Three Lakes Trail via Big Creek

Three Lakes is a remote out-and-back into Olympic’s Quinault backcountry: 13.8 miles round trip, with about 2,850 feet of climbing. From the North Fork Quinault Road, the route follows the Irely Lake Trail and then Big Creek Trail to a subalpine basin of small lakes and meadows. It begins in wet lowland forest and finishes in open high country. This is a full-day hike for people ready for rough, infrequently maintained tread and a strenuous climb.

The trail starts below a terrace of storm-felled trees, where younger hemlock and huckleberry are filling in. Roots and rocks become more common as it climbs through older forest. Near the half-mile mark it follows Irely Creek over damp ground on old cedar puncheon, then crosses the creek on a railed log bridge. A short spur near a mile leads left to Irely Lake’s shore; the main Three Lakes route stays right at the junction. That side trip is not included in the mapped distance. The lake has more open water in spring and can look marshy by late summer.

Beyond Irely Lake, the route crosses a muddy inlet and climbs through fir, spruce and bigleaf maple, with ferns and other plants thriving in the damp understory. The tread becomes rough, with hidden roots and muddy side streams. At about four miles it drops steeply on loose rock and mud to Big Creek. The creek has no bridge: hikers must ford it, and high water from rain or snowmelt can make the crossing hazardous or impossible. If it is not safe, turn around here.

After the ford, four long switchbacks climb roughly 1,700 feet in about two miles. This is the hardest sustained section, and the same climb comes on the return. The forest shifts toward Pacific silver fir and Alaska cedar as the trail gains height. Around six miles, a sign marks the stove-only boundary; just beyond it stands a marked Alaska cedar with a trunk about 12 feet across and a broken crown.

The forest eventually opens into small beargrass meadows. The largest opening is about the size of a football field, with views across forested ridges. At roughly 6.9 miles, the trail reaches Three Lakes; the largest lake is nearest the path and partly filled with sphagnum moss. There are campsites and a pit toilet at the basin. For a photo, use the meadow edge in the foreground to show the scale of the opening and the ridges beyond.