As I said in a previous post, the Olympic Discovery Trail is long. We plan to break it into sections and explore them all since we have time. The other day we drove out to Lake Crescent and rode the section called Spruce Railroad plus extra.
This was once a railroad used to haul Sitka spruce trees out of the depths of the forest, hence the hike’s name. Originally intended to manufacture aircraft in World War I, the logs wound up serving commercial logging interests for nearly forty years. When demand petered out, the National Park Service utilized the natural beauty of the area and turned four miles of the railroad bed into scenic trail.
Winding through sunlight dappled corridors of maple, Sitka spruce, hemlock and countless other types of trees, with the lake lapping nearby, there is something to delight the senses every step of the way. Not very far from are starting point, we branched off on a dirt trail that hugged the shoreline before descending to the famous Devil’s Punchbowl. The Devil’s Punchbowl is a gorgeous and deep blue pool with a very nice bridge across it. This is a popular swim spot but we had more riding to do.
Another fun feature on this rail to trail ride, is a pair of tunnels. The first one we encountered is called McFee Tunnel. This 450 foot tunnel was dark in the middle but it’s 12 feet wide and we got through safely without lights. The tunnel was blasted during WWI but was renovated back in 2017 to be safe for users. Next up is the smaller Daley-Rankin Tunnel. I’m thankful they renovated these two tunnels to make the trail passable.
We rode out past the end of the lake and turned back to finish our ride. This is definitely one of the more scenic rail to trails we have ridden and it’s a true gem to the area. The trail is relatively flat and accessible. Our whole ride was 977′ of climbing.
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