Trails on Sol Duc Hot Springs Road

 There are two short trails on Hot Springs Road - Salmon Cascades and Ancient Groves Nature Trail Loop. Both have descriptions on the Physical/Mobility Accessibility section of the park website. The section is a little misleading. The text reads: "Knowing that people have all different kinds of needs and abilities, the following trails have been evaluated in detail, by and for people with disabilities. You know best what is accessible to you, so read on to find details about what the surface of the trail is like, its width, slope, what parking options are nearby, and detailed descriptions of each part of the trail and any features that may affect your experience." But there's no way to know what type of disability the person or persons evaluating the trails have. 

The Salmon Cascades Trail is very short with a wide, hard packed dirt surface. It leads to a wooden deck that overlooks the cascades - no salmon running at this time of year.  Out 25' RV just fit in the pull-in parking spaces so there's no room for large RVs.

 Nothing about the Ancient Groves Nature Trail Loop is accessible. The first obstacle is a jumble of large roots and it doesn't get any better from there. We pushed on until we came to a very narrow, steep section with a drop off on one side and a hill on the other side. I thought that we would be okay if we just got past this section but it was too scary and dangerous and we ended up backing down. (I forgot to take a picture.) Parking is parallel to the road and long enough for any RV but may fill.  Sol Duc   48.02296, -123.92362

Sol Duc Campground

The campground is just a short distance from the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort which has four pools with different temperatures. Two of them are wheelchair accessible but, not being hot spring fans, we did not try them. However our daughter, son-in-law, my sister, and brother-in-law who joined us at the campground and cabins had a great time soaking multiple times. A half mile long trail goes from the campground to the resort. It's not wheelchair accessible due to steps and rough ground.

We camped in Loop B site 62 which is fairly flat and has a slight slope to the table. Many of the sites in Loop B are small and have tables that are not easily accessed. 

Loop A has one sites designated as accessible but we did not check it out. Campground  47.96504, -123.85299

 

Olympic Discovery Trail and Spruce Rail Trail

The Olympic Discovery Trail is 135 miles long, running along the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula from La Push to Port Townsend. The last time we camped at Fairholme Campground we followed Camp David Jr Road to a parking area for the trail. Camp David Road is narrow and the parking area is small - not good for RVs. This time we parked in a pull out along US 101- much better and large enough for any vehicle.

The trail is accessed by a steep road from the parking lot. There's an accessible parking space at the end of the road to avoid the steep part. From the parking space a short connector trail goes to the actual trail where there's a choice to go to the left on the  Olympic Discovery Trail or right on the Olympic Discovery/ Spruce Rail Trail. 

 The left trail has rolling hills and most wheelchair users will need assistance. We walked/rolled about 1.2 miles before turning around. Open areas allow flowers and berries to grow. 

The right trail goes gently uphill through a second growth forest with an under-story of ferns. We went about a mile on this section before turning around. Discovery Trail  48.07511, -123.95393

Allens Bar Campground

 Allens Bar is not really a campground. It's a large gravel (rock) bar along the Hoh River. The bar is public land but the access road is private so campers pay $5.00 a day to use the road. There are no amenities and tent camping is prohibited but we did see tent campers. 

 We camped with a couple of friends close to the trees and even though it looks crowded we had plenty of room. Very quiet except for one generator.

 The coveted spots are along the river. Use care because the ground becomes soft and silty to the south. We did not check the northern end of the bar.

Due to the rocks this is a very inaccessible site.  Camp  47.79829, -124.26041

 

South of Mount St Helens

We visited the north side of Mount St Helens in 2016. The destructive power of the 1980 volcanic eruption was still very evident and the area will take decades to recover. We decided to visit the south side this time. The heat from eruption that blasted out the north side of the mountain caused a glacier on the south side to melt. A huge flood of mud and rocks raced down the mountain at 100 miles an hour. It filled the stream beds and knocked down trees but the destruction was minor compared to the north side. 

We followed Forest Road 83 until it ended at the Lava Canyon Trailhead parking lot. Along the way we passed over a stream bed that is filled with debris from the mudflow. 

We stopped at the Lahar (mudflow) Viewpoint and walked/rolled along a short path with interpretive signs. The path is rough so wheelchair users may need assistance. 

The trail at Lava Canyon goes downhill for about 1/3 mile, losing about 65 feet in elevation, until it reaches an overlook of the Muddy River. This is the end of the paved and accessible section. The trail is in good condition with a few rough spots and has switchbacks to lessen the grade.  

We had been planning to stay at Marble Mountain Sno-Park but the main parking lot was gated so we went the other side of FR 83 and spent a very quiet night in the overflow lot.

 All of the parking lots are large enough for most vehicles but some time after the sno-park (heading east) but before Lahar Viewpoint there's a pile of gravel across the road with a sign indicating that high clearance is need to go farther. We have enough clearance so we drove over the gravel and on to Lava Canyon but didn't find the reason for the gravel or the sign. Low clearance vehicles will probably not make it over the gravel pile.  Forest Road 83  46.12993, -122.16985

Trail of Two Forests Interpretive Site

 A 1/4 mile boardwalk makes a loop through the forest that flourishes on a ancient lava flow from Mount St. Helens. 2,000 years ago when the lava run down the slopes of the mountain and hit the forest it solidified around the trees which eventually rotted leaving casts of the tree trunks. One of trees had fallen and the cast forms a short tunnel that visitors can crawl through. 

 

The trail is accessible and the interpretive signs are easy to read. 

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Trail   46.09923, -122.21331

 

Little Nash Sno-Park

An Oregon annual sno-park permit is $25.00 for the season which runs from November 1 – April 30. Activities include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding/tubing, snowmobiling, and mushing depending on the area. There are over 50 sno-parks and after the winter season they offer free boondocking a perk we have taken advance a few times.

 Little Nash Sno-Park was a good stop for us as we headed to Washington state. The park is a large asphalt lot with trees along the southern edge. We walked/rolled along Forest Road 2676 for about a mile (uphill) and found that the forest is too dense for boondocking although we did see one small spot that was occupied. Sno-Park  44.43211, -121.95842