My faithful canine hiking companion and I decided to hike this trail on our way home from the annual beach cleanup at Kalaloch. The trail is steep and rough, as described, but so worth the effort. The trees down across the trail are large and I had to crawl under most. The trail is in desperate need of some good maintenance as it is becoming overgrown in places, and is easily lost in others. Such a pretty area - it would be sad to see this trail fade into obscurity. One possible route took us down to the bank of the creek, but a washout there prohibited us from going any further that direction. We turned around and followed another possible route that carried us a bit further into the canyon. This dead-ended at a sizeable boulder that we couldn't figure out how to circumnavigate. We never found the footlog, nor did we end up within sight of the waterfall (beyond a glimpse). According to my gps, we actually overshot it a bit. I fully intend to return and hike this one again!

This hike is part of our top favorites and will not disappoint, and you do not need a pass to enjoy it! The roads are great getting there, though there was heavy traffic in the Hoquiam/Aberdeen area because of construction. The views you get of Lake Quinault as you travel up South Shore Road are excellent precursors to the hike, too. Everything was well marked and we found the trailhead with no problems. You'll see a seemingly overgrown dirt road to the right of the main one at the sign for the canyon; it may seem a bit sketchy, but my mustang could handle it and it will take you directly to the actual trailhead, where the information board is located. The page describes it as a "deep, dark canyon," but this doesn't mean what you'd normally expect; the canyon is so vast and wide that you don't really realize it is one until you're done with the hike. Not far from the trailhead, you'll come across a large log extending out and up in front of you, and it looks like it is part of the trail - it's not! We walked up this log (see pictures) and then two others before we reconnected to the main path and didn't even realize we had wandered astray until we were back on track. We're not sure how much time we saved or what we missed by this shortcut, but don't be alarmed if you assume that it is part of the trail. The further you hike, the rockier it will get, and there are a few notable places where there are logs you have to go under or where it is extremely overgrown (the latter of which is mostly toward the very end of the trail). Don't let these things deter you from making it to the end! We hiked exactly 2.5 miles to reach the beautiful lunch spot - fallen logs, glistening rocks, and beautiful waterfalls await you! There is a large log right as you emerge from the forest, from which you can see the waterfall and other logs up ahead. We climbed up the side of it (it looks like steps were cut out) but on our way back discovered that it was much easier to start at the very end of the log. Being the adventurers we are, we chose to explore and get as close as we could to the waterfall (be careful with this, as some places are sketchy and the rocks are VERY slippery near the falls). We ate lunch right next to the falls, with our feet hanging over the edge over the clear blue pool, and continued exploring higher up after that. Round trip, we went about 5.4 miles (2.5 both ways plus adventuring) and had a blast the entire time. We highly recommend it and are dying to go again!

The beginning if the trail was a passable stream but much of the rest was dry, considering many of the Olympic trails in early Spring are mud and puddle filled. The creek raged below me in the canyon for. A wonderful sound. It was drizzling and then the clouds parted for a filtered light beautiful day. There were two passable logs with some effort but worth it. I turned around at the log crossings of the creek.

After spending the weekend at Kalaloch, the wife and I wanted to get a quick hike in before heading back home so upon driving the S Shore Road we came across this. It was a steep one and there were a few obstacles along the way (trees over the trail which could be passed by climbing over or under) and we were planning to go until we hit a campsite that we read about in my hiking the Olympics book but missed the part about going across a log to get to it. So we just went to the very end of this one till there was no trail left. It was a great workout and very peaceful getting closer to the creek and hearing it for most of the way up and down.

Great day hike - it was my first time hiking the trail. The lower portion of the trail was in good condition but the upper portion had some down logs and debris that you needed to hike through and climb over. There were a couple sections where the trail wasn't as clear on direction but I made it up to the 2 mile spot to see the stream and waterfall. It was a great hike through the wilderness with gorgeous old growth and the sound of the stream the entire length of the hike. Encountered other people on the trail to share the experience with. The rangers had mentioned vandalizations in the parking lot for the trail and thought that parking on the street would be safer.