Parking
Start in the Hoh Rain Forest parking area. Cross the lot crosswalk and turn right to the area information boards; five van-accessible spaces are across from the boards.
Overview
About Mini Rain Forest Trail
Why go
- A very short, nearly level way to step into the Hoh forest.
- Two bridges, benches and a bubbling creek fit into a quick walk.
Heads up
- At about 800 feet, the loop is over quickly.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Olympic map
Full mapElevation580–582 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 Mini Rain Forest 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
Hoh Rain Forest: Under the Moss0:00 / 0:36
“Up ahead is the Hoh Rain Forest visitor area, where I'd give most of your time to the trees. The Hall of Mosses loop takes you beneath huge conifers and bigleaf maples hung with moss.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Why Glacier Ice Looks Blue
- The Wren Behind the Song
- A Jay’s Hidden Pantry
- Ferns Above Your Head
- 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 Mini Rain Forest Trail
A tiny taste of the HohMini Rain Forest Trail is a roughly 0.
Mini Rain Forest Trail is a roughly 0.16-mile loop from the area information boards to the visitor center, returning by sidewalk toward the parking area. It gains or loses less than 15 feet and takes about 10 minutes with a few stops. Come for a quick look at mosses and ferns in the rainforest; if you want a longer forest walk, Hall of Mosses is a separate 0.8-mile loop nearby.
What the loop passesCross the parking-area crosswalk and turn right to the information boards.
Cross the parking-area crosswalk and turn right to the information boards. Follow the compacted-gravel path as it bends left at two intersections, passing benches at about 200 and 360 feet. You cross an 8-foot bridge, then a 25-foot bridge, before reaching the visitor center around 660 feet. Follow the sidewalk back toward the lot to close the loop. Ferns and mosses crowd the trail edges beside a bubbling creek.
Ground and small obstaclesThe path is typically 4–6 feet wide and nearly level, but it is not a smooth boardwalk: a root…
The path is typically 4–6 feet wide and nearly level, but it is not a smooth boardwalk: a root about 1–2 inches high crosses much of the tread, and the second bridge has a 2-inch step at its far end. The detailed accessibility description calls the surface compacted gravel; an older brochure calls it paved. If a paved surface matters for your plans, check the current accessibility details before setting out.
A short visitor-center stopPets are not allowed on trails in the Hoh Rain Forest.
Pets are not allowed on trails in the Hoh Rain Forest. There is no food or gas at the visitor center, though picnic tables and accessible restrooms are nearby. The Hoh can receive up to 12 feet of rain in a year; its giant conifers and maples hold mosses, ferns and epiphytes above the dark forest floor.
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.
