Elk in Winter

Elk in Winter 1

The Olympic Elk (or Roosevelt Elk … Teddy, not FDR) are much easier to see in winter when they are hanging out in the lowlands than in the summer when they wander around much of the Olympic National Park and at some high elevations. The first three shots are of the “Dosewallips herd” … in fact, the first two shots were taken in Dosewallips State Park. Number 3 was taken just across the river in the town of Brinnon … in the school yard. Number 4 is of the Skokomish herd, pictured crossing the North Fork of the Skokomish River at the upper end of Lake Cushman.

Elk in Winter 2
Elk in Winter 3
Elk in Winter 4

Dosewallips Camp Area

Dosewallips Trail

I have posted several images of hikes along the Dosewallips River trail in the Olympic National Park. Here are a few more images that I enjoy and thought I would share. The first (above) shows the trail above the old Dosewallips Campground (below) … now isolated by about 6 miles by washout of the road. Hiking the (closed gravel) road is a different experience than the lovely trail shown above. The bottom image shows the river dropping down the steep rapids (falls) just below the campground … the highlight of the road hike.

Dosewallips Campground
Dosewallips Falls

Lowland Woods

Nurse Stump

As much as I enjoy the high country, this time of year there just isn’t much access available in the Olympics. So it’s the lowlands. There are plenty of good hikes that are (mostly) snow-free all year, with pleasant views and interesting features. This trail runs out of Dosewallips State Park on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula. The Nurse Stump was amazing and the small creek provided a wonderful sound track.

Small Creek, Dosewallips State Park

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑