quinault rain forest

Seriously could a place be more amazing!! I liked this area a little more than the Hoh area, both are fantastic though. Do the loop around the lake and stop at as many of the hikes you possibly can. The south side has days worth so pick one or two longer ones that work within your time frame. Surprisingly I liked the little hikes along the way; the giant cedar is a .2 mile steepish hike; feels like you are in an Ewok village. The maple glad is .5 miles loop that is ADA compliant so it is super easy but you get an awe moment half way in only this place can give you; like you really are in another world.

Was rushed and did not get to spend enough time here. Beautiful and interesting are the best words I can come up with. I really enjoyed what time I had.

May be on a smaller scale than the Hon Rainforest but every bit as good. Ideal for children and more to do.

If you have a good rain coat, grab it and head to the Quinault Rain Forest. We hiked here for three days and are so sorry to have had to leave this area. The trails are all nice and the hidden waterfalls and other gems along the way are surprisingly beautiful.

We stayed in a "Deluxe Cabin" on a beach in the Quinault Rain Forest for a few days @$259.00 a night! Expensive; yet I would stay here again. The cabin was only a couple hundred yards from the ocean; with beautiful views. It faced West; as such, a beautiful sunset every night! The cabin itself was wonderful, with a Jacuzzi for two, next to a fireplace in the center. A couple steps down into a small, but comfortable living room; too with ocean views, and a fully stocked kitchen/ Near the Jacuzzi, there was also a shower stall made for two, and a few feet away a King size bed! Off the living room was a sliding door leading to a patio, and BBQ area, too with the ocean view. My only complaint would be there are several homeless people nearby on the beach; who all have a brown bag, and are toasted all the time. Occasionally, they would wander between cabins, on their way to buy another bottle of wine, or the like!

I REALLY enjoyed this location. It was a sunny day and the way the light caught the moss on the trees was incredible. I have some great photos (#nofilter LOL) from this rainforest. We did the trail easily and this didn't take a huge chunk of our time but it was SO worth it.

Several trailheads are just across the road from Lake Quinault Lodge - just select the length that's right for your group. The river runs through in some areas and if it's the right time in the fall, you will see bright red salmon spawning. My favorite trail takes you up to the top of the where you walk in a flat area that looks like it is from a movie.

Go all the way to the end of the road and you'll find a lovely open campsite. From there you'll find the trailhead that takes you into the interior. The trails are well maintained and moderately difficult due to the ups and downs. If you're really ambitious you might like to know that it's only a week's hike to Hurricane Ridge.

We stayed on Quinalt Lake as part of our larger trip around the outside of Olympic National Park. The trails are very quiet and there is some lovely old growth forest with exceptional VBTs (Very Big Trees) as you drive back behind the lake on the east end, and hike up along the river. Quinalt lake was closed to swimming while we were there due to a dispute with the Quinalt tribe over tribal rights and lake usage/fishing. That was disappointing but we were mostly there for hiking so it wasn't an issue. It isn't as grand or broad as Hoh Rainforest, the Hoh Valley or Hurricane Hill, but it is also a lot quieter. We saw a lot of elk sign but the elk themselves were not to be found. Recommended but not quite as spectacular as some of the other main park areas/hikes.

We didn't get to see much of the Quinault Rain Forest but liked what we saw. Got a bit confused about fees and jurisdictions though; parts of Olympic National Park charge a fee (like the Hoh Rainforest) but Quinault does not. Also there is the Colonel Bob Wilderness and Olympic National Forest and some other jurisdictions all right there and we couldn't figure out which trails had fees and which didn't. We stopped at ONP's Quinault ranger station to sort it out and found the ranger to be less than helpful and not very friendly to boot. However, there's a lovely trail there-the Maple Glade trail. It was really the nicest trail we hiked in Quinault...unique too. We were struck with how quiet the rain forest was. We figured there'd be lots of birds and animals scurrying around the underbrush but it was freaky silent everywhere we went. Way different than our noisy Wisconsin woods. Lastly, we were awed by the large cedar we stopped to see. You could actually fit inside it...multiple people could. The trail to get to it was pretty sketchy however.

A beautiful walk through the woods with lots of spots for photos. Although don't forget the bug spray because the misquotes will eat you alive. And make sure you have plenty of water and food others wise you will get hungry and thristy and it is a long hike but very picturesque. But some of the bridges are under construction so beware there are no sign posted of that fact. Again mountain lion warnings other wise a 2hr walk in the woods but dont forget get parking fee of 5 dollars.

I guess there is more hikes you can take thru here. We just did the short loop and it was pretty. I guess I was expecting like a jungle from the Hoh and the Quinault Rainforests. They were lovely. But, they reminded us mostly of parts of MS where we are from-except when you got near the parts that were near water. We probably spent an hour or so walking around Quinault Rainforest. Easy walk and very shaded. It is right by Lake Quinault so you can hike to a couple of small waterfalls over there and rent kayaks and wander around that area. It's a nice quiet area around the lake. Worth a stop if you are staying nearby or driving thru the area. We stayed at Quinault River Inn and that was perfect to do short day trips-even to Hoh/the beaches and back.

Quinault differed from the Hoh Rainforest in that I found it more of a drive around the lake instead of hiking into the forest.

We visited the Hoh forest before we went to Quinault. Without a doubt Quinault is better - we had consensus among all of our family members. The moss-covered trees are more tightly together (allowing for viewing on a tight schedule). There is more variety of tree patterns as well. Maple Glade trail from the Quinault visitor center (on north side of the lake) is definitely better than the famous Hall of Mosses trail in the Hoh forest. Of course, there is the added bonus of a beautiful lake! On the way to or from the visitor center and Maple Glade trail, make sure you stop at the July Creek picnic area and take a short stroll to the lake - beautiful views of lake and surrounding mountains.

My parents were visiting and we wanted them to get to experience the rain forest. Since it took about 2 hours to get to Quinault, we never made it up to Hoh, so I can't compare it with that. What we saw and did, I was basically pleased with.First off, we stopped at the Quinault Big Cedar Trail. The 0.2 mi doesn't sound like a lot but is deceiving because it's a really steep trail on the way up. The tree was pretty interesting and it was a pretty walk, but we were really tired when we got back to the car.After that we headed to the Ranger Station and had some lunch before heading down the trail. We took the Kestner Homestead Trail, but it was something of a disappointment. The buildings were either being renovated or just didn't make sense. The main house was closed off and when we looked through the window, we saw that the upper floor was sagging and it was a mess. I think it would have been a better hike if we'd just stayed on the Maple Glade Rain Forest Trail.The Ranger station is touch and go with being open. When we arrived, she was leaving for lunch and then she closed down for a guided walk at 1:00. We were able to get my kids a Junior Ranger packet to work on, though.After that, we drove around the back side of the loop. I think it's important to know that a lot of that back road is gravel and there's barely room for one car many times. Fortunately, we didn't have to try and pass anyone in a bad spot.We passed the meadow where you can sometimes see elk, but there weren't any visible.On the south side of the loop, we stopped at a few waterfalls that were right on the road. They were nice. We initially planned to stop at the large spruce tree, but we missed the sign for it and didn't feel like going back at that point.Overall, if I focus on the beginning and end of the trip, I was pretty happy.