The sun was still shinning so we decided to make a weekend trip to the Olympics. Destination Royal Lake. Royal lake is a 14 mile round trip hike gaining 2650 ft in elevation. The lake itself sits in the Olympic National Park, but the trail head is outside the park boundaries so a permit from the park and a northwest forest service pass are required. We headed out early in the morning, stopped to borrowed a bear canister from Wild Birds Unlimited near Discovery Bay, and hit the trail.
The hike in was nice and we arrived at our camp site with several hours of daylight left. We had planned on exploring the upper basin beyond Royal Lake, but ended up abandoning the idea. We did explore around the lake a bit and discover a nice waterfall west of the lake. Now this was our first fall backpacking trip in Washington and we greatly underestimated how cold it would get. As dusk approached the temperatures plummeted below what we were prepared for, forcing us into our tents for an early nights sleep.
Royal Lake (I didn't realize my clothes were in the picture until I put these on my computer)
In the morning, we awoke to frost and ice on everything and decided to make an early departure back to the car and warmth. It was a really beautiful area and I would have loved to explore it more. I hope to one day make it back, but this time with a few more layers!
Map of the hike
A close up of the Royal Basin
To get to this hike head west on 101 from Discover Bay. Turn left onto Louella Road (just before reaching the Sequim Bay State Park entrance). In 0.8 mile turn left on Palo Alto Road, continuing for 5.7 miles. Bear right at a junction onto Forest Road 2880. At a fork in the road, continue straight (not left). In another 0.2 mile, turn right on the dirt and gravel road. The road descends and crosses the Dungeness River, passing Dungeness Forks Campground in 0.9 mile. In another 0.8 mile is a junction, where you continue straight (left) on FR 2870. In 2.6 miles bear right at a junction to continue on FR 2870 (formerly called FR 2860). Travel another 4.8 miles, then go straight (not right) at another junction to stay on 2870. In 1.7 miles drive across the bridge to the Upper Dungeness trailhead parking lot on the right.
In the morning, we awoke to frost and ice on everything and decided to make an early departure back to the car and warmth. It was a really beautiful area and I would have loved to explore it more. I hope to one day make it back, but this time with a few more layers!
To get to this hike head west on 101 from Discover Bay. Turn left onto Louella Road (just before reaching the Sequim Bay State Park entrance). In 0.8 mile turn left on Palo Alto Road, continuing for 5.7 miles. Bear right at a junction onto Forest Road 2880. At a fork in the road, continue straight (not left). In another 0.2 mile, turn right on the dirt and gravel road. The road descends and crosses the Dungeness River, passing Dungeness Forks Campground in 0.9 mile. In another 0.8 mile is a junction, where you continue straight (left) on FR 2870. In 2.6 miles bear right at a junction to continue on FR 2870 (formerly called FR 2860). Travel another 4.8 miles, then go straight (not right) at another junction to stay on 2870. In 1.7 miles drive across the bridge to the Upper Dungeness trailhead parking lot on the right.
