Best trails near Maiden Peak

Some steep parts. Didn’t make it to summit due to time constraints not difficulty.

Gravel road up to the trail is tight at times but plenty of turnout points + very well maintained. Hike itself is beautiful, trail is nicely maintained, some loose rock/shale once you get above the tree line but its not bad at all. Spectacular views of Mount Olympus as you approach the descent to Obstruction Point. We didn’t go down the ~500 feet to Obstruction, instead had lunch on one of the neighboring peaks along the trail. Beautiful views of Mount Baker & the surrounding Olympic Mountains. Definitely recommend doing this hike!!

One of our most favorite hikes! I consider this a "hidden" gem because when we asked about it at the national park office in Port Angeles, the ranger knew nothing about it. The views were incredible! There really isn't a trail that goes up to Obstruction Point, but we made our own, being careful not to step on plants. in addition, this Trail as listed does not actually go to the peak of Maiden Point, but there are trails to the top of that, so we looped that in. We only saw one deer on this trip, but the sign at the trailhead did say there was a cougar sighting in June of 2023. The vertigo-inducing cliffs that other people have mentioned in their reviews weren't too terrible for us, but there was a person really struggling with them. If heights don't bother you, you will be fine. I highly, highly, highly recommend this hike!

We did this trail on Labour Day weekend 2024, while the last review had been from Summer 2023. There have been several improvements to the trail since then, which I'll detail in this review. We did the trail clockwise (despite most people choosing to do it counter clockwise) in three days/two nights. Day One: We hiked approx. 20km from Obstruction Point trailhead, through Deer Park where we stopped for lunch, and then down to Three Forks campground. The road to the trailhead is a narrow dirt road that starts with a sharp left turn off Hurricane Ridge road just before the Hurricane Ridge parking lot (it is easy to miss; if you go through the Hurricane Ridge parking lot, you've missed it). I have a Mazda3 hatchback with two wheel drive and had no problem on the road. The trail itself starts with a moderate incline along a mountain ridge with beautiful views on either side, then descends into the trees before a steep climb up to Deer Park for the last 500m or so. After Deer Park, it is a steep descent (over 1,000m) over the next approximately six km down to Three Forks. There was NO WATER ACCESS throughout the entire day. I was carrying a 45lb pack and my Garmin watch estimated 5L of sweat loss, so next time I would pack a MINIMUM of 4L of water, if not 5L. Three Forks campground was not busy. There is a pit toilet (BYOTP) and easy access to a fresh water stream. Day Two: We hiked approx. 12km to a small clearing about 500m past the junction to go up Grand Pass. Our original plan was to camp at Lower Cameron, but we had enough energy to keep going and heard from a hiker going the other way that there was a good clearing to camp just past the junction. The clearing had room for 3-4 tents, easy access to fresh water, but no pit toilet. This whole route was along Cameron Creek, so fresh water access throughout the day was no issue. It was a moderate incline through the forest valley throughout the 12km and not too strenuous. Previous reviews noted that there were several spots along this route with overgrown trail conditions. These issues have been fixed - we did not encounter any areas on the trail where it was difficult to find or where we were whacking through brush. In fact, we ran into a trail crew doing work with brush clearing materials that had done significant work clearing the trail. Day Three: We hiked 11-12km out. We got an early start so we could tackle Grand Pass before the sun was up, went back 500m toward the junction and turned left to head up Grand Pass. This was the most grueling part of the hike, with a 600m+ elevation gain over ~3km, but the views up the Pass are breathtaking, especially as the sun came over the mountains. Keep your eyes peeled for marmots when you go through the meadow near the top. There are several freshwater access points while going up the Pass. Once over the pass, it's a ~300m descent to Gladys, Moose, and Grand Lakes. There are also a few freshwater access points along the lakes. Once past the lakes, it's straight up again another grueling ~300m to Lillian Ridge - the last steep incline of the loop. From there, it is an easy few kilometres back to the trailhead.

Hiked 8/7-9 2024. The trail is in great shape--lots of work was done on the eastern half. Very few bugs.