Parking
Park by the Mora Campground gate or in the Mora Ranger Station parking area; the trailhead is across Mora Road from the ranger-station lot.
Overview
About James Pond Trail
Why go
- Flat route with very little elevation change
- A quick leg-stretcher near Mora Ranger Station
Heads up
- Vegetation can make the small pond hard to see
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 James Pond 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 trailhead
Mora: A Forest Base Near Rialto0:00 / 0:32
“Mora Ranger Station is coming up, a small forest office inland from Rialto Beach. Stop for drinking water or local trip advice if a ranger's on duty, but staffing is intermittent, so don't count on a staffed counter.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Mayfly’s Brief Flight
- Rialto Beach: A Short Stop or a Coastal Walk
- Second Beach: Forest to Sea Stacks
- The Duck Diving Beneath the Surf
- 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 James Pond Trail
A quick forest loopJames Pond Trail is a short, flat forest loop near Mora Ranger Station.
James Pond Trail is a short, flat forest loop near Mora Ranger Station. From the trailhead, follow a short approach to the pond-side loop, then walk back out along that same approach. The complete walk is about 0.4 mile and takes around 15 minutes, with a little more time if you stop at the pond. A 0.3-mile figure describes the loop itself; including the short access path out and back brings the full walk to about 0.38 mile.
What to expectThe path stays under the trees and has very little elevation change. Some footing can be uneven.
The path stays under the trees and has very little elevation change. Some footing can be uneven. The destination is a small pond, and plants can make the water hard to see, so think of this as a brief forest walk rather than a sure-fire open-water view. The pond is described as a beaver pond, but wildlife sightings are not established.
Starting point and rulesThe trailhead is across Mora Road from the Mora Ranger Station parking area.
The trailhead is across Mora Road from the Mora Ranger Station parking area. You can also park by the Mora Campground gate. Campground restrooms serve the area. Pets are not allowed on this Olympic National Park trail; service animals are exempt.
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.
