Parking
Use the Little River Trailhead parking lot on Little River Road, across from the trail entrance. A Discover Pass is required to park.
Overview
About Little River Trail
Why go
- Built bridges and a shady river corridor make the lower miles rewarding.
- A pipework remnant and mossy basalt pockets add route-specific detail.
- The long climb finishes in subalpine forest and meadow.
Heads up
- A sustained one-way climb gains roughly 4,100 feet.
- One-way logistics need a pickup or a 14–16 mile return walk.
- Snow and difficult navigation can persist high on the route.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Olympic map
Full mapElevation1,047–5,066 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 Little River 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- Who Chiseled Those Holes?
- Lake Angeles: A Lake Worth the Climb
- Heart O' the Hills: Camp Beneath the Old Growth
- Why the Two Low Tides Differ
- 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 Little River Trail
A one-way valley-to-ridge walkLittle River Trail is a point-to-point route from Little River Road to the Hurricane Hill…
Little River Trail is a point-to-point route from Little River Road to the Hurricane Hill Nature Trail junction, climbing from lowland forest into subalpine meadow. The park lists 6.8 miles one way; the mapped track measures 7.4 miles, and other trail descriptions report 8. Plan for a seven-to-eight-mile climb and roughly 4,100 feet of net ascent. Allow about 6–8 hours uphill. The trail does not loop: arrange a pickup at the upper end or expect a long return walk of roughly 14–16 miles. The endpoint is the junction, not Hurricane Hill’s summit; continuing on the adjacent nature trail adds a separate hike.
The river corridorThe route rolls up and down through forest before dropping to Little River.
The route rolls up and down through forest before dropping to Little River. Several built bridges cross the water. The tread is mostly smooth, but roots, loose rock and sticky clay can slow you down. If you want a shorter outing, the lower river section works as an out-and-back with a turnaround you choose; there is no short loop here.
Pipework, basalt and forestLook for a metal spiral left from an old wooden water-pipe system.
Look for a metal spiral left from an old wooden water-pipe system. Basalt outcrops create small cave-like pockets with moss and overhanging ferns, and the lower trail passes old-growth trees and small waterfalls. The river, bridges and shaded forest make the first part feel gentler than the climb that follows.
The climb into the high countryThe route gets steeper in its final three miles, passing from lowland and montane forest into…
The route gets steeper in its final three miles, passing from lowland and montane forest into subalpine forest and meadow. It reaches the Hurricane Hill Nature Trail at a high ridge junction. Frame the gravel tread with the open slope behind it for a sense of how the route emerges from the trees. High elevations are most reliably accessible from early July through October, but snow can cover the upper trail in any season. Map-and-compass navigation may be needed when snow hides the tread.
Plan the accessThe Little River Trailhead parking lot is across Little River Road from the trail entrance, and…
The Little River Trailhead parking lot is across Little River Road from the trail entrance, and a Discover Pass is required to park. No toilets are listed. Stream water needs treatment. Pets are not allowed on Olympic National Park trails; overnight wilderness trips require 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.
