This is a short hike (< 2 miles) through an old homestead near one of the Ranger Stations in Olympic National Park. It is accessed from the North Shore Drive of Lake Quinault. You need an Olympic National Park or America the Beautiful pass to park here. You can pick up the trail head at one of two locations at the main parking lot or you can continue down North Shore drive and there is another small parking lot for those wanting a shorter hike to the buildings onsite. The parking lot probably holds about 10 cars and there is a privy.
I hiked this in early November on a Thursday and there was only one other vehicle at the location. I never saw anyone. It was a little rainy, but not bad. The trail is mostly gravel, but covered with fall leaves during my hike. It is pretty wide in most place. There are some spots where trees cross the trail, so accessibility may be limited in areas.
Lots of fir trees, cedar and maples abound with moss covering a fair amount of them. Some of the firs are quite large and tall. You can see the river in some locations. It is pretty clear in the shallow sections, so you can see the rocks on the bottom. I saw some of fungi, but there were so many leaves on the trail that they may have covered some of the fungi. I also saw a slug.
You’ll cross a bridge leading to both the Kestner Homestead and the embedded Maple Glade Rain Forest Trail and a few smaller bridges are you progress. The Maple Glade Rain Forest Trail is embedded within the Homestead trail, so no reason to skip that unless you are in a hurry. This is a beautiful, quiet hike in ONP. There are even a few benches to stop and take it all in.
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