Sol Duc Hotspring Car Camp

We meet at 11:30 AM Saturday June 10 at the Fairholm Store at the west end of Lake Crescent on US 101.  Then we drive to the nearby Fairholm Campground picnic area for  a picnic lunch.  Then  we drive  five miles on the North Shore Road to the Spruce Railroad Trail  trailhead at the end of the road.  Then we hike 8.2 miles  RT on the Spruce Railroad Trail, which  gently follows the shore of beautiful Lake Crescent on an abandoned railroad right of way, with a total of 300 feet elevation gain.  Near the north end of the trail, it crosses a footbridge over a small inlet surrounded by steep rock walls, where we often see cliff jumpers diving into the water.  There are restrooms at Fairholm Store, Fairholm Campground, near the starting trailhead of the Spruce Railroad Trail and at the turnaround point of the trail.

After completing the Spruce Railroad Trail hike, we drive six miles to the Olympic National Park Sol Duc Road  entrance, where we show one Park pass per car or pay the Park admission fee of $20 per car.  From there we drive 11 miles to the Sol Duc Campground Group Campsite, which we have reserved for Saturday night.  There we set up camp, have a camp dinner and have smores around the campfire, before  heading to bed.  The adventuresome can take advantage of the reduced  fee for the hotsprings from 7 PM to 9 PM.  It is a short drive from our campsite.

Sunday morning we have a camp breakfast, pack up camp and drive to the Sol Duc Resort parking lot.  Then at 10:30 AM we will start hiking the Sol Duc Falls Loop Trail, stopping at the Falls for a trail lunch at around Noon.  Then we hike back to Sol Duc Resort, completing the loop, which is a total of 5.8 miles with 400 feet gain.  After completing the hike, we relax in the very well constructed and maintained multiple hot spring pools.  There is a fee to use the hotsprings that could be as low as $8 each if we buy a group of ten tickets.  Last year the maximum charge was about $15.  After the soak, we drive home, with an optional dinner stop at the highly rated, but reasonably priced, Asian Buffet Restaurant in Port Angeles.