Marymere Falls | Olympic National Park

We had a long drive ahead of us as we had to leave the Olympic Peninsula and head to Wenatchee National Forest but that didn’t deter us from making a stop or two before completely leaving the Olympics. I *may* have been a little too excited to have picked up Canadian radio stations….I mean, Canada was right there.

Wanting a short but scenic hike we chose the Barnes Creek Trail to Marymere Falls for its nearness to the road due to our time constraints.

The trail itself is flat until shortly after crossing the creek and then it is a decent ‘up’ but it is well graded and not difficult for those in any amount of shape. A lot of people came and went and not many stayed while we were there. I wanted to just pull up a chair and read for the rest of the afternoon.

The little stone beach there would have been a great place to to explore, but I thought it was quite obvious by the railing that the park didn’t want anyone beyond the trail. That didn’t seem to stop a college-aged couple from going over and exploring. There weren’t signs not to go, but still, I wasn’t too keen on their being there.

I really wanted to see what was above the falls. I may have pretended I had monkey abilities and could climb up the canyon wall and get up there. Hah!

The Olympics had a fair amount of slug activity…..awwww so cute!

The one thing that was a tad annoying but understandable was the weathering around the base of the larger trees due to years of people standing on them for photos.

The tunnel under the road to get back to the visitors center and parking lot. We hadn’t bought any souvenirs at the Hoh Rainforest visitors center so I was hoping to get something at this one, but they did not have anything for sale. I was, though, able to ask the ranger what the tall pink flower was in the roadside ditches….fire weed!

If you only have a few moments to jump on a trail while in the area, this is a nice place to explore and stretch your legs.

Stay tuned for some magical light photos along this trail…