Maple Glade Rain Forest Trail

Location: Lake Quinault, Grays Harbor County.

Length: Half-mile nature loop and one-mile homestead loop.

Level of difficulty: Level to gentle dirt/gravel trail (muddy in spots after rains).

Setting: A wooden bridge leads over Kestner Creek to a gorgeous glade upholstered in moss and carpeted with sword ferns near the north shore of Lake Quinault. Plentiful big-leaf maples swathed in licorice ferns give the nature trail its name. To the right of a small shelter in the parking lot, you can access the trail to the Kestner-Higley Homestead. The trail emerges onto a dirt driveway near a road. Turn left and go up the driveway to pass by an old homestead and barn, and some newer buildings. The trail continues past the structures to join up with the nature trail.

Highlights: This area is wonderful year-round, despite the temperate rainforest's average 140 inches of rainfall. A visit in February offered a verdant open forest (since the deciduous leaves of the maples and alders were absent), skunk cabbage unfurling alongside trickling rivulets, and just a hint of rain. Beavers make their home here — look for small downed trees with gnawed ends. Keep an eye out for Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer, especially during the winter, when they live at these lower elevations. Signs identify types of trees, and trail guides (if stocked) are available near the start of the trail.

Facilities: Restroom outside the seasonal ranger station.

Restrictions: No pets or bikes. Know what to do if you encounter black bear or cougar.

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 about 40 miles. Just north of Lake Quinault, take the North Shore Road, and follow signs 5.7 miles to the Quinault Ranger Station.

For information: 360-288-2444 or 360-565-3000 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).