The culmination of my summer of hiking in 2023 was this massive 19 mile circuit, the High Divide Loop.  Passing through large swathes of the Olympic Wilderness, this loop begins in the low elevation Olympic Rainforest, and then climbs to a high ridgeline and summit with incredible panoramas of the most stunning peaks of the park!

Unfortunately for me, I just so happened to be in Olympic for what turned out to be one of the hottest weeks of the year, so I hiked this loop in very hot and humid conditions.  This was a tough one, but the payoff was worth it!

Miles/Elevation:

19.6 miles

4,885 feet vertical gain

About Olympic National Park:

Situated along Washington’s Pacific Coast, Olympic National Park contains some of the nation’s most diverse environments all in one epic national park!  From rock strewn beaches, to glaciated peaks, to temperate rainforest, Olympic has something for everyone!

Olympic National Park largely owes its diversity to the Pacific Ocean.  Despite being located quite far north, the oceans’ moderating influence means temperatures never really get that cold here (at low elevations at least).  On the beach it could be 50 degrees and foggy.  In the forest and the hills it might be 40 degrees and raining.  And in the alpine it may be 20 degrees and snowing!

A land of many diverse landscapes, Olympic has numerous awesome destinations.  The Hoh Rainforest is the most famous of the park’s forests and contains the revered Hall of Mosses.  Mt Olympus deep in the park’s backcountry is a sought after alpine summit.  Hurricane Ridge is a must see spot in the park reached via a winding mountain road.  And Rialto Beach is the most famous of all the parks’ beaches!

All these awesome spots are quite spread out though.  Despite being located in the same park, it takes hours to drive from one side of the park to the other.  This is largely due to the fact that there are no roads that pass straight through the park.  Olympic largely consists of wilderness, and Highway 101 wraps its way all the way around the outside.  It’s not a quick route, but it’s the only way to get from one side of the park to another.

Getting To The Trailhead:

The trailhead for this hike is the Sol Duc Trailhead, and is located in the northern reaches of Olympic National Park.  The area is reached via Highway 101.  From Port Angeles in the east, follow 101 for about 26 until reaching Sol Duc Hot Springs Road.  From Forks to the west, follow 101 for about 27 miles until reaching Sol Duc Hot Springs Road.

Once on Sol Duc Hot Springs Road, follow it for roughly 14 miles until you reach the parking lot all the way at the end.  You can’t miss the trailhead, the road literally ends at it, and once you’re there park anywhere in the large parking area.

Tips:

• Only hike this loop in mid to late summer.  I encountered snow even in early August.
• Bring a water filtration device to refill along the hike rather than carrying 4+ liters.
• Drop into the lakes basin if you’re backpacking.  Consider skipping it if you’re day hiking.  You’ll have a view from above later in the hike anyway.

The High Divide Loop:

To Sol Duc Falls:

 From the trailhead, the trail quickly enters the dense Olympic forest.  There isn’t much for sunlight down here, especially in the morning, but that just adds to the ambiance!  

After leaving the trailhead, you will quickly descend about 60 feet downhill towards the Sol Duc River at the bottom of the valley.  After this short 60 foot descent, you will then climb about 130 vertical feet as you make your way up the valley.

A bit under half a mile from the trailhead, you will cross a small stream coming downhill on your left making its way towards the river.  There aren’t a lot of landmarks early on this hike, so this stream crossing is about it.  At the crossing, you are a bit over halfway to the waterfall.

The second half of the hike to the waterfall will see you following a slight downhill incline.  Finally, just before reaching the falls, and probably close enough to hear them, stick to the right at a trail junction.  Follow the right hand trail just around the bend, and you will emerge at Sol Duc Falls!

You may be able to see the falls from the near side of the river, but for the best views continue onto the bridge crossing the river.  This head on view from the bridge is pretty cool!  The river clearly drops off to the side into the ravine below, something I’ve never really seen in a waterfall!

Continuing onto the far bank, there is another nice viewpoint looking right into the teeth of the falls.  The falls are split into three separate streams, and you can get a really nice close up view of this!

To Deer Lake:

After leaving Sol Duc Falls, the trail continues on through the dense Olympic rainforest.  As you hike, there aren’t a ton of obvious landmarks.  Mostly it’s just trees!  The forest is very nice, and all over the place you will pass small streams and springs seeping out of the ground, but there isn’t a lot to judge your progress by.

The best indicator of time for me when I hiked here was the rising of the sun.  I began hiking this trail before sunrise, and as the sun came up, it began illuminating more and more of the trees.  First, just the tips, then portions of the trunks, followed by most of the trunks, and then everything was bright!  It made a relatively uneventful trail a bit more interesting!

As I was hiking, I was continually slowed by the rough trail.  This trail isn’t awful, and it’s not like it’s super overgrown or covered in ankle busting rocks, but it really doesn’t encourage quick progress.  There are tons of stone steps, lots of roots, and it just feels like you constantly have to watch your footing.  I’m used to rough trails, but I was hoping for better here.

If you’re pressed for time, a quick stop at Sol Duc Falls is still worthwhile! 

On your way to the lake, you may also notice tents strewn about in the woods just off the path.  There are a few backpacking camping sites on this trail, so don’t be shocked!  I don’t recommend backpacking to just Deer Lake, but if you are hiking the full loop, this could work as a first night!

After about an hour of hiking and 1,600 feet of ascending, I emerged from the woods at Deer Lake!  Where the trail first emerges, you will already have a really nice view of the water and the green, forested, hills beyond.  The water was like glass for me early in the morning too.  Getting up early is never fun, but nature is often at its best in the early hours of morning!

To The Ridge:

Continue on the main trail around Deer Lake and keep climbing into the mountains beyond!  You will still be in fairly dense forest to start as you pass Deer Lake, but as the trail meanders upwards, it will open up significantly.  It will take quite a while to truly break out of the trees, but the dark woods of the valleys are gone.

After about a mile of hiking beyond Deer Lake and 600 or so feet of elevation gain, you will reach a group of small lakes.  I’m not quite sure what they’re called, and they’re so small that they aren’t named on the maps I have looked at.  These small lakes lie on a flat bench above Deer Lake, but below another steep incline.  Continue climbing from here!

Continue climbing for about ¾’s of a mile beyond the small lakes.  As you go, the views really begin to open up, and from here you can look back towards the trailhead and the valleys behind.  But, at the ¾ of a mile mark beyond the lakes, you will crest a ridge and get some new awesome views!

Turn around at Deer Lake for a much easier hike!

Ahead are some dramatic, though still relatively small, peaks of Olympic.  Up here, you are following a ridgeline that will eventually take you to some absolutely insane views, but you have to earn them!

The hiking at this point is fantastic, and even though I was already closing in on 3,000 vertical feet of climbing, I felt fresh and excited!  

To Bogachiel Peak:

Following the trail below the ridge, I passed through many stands of pines with large and frequent openings through which I could enjoy the panoramas of Olympic National Park.  At the 7.5 mile mark, I reached the turnoff for the 7 Lakes Basin.  

Consider purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Olympic!

This lake’s basin is definitely a highlight of the park, but it requires a 500 foot or so descent to reach.  Knowing I would have to climb back out from that, and I still had 12 miles left, I skipped it and continued straight.  I would however highly recommend checking it out if you come here and backpack!

Continuing straight on the trail, the terrain just kept getting better.  Everything was a bright vivid green that just looked amazing, and as I climbed, the views kept getting bigger and better!

Soon, the trail actually reaches the top of the ridge and provides a great look down the other side.  Here, I was finally able to get a look down at the 7 Lakes Basin which I had just decided to skip.  It looked really cool, but I had a long day still ahead of me!

Soon after reaching this viewpoint, I saw something in another direction that stopped me in my tracks.  I had finally climbed high enough to see the namesake of Olympic National Park: Mt Olympus.  I’ll have more to say about this awesome peak later, but I finally was getting my first views of this remote mountain!

I then very quickly came to an intersection.  To the right, a trail drops down towards the Hoh River.  Directly ahead the trail continues following the High Divide.  To the left, a narrow trail heads to the summit of Bogachiel Peak.  I elected to summit the peak!

The trail started off nice enough, but as I climbed and then rounded a corner, I did encounter some short but steep scrambling.  I would consider the toughest moves difficult class 2, but there were one or two spots where anything was required, and even then you’re only looking at a 4 or 5 foot high obstacle.  As I climbed, the full view of Olympus came into display as well, along with the Hoh River far below.  These were the views I came here for!

As I continued up Bogachiel Peak, I reentered some stands of trees, and before I knew it I was on the summit.  Apart from a couple of moderate scrambling moves, it was an easy ascent!

Unfortunately, the summit of Bogachiel is somewhat shrouded in trees, so while there were really good views, they weren’t quite as clear as the panoramas from earlier.  It was a worthy sidetrip, but after a minute or two a swarm of horseflies drove me off the peak and back onto the High Divide Trail!

To Heart Lake:

Once you begin dropping off Bogachiel Peak, the good news is that you have reached the high point of the day!  The climbing is not over, but you will not reach a higher elevation than the summit of Bogachiel!

Be sure to check out the incredible Hall of Mosses if you’re visiting Olympic!

As you continue along the ridge, you will quickly descend to a point where the lakes of the 7 Lakes Basin are behind you, there are more lakes on your left, and in front of you is nothing but the Olympic Wilderness.  Oh and by the way, Mt Olympus and friends dominate the skyline off to the right!

Check out the Mt Storm King Trail if you’re visiting Olympic.  This short and steep trail is one of the most popular in the park!

Continuing down you will largely be hiking through open meadows flanked by a line of trees to the right where the hillside drops down, and big though fairly gradual slopes on your left.  

As you continue, you will reach a few absolutely stunning viewpoints overlooking Mt Olympus, and the amazing Blue Glacier!  This river of ice is not visible from most points on the trail even when Mt Olympus is, so be sure to stop and enjoy it.  Maybe it’s because I have never seen a legit glacier that flows like that, but I just thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Help keep this place beautiful.  Follow Leave No Trace!

I actually stopped for some lunch at one of the viewpoints overlooking the glacier, and from there, I began the final descent down towards Heart Lake.  

You’ll know Heart Lake when you see it.  I’ve encountered quite a few lakes that are named after stuff they look like, but this one really does look like a heart!  Probably more so than any other lake I’ve seen!

The descent down to Heart Lake will see you passing through open meadows and hiking along steep and narrow trails.  By now the views of Mt Olympus are gone, but this was yet another simply beautiful area to hike through!  I reached the lake pretty quickly, and after snapping a picture or two, I began the final leg of the day!

Back To The Trailhead:

I still felt pretty good when I was leaving Heart Lake, but the conditions were starting to wear on me.  I was in Olympic for what I believe ended up being the hottest week of the summer, and by this point it was early afternoon.  Temperatures were in the 80’s, it was somewhat humid, and I was on mile 12!  I felt alright, but I was no longer fresh. 

Ahead of me was a 7 mile hike back to the parking lot that would entail descending nearly 3,000 feet.  The trail profile looked a bit steep leaving the lake, but it seemed like it would be a fairly quick and easy finish to the day.  It didn’t quite go that way!

As it turned out, the descent immediately below Heart Lake was steep, and making it worse the trail quality was crap.  Rocks and ankle breaking roots littered the trail, and my frustration paired with the soaring temperatures meant I was a tad bit irritable!  

But I figured the trail quality would improve as it leveled off.  While that would eventually be true, it would not happen until the final couple of miles before reaching the end.  I still had miles of rough trail to navigate before that happened, in the heat of the afternoon, already approaching 15 miles that day!

I’m being a little dramatic, it really wasn’t that bad.  My legs actually felt pretty good, but the heat and the slow progress I was making due to the trail conditions just had me in a bad mood!  

The trail quality slowly improved as I descended into the valley.  The trees slowly got bigger, and I crossed what seemed like a billion little creeks.  Eventually though, I made it into the bottom of the valley and reached the Sol Duc River!

Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!

From here, it would be an easy and largely flat 5 mile hike to the end!  It sounds so easy as I type it, but that 5 miles seemed to take forever.  I do enjoy hiking in the forest, but after the epic views I had enjoyed most of the day, it was a bit underwhelming.  Add onto that the difficulty in tracking my progress and the seemingly oppressive heat and this hike really dragged on!

After stopping and dunking my shirt into an ice cold creek, I finally made it back to the trailhead after 19.6 miles and 9 hours on the trail.  This was an incredible hike, but man was I glad to be back!  My legs actually still felt ok, but my ankles were sore, I was definitely dehydrated, and I was ready to eat an entire pizza (which I then did!).

Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10

There is a stretch of trail on this loop that is some of the absolute best hiking I’ve ever done.  The roughly 6 miles from the little lakes above Deer Lake to Heart Lake is truly phenomenal.  The views are great; the trail is narrow and exposed, it’s everything I would want in a trail.

However, it takes a lot of work to get to that incredible stretch of trail.  This hike is bookended by long stretches of trail that honestly do drag on.  On a 19 mile hike, you can’t expect every single step to be life changing, that’s just not how it works.  But are there hikes in this distance range that have more consistent views and start to finish offer more excitement?  There are.

This is a great hike, and should be on your bucket list, but it’s not the absolute best hike I’ve ever done in this distance range.  The highlights of this loop rival anything I’ve seen, but because of the rough trail, and the miles of monotonous walking through the woods, it’s a 9/10!

Pros:

• Epic views
• Multiple lakes
• Waterfalls
• Mountain summit
• Backpacking opportunities
• Multiple possible extensions

Cons:

• Stretches of uneventful hiking
• Some rough trail

Alternative Hikes:

Lake Angeles

Heather Peak via Lake Angeles

Royal Basin and Royal Lake

Hoh River to Blue Glacier 

When To Hike The High Divide Loop:

Olympic National Park gets 4 strong seasons, and while the park can be visited all year, summer definitely has the best weather for being outdoors.  The high elevation regions of the park receive huge snowfall totals during winter which makes for great skiing, but not so great hiking!  Winter at low elevations means lots and lots of rain.

While you certainly can hike in the rain, the warmest, sunniest, weather of the year occurs during July and August.  June and September can also have excellent conditions, but the risk of adverse weather and lingering snow at elevation are much higher.

I would personally recommend late July or August for a trip to Olympic, but if you want to avoid the worst of the crowds and aren’t interested in exploring the higher elevation backcountry, the shoulder months of June and September could be pretty nice, though anything before mid July is really pushing it snow-wise here.  

I personally would not visit here October through May because of the weather, but if you’re ok with tons of moisture and just don’t want to run into other people, by all means go for it.  

For this loop specifically, I would only try it during late July, August, and maybe September.  Still expect sizable snow fields throughout July, and be prepared for early storms in September.  All things considered, the sweet spot is probably August!

Links For Further Reading:

High Divide and Seven Lakes Basin Loop: 935 Reviews, Map – Washington | AllTrails

High Divide Loop (7 Lakes Basin)

Backpacking The High Divide Trail – Seven Lakes Basin Loop – The Wandering Queen

High Divide – Seven Lakes Basin Loop — Washington Trails Association