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Tubal Cain Mine

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
47.8861, -123.0913 Map & Directions
Length
7.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,600 feet
Highest Point
4,600 feet
Calculated Difficulty About Calculated Difficulty
Moderate/Hard
  • Old growth
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Established campsites
  • Rivers

Parking Pass/Entry Fee

Northwest Forest Pass
Saved to My Backpack

This short dayhike also offers campsites near the site of an old B-17 crash site. Please leave what you see so others may discover this historic site as you do. Continue reading

Rating
3.50 out of 5

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Hiking Tubal Cain Mine

Although best known for its namesake mine and the nearby aircraft wreckage, the Tubal Cain trail also offers a pleasant and scenic route to Marmot Pass, a gateway to further wanderings.

After registering your visit at the trailhead kiosk, enter shaded forest and soon pass by a shelter and camp. Cross Silver Creek on a footlog, then begin a gentle ascent on a well-sloped trail lined with rhododendrons. The trail remains in the shade, and the rhodies remain the best view until they yield to mature forest at about 2.5 miles. At 3.0 miles, a mine shaft is visible on the hillside left of the trail. A few yards past is a junction with the Tull Canyon trail, which doubles back sharply to the mine shaft.

If the 1952 B-17 crash site is your destination, take the Tull Canyon trail to the mine and past. This trail is steep, gaining 450 feet in 0.6 mile, passing countless enormous boulders poised on the steep slopes all around you.

At the wreckage area is a plateau featuring several camp sites. A water source flows through the debris-strewn valley, but drinking water can be filtered upstream of most of the debris.

WTA worked here in 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2016!

Hike Description Written by
Ken Giesbers, WTA Correspondent

Tubal Cain Mine

Map & Directions

Trailhead
Co-ordinates: 47.8861, -123.0913 Open in Google Maps

Before You Go

See weather forecast

Parking Pass/Entry Fee

Northwest Forest Pass

WTA Pro Tip: Save a copy of our directions before you leave! App-based driving directions aren't always accurate and data connections may be unreliable as you drive to the trailhead.

Getting There

From Highway 101, turn west on Louella Road just south of Sequim Bay State Park. In 0.9 miles, turn left on Palo Alto Road. Travel 5.5 miles, then turn right on FS Road 2880. In another quarter mile, turn right again to remain on FS-2880, heading downhill. A sign warns, “Narrow Road. Not recommended for trailers or motor homes”. Cross a bridge, pass Dungeness Forks Campground, and then a scant mile later go straight, following the sign to “Dungeness Area Trails”. Travel 2.4 miles, then turn right on FS-2870. Go another 4.8 miles then turn left to remain on FS-2870. In a mile and a half, cross a bridge, pass the Dungeness Trails trailhead, and drive the remaining 3.5 miles to the parking lot, for a total of 21 miles from US 101. There is room for a dozen vehicles, plus additional shoulder parking. There are no trailhead amenities.

More Hike Details

Trailhead

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Tubal Cain Trail (#840), Tull Canyon (#847)

Olympic National Forest, Hood Canal Ranger District

Guidebooks & Maps

Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula (Romano - Mountaineers Books)

Custom Correct Buckhorn Wilderness

USGS Tyler Peak

Buy the Green Trails Tyler Peak No. 136 map

You can improve or add to this guidebook entry!

Tubal Cain Mine

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