The Almost-Secret Beauty of Staircase Rapids

Sun, shade, river and mountains await those who come to this beautiful hidden gem of a riverside hike. There’s also the perfect swimming hole!

In summer, Staircase is one of my favorite trails due to exceptional views, mellow hiking and a feeling that one is truly in a wild, unpopulated place.

I also love it because Staircase is the least traveled of all areas in Olympic National Park, due in no small part to the effort in getting there!

To get to Staircase Rapids, one must drive down a long, winding dirt road along the sparkling waters of the popular (very swimmable) Lake Cushman. If one were not sufficiently tempted by lake itself to forgo traveling further, one would then leave its sunny shores and enter the shadow of the mountains towering above its western terminus. Continuing through a washed-out section (a parking lot and picnic area that was obliterated by winter flooding of the Skokomish River several years ago), one would proceed onto a smaller, even windier section of road, driving past the infrequently staffed pay booth to finally enter Olympic National Park.

Upon pulling into the forested parking lot next to the Ranger’s Station, one would not yet realize what a beautiful paradise one has just driven into. One might even wonder why one had just driven so far down this windy road, past the beautiful lake and spectacular views of mountains just to be engulfed in shadow and trees next to what appears a first glance to be an unimpressive, rather small river.

But if one were to listen to the call of the mountains, one would get out of one’s car, stroll but a fraction of a mile to the walking bridge, and look up.

And then one would no longer be disappointed. One might even swoon a little.

For as soon as one reaches the bridge, the trees open up, the mountains appear and the river surges into its full and powerful beauty.

And that’s just the beginning of the Staircase Rapids loop! It just gets better from here. In addition to a well-maintained trail of mellow up/downs, this 2-mile loop showcases more snow-capped Olympic peaks, plunging turquoise-foam rapids, abundant wildlife (when I was last there two weeks ago, a nesting osprey graced me with multiple fly-bys, dipper birds bobbed in and out of the rapids, and deer grazed in meadows next to the trail) and a massive, fallen ancient cedar (with a root-and-hollow-trunk passage to another dimension), it also has the most tantalizingly beautiful swimming hole in various shades of emerald green.

Next year — when I am commercially permitted with ONP — I will be delighted to take you here. In the meantime, may this post inspire you to visit this beautiful place!