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Olympic National Park: Deer Park to Grand Pass | August 10-11, 2021

Destination

  • Grand Valley accessed via Deer Park, along the ridge to Obstruction Point; then Lillian Ridge trail to Grand Pass Trail
  • Gladys Lake - for camping; scenic excursion to Grand Pass summit

Difficulty Rating

  • Medium: trails generally smooth and very runnable. Long climb up out of Grand Valley is mostly at a reasonable grade. The climb up to Grand Pass is about 1.3 miles and approx. 1000 feet from Gladys Lake but it isn't ever that steep and the footing is mostly quite good.

Noteworthy

  • Gladys Lake has multiple designated campsites and a bear wire to hang food. No toilet at Gladys Lake. About 4 sites available, some more private than others.
  • Good water sources nearby - streams flowing out of or into the lake.
  • Right now (summer 2021) Olympic National Park has an easy fully online reservation process for the required backcountry permit with no in-person check-in at a ranger station required due to COVID-19. 
  • Reservations for backcountry permits in the park are open year-round up to 6 months in advance. No walk-up permits in 2021.
  • For winter-time trips and cross-country camping, you must contact one of the Wilderness Information Centers.
  • Gravel roads to Deer Park and Obstruction Point are surprisingly smooth and can be driven with care by any car. Limited parking at Deer Creek; the campground is first-come, first-served, only accepts credit cards for the $15/night fee, and doesn't provide water. No water at Obstruction Point either but there is an outhouse.
  • This is a very popular area so it books up quickly.
  • The Grand Pass trail from the summit of Grand Pass south to the Cameron Creek trail is precipitously steep and generally rough. It took me about 53 minutes of careful hiking to descend to the junction with the Cameron Creek trail. The Cameron Creek trail to Upper Cameron meadows to the summit of Cameron Pass is rough,  often overgrown and brushy, and definitely not runnable. I was able to run down sections of the trail from Cameron Pass back towards Upper Cameron. On the south side of Cameron Pass heading to Lost Pass the trail is quite smooth and runnable (at least downhill!)

Future Explorations...

  • This was stunningly beautiful and really enjoyable - a true trail running paradise.
  • On a subsequent trip to the area I went to Cameron Pass and then towards Lost Pass. Trail conditions were poor enough that I didn't feel I had enough time to push onwards and complete my planned route of Grand Pass/Cameron Pass/Lost Pass/Gray Wolf to Cameron Creek trail back to Grand Pass. We encountered many backpackers doing the loop of Deer Park/Three Forks/Gray Wolf/Dosewallips/Lost Pass/Cameron Pass/Grand Valley/Deer Park. Seems like a challenging trip!

Resources

Media

Deer Park, Obstruction Point & Grand Valley

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