Kalaloch Creek Nature Trail

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Location: Kalaloch, Jefferson County.

Length: 1.2-mile loop.

Level of difficulty: Level to gentle dirt/bark trail (muddy in spots after rains) and boardwalks with a few steps.

Setting: Last week's column described a beach walk in Olympic National Park; while in the area, explore this nearby hike through the coastal rain forest. The trail follows Kalaloch Creek and its tributaries through a lush forest of western red cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir. Three types of huckleberry share the forest floor with salal, salmonberry, skunk cabbage and deer and sword ferns.

There are native Douglas squirrels and river otters, and you might catch a glimpse of a black-tailed deer or Roosevelt elk, which may come down in the fall from the park's higher elevations. Olympic National Park (which was founded in part to protect the Roosevelt elk) and Vancouver Island harbor the only pure stock of this native sub-species of elk.

Highlights: Despite its proximity to the highway, the sound of the nearby ocean dominates the forest, along with the trickling patter of the creeks crossed by the trail's tiny, primitive footbridges. The Olympic salamander, a pretty little olive-to-chocolate-brown amphibian, lives within splash range of the streams, along with the red-legged frog, which can venture away from the creeks into the moist woods.

Facilities: Restrooms in the campground or the lodge.

Restrictions: No pets or bikes.

Directions: From Interstate 5 in Olympia, take Exit 104 to Highway 101, then take Highway 8, which joins with Highway 12. At Aberdeen, take 101 north until you reach Kalaloch Lodge. Park there and take the short trail north on the west side of the highway across the creek to Kalaloch Campground; cross the highway at the nature-trail sign near campsite A54. Parking is also available in the day-use area of the campground.

For more information: 360-565-3130 or www.nps.gov/olym.

Cathy McDonald is coauthor with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle," with photographs by James Hendrickson (The Mountaineers, second edition, 1997).