Parking
Use the Wagonwheel Lake Trailhead beside Staircase Ranger Station, across from Staircase Campground. The gravel access road is open year-round when conditions allow but may be gated in snow; campground water and restrooms are seasonal.
Overview
About Wagonwheel Lake Trail
Why go
- A turquoise subalpine lake rewards the sustained climb.
- A rough optional extension reaches wider mountain views.
Heads up
- A very steep climb and descent, with roughly 3,200 feet of gain.
- Rooty, rocky tread can be faint and snow-covered.
Wagonwheel Lake is a very steep out-and-back through forest to a small turquoise lake in subalpine woods. The official trailhead-to-lake distance is 2.8 miles each way, or 5.6 miles round trip; some published totals round it to 5.8. Allow about six hours for the climb, lake stop, and steep descent. This is a tough day hike for people who want a hard uphill effort and a lake at the end, not an easy stroll.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Olympic map
Full mapElevation945–4,065 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Wagonwheel Lake 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
Staircase: Rapids and the Fallen Cedar0:00 / 0:31
“Up ahead is Staircase, where I’d choose the Rapids Loop for a short outing beside the North Fork Skokomish River.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bark That Holds Back Heat
- Lake Cushman Site Five: A Picnic by the Water
- Salmon Around the Cushman Dams
- The Dogwood’s Small Flowers
- 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 Wagonwheel Lake Trail
The climbThe trail gets steep almost immediately.
The trail gets steep almost immediately. Rooty, rocky tread and short switchbacks break up the grade, but they do not make it gentle. Most of the route is forested, with occasional glimpses toward nearby peaks. The tread becomes faint in places, and snow can make it difficult to follow; keep your bearings on the descent, when the same steep grade is hard on knees.
At the lakeNear the end, the route traverses a brushy hillside, drops to a stream crossing, then reaches…
Near the end, the route traverses a brushy hillside, drops to a stream crossing, then reaches the small lake. Its turquoise water sits among trees and brush, with picnic spots on higher ground above the shore. There are no toilets at the lake, and water from the lake or outlet needs treatment. The Staircase Campground is across the road from the trailhead; its potable water and restrooms are seasonal.
Want a wider view?The lake is the route's turnaround, not the high viewpoint.
The lake is the route's turnaround, not the high viewpoint. A rough boot path climbs about 400 feet above it toward Silver Snag Hill, where broader views open toward surrounding peaks. That optional extension adds climbing and is not included in the 5.6-mile round trip; stop at the lake if that is the hike you came for.
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.
