Skyline Ridge Primitive Trail

Skyline Ridge Primitive Trail is a 20.1-mile, one-way wilderness traverse from the Elip Creek Connector junction, over the high ridge past Kimta Peak and Lake Beauty, to the North Fork Quinault Trail junction near Low Divide. It crosses forest, subalpine meadow and exposed rock instead of climbing to one summit. The mapped trail line measures about 18.4 miles; use the official 20.1-mile figure to plan. The separate Three Lakes-to-Low Divide itinerary is about 23 miles because it starts before the southern junction and includes more trail.

Allow about 20 hours of walking on the named segment, before its access approaches and long stops. This is a multi-day backpack for most hikers. Three Prune and Lake Beauty are designated camps along the route; Low Divide is a short distance beyond the north end. Overnight use requires a wilderness permit, bear-resistant food storage is mandatory, and campfires are prohibited on the Skyline. Pets are not allowed on this park trail.

The nearest road access is the North Fork Quinault trailhead. The mapped line begins and ends at trail junctions, so the 20.1 miles do not include walking in from parking or arranging a return. There is no food service on the route.

The trail first contours through forest, passing Reflection Lake below the tread and then small meadows, ponds and streams. A small pass opens the first glimpse of Mount Olympus. Three Prune's three campsites sit in a meadow beside a distinctive old gnarled tree. Those streams are the last reliable water before Kimta Peak Basin, about 5.2 miles farther on.

North of Three Prune, the tread narrows and steepens along a ridge above Alta Creek's drainage. It sometimes crosses the ridge to the west, where views open into the lower Queets Valley. Expect repeated climbing and descending rather than one steady climb.

Past Kimta Peak Basin, the route side-hills steeply on loose, often unstable ground toward Promise Creek Pass. Beyond it, cairns connect the trail through open rock, small knolls and narrow ravines. The path returns to subalpine forest at Hee Haw Pass, then climbs through meadows and scree to Lake Beauty Pass. A 0.3-mile side trail drops 400 feet to Lake Beauty, a small lake tucked into a bowl beneath views of Mount Olympus. This is the best place to take a longer break and frame the lake with the mountain behind it.

From the Lake Beauty junction, the route descends about 1,000 feet to Seattle Creek, climbs 800 feet on switchbacks, then crosses benches dotted with meadows and clearings. Mount Noyes's craggy south face and Mount Seattle rise above this stretch. A final forest descent crosses two rocky gullies to the North Fork Quinault Trail junction; continue a short way beyond it to Low Divide camp.

The tread is primitive and the steep side-hilling calls for confident route-finding. Snow commonly covers the route through late July or early August; when it does, expert map-and-compass ability and ice-axe/self-arrest skills are necessary. Reliable water is absent between Three Prune and Kimta Peak Basin, and all natural water needs treatment.