Skokomish Park Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington
28 July 2022
Marc- 08:30 departure from our campsite for the gatehouse store to get internet access again. Sue prepared lunch and snacks for the day. Our plan for the day was to visit the Southernmost part of Olympic National Park entering through the Staircase Gate. We proceeded out on Route 118 past the National Forest day sites and trailheads and past the loose gravel section of the road and past where it narrows to one lane. The road widens and becomes paved again as soon as you enter the National Park. No Ranger was at the entry gate when we arrived. A camper explained to us the the Rangers would arrive later. This area contains a large campground by the Skokomish River with showers, bathrooms and water. The sites are nicely shaded by the rather tall Douglas fir and Western red cedar trees. This is one of the last “first come first served” campgrounds in all of the National Parks. We found trail maps and a Park brochure at the Ranger Station and headed up the Staircase Trail (in the 19th century a cedar staircase was built to get over a stone ridge blocking access. The staircase is no longer there) that follows the Edge of the River into the Mountains. Very large and tall Douglas fir and Western red cedar surrounded us. Some of the trees had green moss growing on them. The river water was a beautiful green color apparently caused by glacial runoff. We hiked about two miles before returning to the campground. Later we followed a trail to a fallen giant cedar of 14 foot diameter. The tree was lying on its side and hollow. Children climbed inside to investigate.
Around noon we joined the rest of the family at a National Forest day site on Lake Cushman for lunch and swimming.
Later we went South to Olympia for an overdue oil change in Big Blue. On the return trip we stopped at a marina to look at a pilot house motor sailer for sale.
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