Parking
Use the Staircase day-use area by the ranger station. Follow Staircase Rapids Loop across the bridge to the southwest branch for Four Stream; the trail junction is not at the parking area. Snow can close the access road about a mile short.
Overview
About Four Stream Trail
Why go
- Beaver Flat gives the shorter walk a clear stream-side destination
- A forest route reaches a quiet river confluence
Heads up
- The full out-and-back covers 4.8 miles and climbs about 800 feet
- Pets and bicycles are not allowed on park trails
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Olympic map
Full mapElevation908–1,776 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 Four Stream 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
Staircase: Rapids and the Fallen Cedar0:00 / 0:31
“Up ahead is Staircase, where I’d choose the Rapids Loop for a short outing beside the North Fork Skokomish River.”
Plays on the road 0.8 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bark That Holds Back Heat
- Lake Cushman Site Five: A Picnic by the Water
- Salmon Around the Cushman Dams
- 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 Four Stream Trail
The walk and its shorter optionFour Stream is a forest out-and-back from the southwest side of Staircase Rapids Bridge to the…
Four Stream is a forest out-and-back from the southwest side of Staircase Rapids Bridge to the park boundary. The mapped route is 2.39 miles one way, matching the park's 2.4-mile figure, or 4.8 miles round-trip, with roughly 800 feet of climbing on the way out. Allow about 3.5 hours. For a shorter outing, turn around at Beaver Flat, 1.2 miles from the bridge and 2.4 miles round-trip.
Beaver FlatBeaver Flat is a swampy patch of red alder and redcedar where Four Stream meets the North Fork…
Beaver Flat is a swampy patch of red alder and redcedar where Four Stream meets the North Fork Skokomish River. It is the named halfway destination and the main stopping point on the shorter version. Continue beyond it for the park boundary; the mapped line ends there and does not include the trail beyond the park.
Start at StaircasePark at the Staircase day-use area by the ranger station, then follow Staircase Rapids Loop…
Park at the Staircase day-use area by the ranger station, then follow Staircase Rapids Loop across its bridge to the Four Stream branch on the southwest side. The access road can be gated about a mile short in snowy conditions. Toilets and potable water are at the developed area when seasonal services are operating; there are no services documented along Four Stream. Pets and bicycles are prohibited on park trails. Overnight wilderness travel requires a permit.
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.
