Elk Lake is located 15.1 miles from the Hoh Rainforest Ranger Station in Olympic National Park. The Hoh River Trail follows the river and its primary tributaries to Elk Lake, and continues on to Glacier Meadows and Blue Glacier at the base of Mount Olympus.

Small channels and braids on the river can change path and size each year

Mineral Creek Falls, located just before reaching Mt Tom Creek campsite (2.8 miles)

Roosevelt Elk are the largest elk species in North America

In these temperate valleys, temperatures seldom drop below freezing and rarely exceed 80

Bear sightings are common in the Hoh rainforest, but encounters are rare

Light snow is possible in the rainforest throughout winter, though accumulations are usually modest and seldom linger long

The Hoh River runs 50 miles from the slopes of Mount Olympus to the ocean

Red alder line damp bottomlands of the Hoh River Trail

Most fungi obtain their food from dead organic matter (saprophytes)

Ferns are vascular plants, but reproduce by spores

Ruffed grouse populations go through cycles tied to snowshoe hare populations

Liverworts, club and licorice moss cover much of the forest floor

Coho salmon spawn Nov-Jan, with eggs hatching the following spring; most cohos return to their natal waters when they're 3 years old

The Hoh River Trail is level for the first 12 miles, making many destinations reachable in a day

View from the High Ho Bridge

European black garden slugs are an invasive species in the Hoh Rainforest

Banana slugs are actually snails without shells

Glaciers on Mount Olympus grind rock into a fine flour that gives the river its slate blue color

Western hemlock bark's high tannin content was used as a tanning agent by native Americans

Bunchberry, a common ground cover, is closely related to dogwood trees found throughout North America

A warbler fledge finds itself vulnerable on the forest floor