Type of Hike
Day hikeTrail Conditions
Minor obstacles posing few problemsRoad
Road suitable for all vehiclesBugs
No bugsSnow
Snow free
This 2-mile loop is a wonderful, easy hike around the blue-green, spider-free Spider Lake. Great for kids and anyone looking for a peaceful ramble. The hike can be done in an hour--but take two or three and stop to enjoy the biodiversity of this Doug-fir, hemlock, western red-cedar forest (many approaching "old-growth" stature). Late summer is great as many native understory plants are full of berries and fruits and the bugs are gone. We took the clock-wise loop. There are two large trees across the trail, but the trail is in great condition and the bridges across small creeks and wet spots are solid and photogenic. There are discreet access trails to the lake (which looks swimmable) and several fire rings possibly used by fisherfolk.
BEWARE!!! The driving directions posted on the WTA site and in "Day Hiking Olympic Peninusla" by Craig Romano are not up to date/accurate. Some mileages are incorrect, turns are no longer signed, access to trail-head is different, and it seems the forest-service roads have changed/paved much since 2007 when the book was published. Here are my directions from the Skokomish Valley Road (milepost 340) off 101.
GETTING THERE: Follow Skokomish Valley Road 5.5 miles and bear right at V intersection onto Forest Road 23. Follow FS 23 for 9.5 miles to a V- junction where you'll see a sign for Brown Creek CG, Skokomish Trail, and High Steel Bridge (see photo below). DO NOT take follow that road, but take the left side of the V, which is not marked for Spider Lake or anywhere else! You'll come to another V-junction--veer right (the left side is FS 2356, but that sign is down the road a bit, not at the junction). You'll see a new sign for SPIDER LK on the left side of the road (see photo below). There is a pull-out on the right just past the sign. The map in the Olympic Forest book marks a trail head on the southwest side of the lake, but the trail head is actually where the map shows "23" (the forest road) on the north side of the lake.
Good luck! Have fun!
Comments