Dosewallips River Road Trail

The Dosewallips River Road Trail is a 13-mile out-and-back along a closed roadbed, from roadside parking at the current vehicle road end to the Dosewallips campground and decommissioned ranger station. It is a long valley walk rather than a short waterfall stroll: the old road climbs gently overall, with two waterfalls, a steeper stretch above Elkhorn, and a fire-opened view of the ridges. Allow about seven hours with stops.

If you want a shorter day, turn around at Elkhorn Campground. The long road walk is the point here; the bigger Main Fork and West Fork hikes continue beyond the ranger station and are separate backcountry routes.

About a mile in, a major washout breaks the old road. A forested switchback bypass climbs roughly 100 feet; hikers may use a lower path by the river only when it is clear and safe. The turn back onto the bypass can be easy to miss on the return. Check current park conditions before setting out, and do not improvise a river crossing.

The walk starts across a gravelly streambed. Water can run high early in the season, so be ready to turn back if the crossing is not safe.

Beyond the washout, the canyon narrows and the route settles into cool, damp forest. Moss coats rocks and maple limbs, with ferns and vanilla leaf along the old road. The Dosewallips is often heard through the trees more than seen. Stony Brook Falls appears beside the road in the first few miles; the Elkhorn junction is a useful shorter turnaround.

Past Elkhorn, the grade gets noticeably steeper, gaining close to 400 feet in about a mile. The roadbed remains broad, but do not mistake the steep Lake Constance route at Constance Creek for part of this hike.

Around mile four, the route opens into the burn left by the 2009 Constance Fire. Blackened trunks frame views toward forested ridges and high peaks. Near mile 5.3, Dosewallips Falls squeezes through a narrow rocky chasm among large fallen trunks; look for the old rock-filled retaining cages along the steep road cut nearby.

The old campground and ranger station mark the road’s end at roughly 6½ miles from the trailhead. The road crosses from Forest Service land into Olympic National Park along the way, so the first stretch is outside the park boundary even though this is a park approach hike.

There is no food, drinking water, toilet or other service at the road-end parking. Dogs are allowed on this road walk to the ranger station, but not beyond the wilderness boundary; overnight trips beyond it require a wilderness permit and bear canister.

The road was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s as part of a proposed route across the Olympics. Creation of the park in 1938 ended the road project, and a 2002 flood cut off vehicle access. Near the washout, old springboard notches in stumps recall how loggers once stood on planks to saw large trees.