Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain is a rocky summit above Deer Park, reached by the half-mile Rain Shadow Loop from the end of Deer Park Road. The short walk opens onto wide views across the Olympic Peninsula, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Dungeness Valley and Dungeness Spit. I’d keep it on the list for the panorama; the drive is the bigger commitment.

The loop gains about 170 feet and returns to the same road-end trailhead. Deer Park Road is 18 miles long, narrow and steep; its final nine miles are gravel, and RVs and trailers aren’t suitable for that section. From late fall until late-spring snowmelt, the park closes the road at its boundary, about nine miles from Highway 101; check its status before setting out. There’s no food service at the summit, and the campground nearby is a separate stop.

On a clear day, pick out the Strait and the long curve of Dungeness Spit below you, then turn toward the Olympic peaks. For a photo, include the spit and water with the mountain skyline so the view reads as a broad sweep rather than a close-up of the rocky summit. Cloud can hide the distant scenery, so visibility matters more here than a particular time of day.

Deer Park sits in the Olympic rain shadow. The park’s western rain forest gets far more rain than nearby Sequim, and this dry eastern side has helped isolated plants and animals persist through past glaciation. Look among the summit rocks for the Olympic bellflower; Flett’s violet is also reported among the boulders. Olympic marmots were once common around Deer Park but are now rarely seen, with non-native coyotes considered a likely factor.