Parking
Park at Marymere Falls Trailhead by Storm King Ranger Station, then follow Marymere Falls Nature Trail to the Barnes Creek junction. NPS also identifies Lake Crescent Lodge as an access to the Marymere trail area.
Overview
About Barnes Creek Trail
Why go
- An extended creekside walk beyond the popular waterfall junction.
Heads up
- The 6.6-mile round trip starts beyond the Marymere parking access.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Olympic map
Full mapElevation830–2,067 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
6 active Olympic alerts
- CautionUS 101 Hoh River Bridge reduced to one laneUS 101 at the Hoh River Bridge is restricted to one lane of alternating traffic; obey the signals and 25 mph speed limit.Official details
- ClosureStaircase wilderness trails and campsites remain closedWilderness trails and campsites around Staircase remain closed during recovery from the Bear Gulch Fire; the developed Staircase area, including the Rapids Loop, campground, and ranger station, is…Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Olympic Tour Guide
Your drive to Barnes Creek Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Olympic National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Olympic audio tourRecorded for this area
Marymere Falls and Barnes Point0:00 / 0:32
“You're coming up on Barnes Point, the starting area for Marymere Falls. The walk takes you through mossy old-growth forest to a narrow, ninety-foot drop.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lake Crescent Lodge: A Lakeside Break
- The Chalet That Moved
- Lake Crescent Scenic Pull-Off
- Aurora Creek: A Steep Forest Climb
- 204 audio storiesacross Olympic’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Olympic Marmot, Humpback Whale, Grey Whale, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 148 trails, 94 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Barnes Creek Trail
Along Barnes CreekBarnes Creek Trail is a 6.6-mile out-and-back on the maintained lower trail, a 3.
Barnes Creek Trail is a 6.6-mile out-and-back on the maintained lower trail, a 3.3-mile one-way walk from the Marymere Falls Nature Trail junction to the Upper Barnes Creek Primitive Trail junction. It climbs from roughly 800 to 2,000 feet through a wooded creek valley. Allow about four hours for the lower route, plus the approach from the Marymere parking area; the climb and return make this a longer outing than the waterfall walk alone.
Find the right turnStart at Marymere Falls Trailhead by Storm King Ranger Station and follow Marymere Falls Nature…
Start at Marymere Falls Trailhead by Storm King Ranger Station and follow Marymere Falls Nature Trail to the Barnes Creek junction. This route’s 6.6-mile figure starts there, so add the shared approach in both directions. Marymere Falls is a separate spur if you want to extend the outing.
Turn at the upper junctionThe lower trail ends at the Upper Barnes Creek Primitive Trail junction; turn around there and…
The lower trail ends at the Upper Barnes Creek Primitive Trail junction; turn around there and return on the same creekside corridor. Longer outings toward Aurora Ridge or Lookout Dome continue onto the primitive route beyond this record, so their distances do not describe this hike. Dogs are not allowed on Barnes Creek Trail.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Olympic
710 sightingsOlympic MarmotMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
30 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
23 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
71 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
306 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Olympic. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
