We go to Ranger Hole every year. This trip was not disappointing. It is a short hike to a very special spot. The forest is truly lovely. The Duckabush River is wild here and the gorge is awesome. We saw several large fish.

Yesterday Washington Trails Association staff and some of our partners from Outdoor Alliance of Washington, including the Mountaineers, took Congresswoman Emily Randall out to explore this trail in her district. We discussed the economic and health benefits of outdoor recreation and why it is so important for everyone to have easy access to nature. We also talked about the partnership between the US Forest Service and WTA and the key role that volunteers play in helping maintain our public lands and trails. We all agreed, how important it is to invest in the infrastructure and upkeep of our trails and public lands to ensure they can be enjoyed for generations to come. 

Trailhead has room for about 10-15 cars. The bathroom was cleaned and stocked. 

The trail is generally in good shape, but there are a few minor issues to be aware of. There is one tree across that trail that you must go over. Also the steep portion of the trail that others have mentioned is worth noting not for the grade but the fact that the soil is loose and can cause you to slip in this area. 

It was a lovely day outside. Note, you could smell the smoke, but the AQI map on WTA’s hiking guide looked clear and the air didn’t feel smoky or like it was hard to breathe. 

Pro tip: You can rent the cabin behind us in the group shot! 

Getting there- no issues going up the road and the signage was really clear.

Bathroom- it was a pretty nice vault toilet and it looks like it’s shared with the lodging there. It’s maybe 50 ft into the trail.

We hiked this and did the small interpretive section which provided some really cool history of the area. As others have mentioned it does get pretty steep doing towards the river so no shame in your game if you need one. There were some cool vistas of the water. Definitely a fun trail.

Trail was a bit steeper than anticipated and should be listed as moderate due to the steeper areas of the trail. Wasn't too bad, but there seemed to be a lot of loose rocks along the way. The abundance of foliage was very nice to see, as well as the short trail with the wayside exhibits. Combining history and nature is always nice.

It's been a minute since I posted my last trip report, but I feel like I need to start up again posting more, for all of us who are old-and-slow (or folks with young children). Here goes.

The sun on Thursday screamed at us to "GET OUTSIDE" so I looked up trip reports for one of my favorite nearby hikes (Big Creek). But it looks like it still might have snow higher up, so we went to Ranger Hole instead.

We were immediately greeted at the old guard station to two Pileated Woodpeckers who were hammering out some kind of agreement in the big trees. One high, one low. We searched and searched but could not see them. So we traveled on. 

I love this little hike. Though it's still not spring enough to see plants actively budding, you can sense the anticipation and glee just below the surface. Any day now, the red huckleberries will bloom and the vine maples bust out. 

Ranger Hole never disappoints. The color of the Duckabush River is spectacular. We lounged for some time in the sun hoping to see a Dipper zip by (which we did).

This is a short hike, and when we got back to the car, a picnic table was IN THE SUN. So we had our lunch and reacquainted ourselves with how to drive to Murhut Falls (thanks WTA for the tip to combine these two hikes). 

Both the paved road to Ranger Hole and the gravel road to Murhut are fine, as long as you keep a good watch out for potholes on the gravel leg. The Murhut trail has two small trees across the trail just a short ways from the start (Chainsaw anyone? It would only take a minute to cut these out of the way, but they are easily navigated if they are still there when you go.)

We did not see a single person on either trail today. I'm sure a sunny day on the weekend would be different. 

Get out there and walk these two trails and it will settle you right down.