Dosewallips River Valley

Directions: From Brinnon at Milepost 306 on US 101, drive west on the Dosewallips Road for 9.7 miles (last 1.2 miles be rough) coming to trailhead
Ownership: Olympic National Park
Distance: 9.0 mile roundtrip
Difficulty: moderate
No pass
Kid-friendly, Dog-prohibited

This spectacular waterfall used to be easily reached by vehicle. But the upper Dosewallips Road has been closed to vehicles since 2002 after winter storms created a huge washout that has yet to be repaired. Now to reach this waterfall you must hike or mountain bike the closed road.

Walk past the road barrier and immediately come to the washout and a bypass trail. Steeply climb on the riverbank above the slide. Then descend back to the road and walk along the churning river. The road then pulls away from the river, passes a campground and climbs.

The river now far below in a canyon is out of sight, but not out of sound. Pass beneath ledges and cross cascading Bull Elk Creek on a bridge. At 3.9 miles in a recent burn zone enter Olympic National Park. Cross tumbling Constance Creek on a bridge and continue climbing passing a big overhanging boulder. Then descend and skirt beneath a big ledge coming to the base of dramatic 100-foot plus Dosewallips Falls. Admire the raging cascade’s hydrological force—it’s mesmerizing.

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