Olympic Hot Springs Trail is a 21.2 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Port Angeles, Washington that features hot springs and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October.
Kid friendly
Backpacking
Camping
Hiking
Nature trips
Bird watching
Running
Forest
Hot springs
Partially paved
River
Views
Wild flowers
Wildlife
Washed out
No dogs
Road in may be CLOSED to vehicle traffic due to flooding/washout Open for pedestrians, bicycles, and dogs on leash Madison Falls parking area is open, parking is limited (trail has been changed to reflect this route. The first approx. 9 miles are paved and can be biked.) A short, fairly easy hike through moss covered trees leads to a series of hot springs scattered throughout the woods. The water is a great temperature, there is camping in the area (with free permits), and there is a chance for a secluded soak depending on which pool you choose to soak in.
Washington State Tourism, P.O. Box 42500 , Olympia, WA, 98504-2500, Phone: 360-586-2088, tobyg@tourism.wa.gov
Directions from Port Angeles: Follow Highway 101 westward approximately 8 miles to Elwha River Road, a.k.a. Olympic Hot Springs Road. Turn left and follow the river road southward into Olympic National Park. Three miles from Highway 101 you'll reach the Elwha Campground, continue past this facility to the Elwha Ranger Station. (Here you can obtain trail conditions and camping permits.) Beyond the ranger station veer right as the Whiskey Bend Road leads to the left. Follow this road 6 miles to its end and the trailhead for Boulder Creek.
Mon Jul 06 2020Great trail! Short bypass at the start where the road has washed out and then on the road for most of the hike to the original trailhead. Then about 2.4 miles to the Olympic hot springs and/or Boulder creek campground. Stayed 2 nights at the campground and loved the hot springs. Our favorite spring was off to the left (downhill) when on the hot spring path after the log bridge. Ranger station is closed at this time, not sure if due to COVID or the bridge issue. Would have been nice to ride a bike in/out but certainly doable on foot!
Sat Jun 27 2020Biked up on my Kona Saturday morning. Left around 10 AM, back in the parking lot by 4 PM. 11 long slow steady uphill miles, the road being in great condition (except the by-pass trail near the beginning, which is a steep up, then long down). Trail has a few good washouts past the old parking lot near the top, which means only 2.4 miles to go. Be ready to slither under a few big down falls and hoist the bike over a log or two and the bridge by the big washout near the end. Springs were clean and well tended, only a few parties there, super chill folks at that. Flew back in maybe 45 minutes. Fast and fun. VERY limited parking so get there early. No park fees. Thanks to any and all who helped keep the trail open.
Mon Jun 15 20206/14 We road bikes up the road to the hotsprings. The bypass trail was the hardest part and we had to push our bikes on several sections of it. Although on the way back on the bypass we took a wrong turn and found a better path for bikes that came out right at the road washout instead of going up and down the rocky hill we went on the way up. It took us 4 hours on the way up but just over an hour on the way down. So worth it taking a bike for the ride down! I normally just hike and have not road a bike in many years. We were also not to impressed with the hotsprings since the pools are only about 12-18" deep but was nice and hot for a quick soak. It looked like the one at the end was the best (just past a large log you have to duck/crawl under where the trail is quite steep). We only saw 1 other group of two by the hotsprings.
Sun May 24 2020Bring bikes, don’t take the road when it tells you to take the path (follow the signs). Great option to workout and hike if you’re scared of heights! Most of the trail is just asphalt road :)
Wed Apr 15 2020I’d like to start this off saying I’m absolutely beat. My feet are blown out. I don’t want to do another hike like that especially seeing how much a bicycle would have been the perfect tool for the gig. This should be a bring a bike trail only. I wouldn’t do it without one knowing what I know now. You will need to put the bike on your shoulder a few times but no biggie. The springs themselves are very cool. No one but me until I was on my way out. All the way back is secluded. Second or third one in is the largest from what I saw. Beautiful but I almost don’t think it’s worth hiking the whole way...
Sun Apr 05 2020Snow last mile before the hot springs, but it’s packed down and easy to walk on. Overall road and trail are in good shape.
Thu Apr 02 2020Sought out this trail to do some social distancing outside - the first four miles are more heavily trafficked with day hikers until you get to the dam. From here, it's mostly backpackers (us) and bikers, and they are few and far between. The entire trail is 10.4 miles one way. I'm a healthy and moderately active person and love long hikes, and this one was challenging with the backpack. It is a steady elevation gain the whole way. Make sure you pack light and wear hiking boots! My feet were killing me the last couple miles on the return trip so I can't imagine not wearing hiking boots. We were leisurely and took breaks on the way up and spent about 5 hrs hiking - it took us 3 on the way down. There were some snow patches in the last two miles, and some ice on the bridge at the end. It got pretty cold at night too, but we had beautiful daytime weather. The hot springs are .2 miles beyond the campground, and there are quite a few to choose from. Follow the trail all the way to the end - that's the best one, but it will likely be the most crowded.
Thu Mar 19 2020We were a little misinformed about this trail! It is 8 miles of asphalt up to the Appleton trail head. Then a 2.2 mile hike to the hot springs! Amazing hike, fun creeks to maneuver through. While taking a bike to the top seems tough, it would have made our trek back to our car MUCH quicker and easier. I’m a pretty active college student and I will definitely feel this one tomorrow. The hot springs are perfect temps and so so so amazing. Total we spent 9 hours, ~8 walking and ~1 hour soak. Would do again with a bike!
Tue Mar 17 2020This hike was awesome! I would call myself a moderate hiker and it took about 3 hours to get to the hot springs. Amazing views on the way up. Go early in the day so you don’t walk back in the dark (spooky). Snow was packed at the top a little bit icy at times. Once you get to the top the best hot springs are somewhat hidden and hard to find, so don’t stop at the first one you see!
Wed Feb 19 2020We biked from the parking lot to the hot springs trailhead and walked in the rest of the way. The only difficult biking portion wasscrambling over fallen trees on the Elwha river bypass trail (where the bridge used to be). As for the walking portion, several trees have fallen across the trail and almost the entirety of it is covered in snow. Still very doable but would have been faster with crampons/spikes. By the end, the snow was over a foot deep but had been packed down to make for easy walking. We briefly saw 2 other folks but otherwise had to the place to ourselves!
Tue Feb 18 2020Tue Feb 18 2020Awesome hike! Like many others recommended, bring your bike! It will save you so much time! Part of the road is washed out so u do have to take an off trail section that leads you back to the road. Road is paved all the way to trail head for the hot springs but it is uphill the entire time.. we ended up pushing our bikes almost the whole way there.. but it’s a breeze the way back since everything is downhill! The trail to hot springs has snow, some spots as deep as a foot and a half and ice. Lots of mud as well. Very secluded hike we didn’t see anyone till we got to the springs. There was in total 8 people we saw the whole hike. Definitely recommended this gem and please people take your garbage back out with you!
Mon Dec 09 2019Nice challenge on the way up, personally I did not feel comfortable when I was going by the landslide area that narrowed the trail. Since we got a late start that day the half bridge and the log bridge to get to the hot springs was unnerving. I would definitely do this again, though I will be waiting for dryer weather as well as longer daylight.
Sun Dec 01 2019Overall nice trail/road up. Hard-pack snow the last mile or two. Most pools are only knee deep and not as many as I was expecting (maybe I didn't explore enough).But, the pool we went in was amazing. I highly recommend biking as the down is almost exclusively down hill. More challenging than I expected it to be, although I think it's because it was quite cold.
Mon Sep 16 2019I love this adventure soo much! I have made this a goal to complete at least 1x a year. Each time there is a different twist to the trail. This year, the first bridge washed out at the beginning so we had to go on the bypass trail with our bikes. I had never been on those side trails so It was a great opportunity to rally my MTB! These hot springs are not an easy hike or bike I'd say. definitely not for the weak at heart. But soo worth the challenge. The pools were amazing. a great recharge for our muscles and joints from the climb up. It took us about 7.5 hours round trip with a good 1.5 hour soak. Definitely great to make up lost time cruising down on bikes.
