Views from Mt. Walker – Finally!

Posted on July 12, 2024 by

22 Comments

I don’t know how many times we passed by the road to Mt. Walker, perhaps dozens! The signs on 101, north of Brinnon point to the summit. I spent lots of time in Brinnon, a tiny town on the west side of Hood Canal, as my grandparents lived there for years when I was growing up, and my mom moved there later.

We did start up the road once years ago, only to turn back when we realized it was one-way and pretty rickety at that. It still is, but on our recent camping trip to Dosewallips State Park, instead of passing by, we finally said, ‘let’s do it.’

There were only a few other cars on the road, and no close calls. It was a beautiful drive up the mountain and there were massive numbers of rhododendrons, more than I’ve ever seen in the wild, magnificent in pink and thriving in the shade.

At the summit (2,804 ft,) we took the short trail to the South Viewpoint

for a look at Hood Canal below, and Mt. Rainier straight across, shrouded in the clouds.

The skyscrapers of Seattle could be seen off in the distance.

The views at the North Viewpoint were tremendous, of the Olympic Mountains, including Mt. Jupiter and Mt. Constance.

“Mt. Walker is densely covered with 100 year-old Douglas-fir trees that have grown up in an area once burned by wildfire. Native Pacific rhododendrons grow along the road and at both North and South observation points. The large flowers are bright purplish-pink and bloom May to June. Mt. Walker is the only peak facing Puget Sound that has a road to its summit. Both viewpoints have short trails to the viewing area with interpretive signs. The south viewpoint has short, compacted gravel accessible trail out to the lookout area that also provides a nice bench.” Olympic National Forest website

Now that we’ve broken the ice, we’ll need to return on a cloudless day.

~ Susanne

Category: Trails, TravelTags: , , , , , ,

22 Comments on “Views from Mt. Walker – Finally!”

  3. Such beautiful photos, Susanne! The view of the Sound is amazing. I like the names of the mountains too, thanks for sharing!

  4. Nice photos. It is a cool spot. Good luck with picking a cloudless day for your return!

    • Thanks, Graham. It took me my whole life to get there so hopefully we’ll return. Cloudless may be asking for too much!

  6. Wow, what wonderful views! I’m so glad you took the trouble to drive up and to share them with us 😀

  8. I remember those wonderful native rhodies well. Thanks for letting me hike with you.

  9. I’m in awe, Susanne, of these views and the fact these aren’t far from where we live. I’m inspired to carve out some time next year to visit there. Gorgeous pictures, worth the visit!

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