upper Dungeness trail starting about one-half mile past the junction with the Royal Basin trail. Snow depth varies from a few inches to a few feet. Where the snow has cleared, snow melt forms streams in certain places on the trail. There are a lot of boot prints showing where people have post-holed quite deeply in spots. The snow was fairly stable and supportive the day we hiked, though, with almost no post-holing, so I decided not to don my snowshoes until our return trip. There is one blowdown that is easily crossed. Conditions of Upper Dungeness trailhead parking area: There is about a foot of snow covering the Upper Dungeness parking area. From the parking area, looking up the road toward Tubal-Cain, there appears to be at least a foot of snow on the road. It is probably even deeper higher up. No wildlife sightings, and it’s still too early for wildflowers, but the craggy, snowy peaks provided fantastic contrast against the bright blue skies.
Upper Dungeness River
— Mar 11, 2012
— otis_27
Day hike
Issues:
Water on trail | Snow on trail
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The road was mostly clear except for a few small patches of snow that were all easily passable. The ...
The road was mostly clear except for a few small patches of snow that were all easily passable. The bridge and the parking lot had quite a bit more snow and the ruts on the bridge would probably bottom out most cars with average clearance. There was a very light snow falling while hiking but there was also an unexpected amount of blue sky and sunshine on a day with a predicted 70% chance of rain down below in Sequim. The trail was pretty well covered in snow and ice for a majority of the way. Not a huge issue but if you have something akin to Yaxtrax I would highly recommend bringing them along. As you would expect, the farther up the trail you go, the more snow there is and it gets fairly deep. Maybe up to a foot. But there is still a distinct trail to follow and it's packed down so you don't have to worry about it filling your boots. We only made it to the second log bridge because it was covered in ice and we did not have any traction devices for our feet unfortunately. Overall it was a very pleasant hike and there was hardly another person to be found. I imagine it would be very busy in the warmer months particularly if bikes are allowed on the trail. In the winter it's a nice mellow walk with a beautiful river and sometimes views of the snow capped peaks nearby.
Upper Dungeness River
— Feb 15, 2012
— jjames3157
Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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The road: fine for 2wd except for last quarter mile. Last hundred yards before trailhead especially ...
The road: fine for 2wd except for last quarter mile. Last hundred yards before trailhead especially were well-covered with snow, but would have been very easy to just park shy of there and walk to the TH. There were a few very small snowpatches in shady spots before that, but all on flat ground, only a couple of inches of snow at most, and each less than 50 feet long, so easily crossed w/out chains. Just take er easy!
The Trail: Snowy in patches, but generally clear up to last 1/2 mile. Last 1/2 mile free of snow everywhere except for a few short sections of open, untreed slope. Elsewhere, free of snow but last 1/2 mile *extremely* icy due to melt collecting and freezing on trail. In those sections of snow trail still easy to follow due to previous passages. All bridges good. Meadow at Camp Handy knee-deep with snow and beautiful, but ice makes descent of hill to camp extremely difficult. |
 The Dungeness River. Photo by Jon Lee.
2010, 2011
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