Staircase Rapids, North Fork Skokomish River — Jun. 28, 2025
5 people found this report helpful
Yesterday I walked the Staircase Loop-North Skokomish Trail from the trailhead to the 3.6 mile mark, the junction to Flapjack Lake. My total mileage was 7.5 miles. The road in was in excellent condition. It must have been graded in just the last few weeks. The trail was also in GREAT condition. Thank you to the volunteers who have kept it clear of fallen trees and brush.
I arrived at the parking lot at 8:15 a.m. The parking lot was already very full, as the campground was full. At the trailhead there are 2 pit toilets. Both were stocked with TP. On the outward bound leg I saw 8 other hikers.
At the Flapjack Fork, after a short break to eat a sandwich, I headed back down the trail. I saw 20 hikers on the North Skokomish Trail and 200 people between the suspension bridge and the parking lot. As always, I walked the south side of the Staircase Loop twice, and I recommend this to everyone. The south side of the Loop is MUCH nicer than the north side. The parking lot was completely full when I returned at 11:15 a.m.
During the return leg of my hike, I met a 4-person group who had taken a wrong turn following the suspension bridge and headed up the Skokomish River Trail, rather than doing the second half of the Staircase Loop. They were over 1.5 miles from where they'd made the wrong turn, meaning 2.5 miles back to the parking lot when they'd set off on a 2-mile hike. This is the third time in six years I've met a group on the North Skokomish Trail that had made the same mistake! The sign just after the suspension bridge is not very good, and that's why people take a wrong turn.
Along the way I saw a jack rabbit, which I hadn't seen on this hike before. I also saw one huge slug, a real world-smasher. I did see a couple of pieces of trash on the trail, and I picked up the non-gross bit. I heard a grouse, but no sighting this time.
It was a good 7.5 mile hike. On the way home I stopped at Brinnon’s Halfway House Restaurant. The tuna melt and salad were tasty and at a nice price.
Staircase Rapids — Jun. 22, 2025
Staircase Rapids, Four Stream, Shady Lane — Jun. 22, 2025
7 people found this report helpful
The dirt portion of the North Shore Lake Cushman Rd is freshly graded and the potholes are. A nice smooth drive into the park! We arrived at 7:30. No one in the ranger station. Plenty of parking in the upper lot. The Staircase Rapids trail to the bridge is in great shape. There's lots of wild flowers blooming. The Four Stream trail is more narrow and rocky out to Beaver Flat. North of Beaver Flat the trail gets tricky. We ran into 3 trail washout. We got around 2. The third involved hopping from 1 rock to another about 3 feet over a ditch 3 or 4 feet deep. The rocks looked loose and the far side of the trail looked steep and slippery. Falling there could be a serious problem. We turned around about 0.5 miles from the Four Stream camp. Not sure if the trail is good enough to get to the camp or up into the stream gully. We went back to the TH and explored Shady Lane. There were nice spots. We saw the mine. There's a neat grotto like spot. We went to the Copper Creek trail intersection. We tried to take the trail south to the causeway. That part of the trail is now part of the river flood zone. So back to the TH a little after noon. Cars were parked everywhere. Parking lot full and most shoulder parking almost to the ranger station. Still a beautiful morning in the forest!
Staircase Rapids — Jun. 21, 2025
2 people found this report helpful
Was staying at the Staircase campground with the family and while my wife was putting our kid to bed I took advantage of the long daylight hours and did a quick evening 2 mile trek. It was pretty. Going clockwise the 1st half is a romp along the mighty North Fork Skokomish. You'll cross a suspension bridge then the 2nd half is a peaceful forest bath through old and second growth.
