Parking
Use the parking beside the Mora Campground entrance gate on Mora Road, by the ranger-station area. Campers can walk from their site back to the signed River Trail entrance.
Overview
About Quillayute River Slough Trail
Why go
- Shaded moss forest leads to a broad river view
- An easy walk close to Mora Campground
Heads up
- The river spur ends at a view above the bank, not a beach
- Published distance figures vary by route and convention
Map & elevation
The route
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 Quillayute River Slough 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 Quillayute River Slough Trail
The short versionThis is an easy out-and-back from the signed River Trail near the Mora Campground gate to a…
This is an easy out-and-back from the signed River Trail near the Mora Campground gate to a view of the Quillayute River. The mapped corridor is about 0.7 mile each way, or 1.4 miles round-trip; allow about an hour with a pause at the river. Published figures vary from 0.9 mile to the river to 1.8 miles of trails, so treat the total as approximate. The campground has restrooms and water near the access; there are no facilities on the walk. Pets are not allowed on this trail.
Find the river spurStart at the River Trail sign by the Mora Campground entrance.
Start at the River Trail sign by the Mora Campground entrance. The shaded path winds under spruce and hemlock through moss, ferns, and salmonberry. At the first T, about a quarter mile in, take the left branch. Near the half-mile mark, turn right downhill at the wooden post for the short spur to the river view. The other branch continues toward a second trailhead on Mora Road; that is a longer option. For the river walk, turn down to the water and retrace your route.
At the riverThe reward is a broad, slow-moving brown channel edged with willows and alders.
The reward is a broad, slow-moving brown channel edged with willows and alders. The short spur gives you a close view from above the bank rather than a beach or place to wade. If you want a shorter companion walk, James Pond is a separate 0.3-mile loop by the campground; it is not part of this route.
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.
