Best river trails in Port Angeles

Idiots throwing boulders into the river when there were signs everywhere asking people to not even APPROACH the river because of spawning salmon

Lovely little access point to the falls that is paved and allows for wheelchair users to enjoy the views as well. There are facilities here as well of some great picnic spots. Right next tot eu rivers with stunning views on a clear day. Parking wasn’t too bad on a Monday afternoon but I would image it gets busy on a weekend and fills up fast

What a great day! We hiked up the river and took the bypass trail — lots of up followed by lots of down. Got to the dam overlook, saw an upstream loop hike we could do from there and took off hiking. Stopped on the lower loop since a stream crossing was a bit sketchy. Came back the upper loop to the dam overlook and came back via a trail along the river bluff rather than bypass trail. Few other people out today. Only downside was all that hiking on the old road — but incredible views around every corner.

This was a nice, green, quiet trail full of foliage,some active streams, the sound of birds, a frog, and one small to medium-sized black bear rustling through the foliage. It was an easy hike, so except for the last section that drops down to the river, it's appropriate for most anyone of any level. (I accidentally left the hike unfinished and didn't click "Done" until arriving back to Pt. Angeles so the hike data is inaccurate.)

This is a paved drive up park entrance, so nothing to report there. I did bring the mountain bike to speed the in and out on the road. Had to walk the bike thru parts of the bypass trail (lower) and the hot springs road on the way up. My legs aren’t super strong with biking, so the extended uphill grades were too hard for me. Locked the bike up at the Happy Ridge Trailhead and started ascending. The grade is pretty consistent and challenging, especially with a 45lb pack. Snow patches started around 4300ft and consistent trail cover started at 4700ft. The last mile to Happy lake was super challenging as I was gassed out. Happy lake has a very easy camp setup with a nice big flat area before the lakeside. The lake is frozen over with a snow topper, but there is an exposed creek that runs into the lake for water needs. Bring lots of fuel as you will need to heat up freezing water or melt snow for drinking and cooking. After setting up the tent, I quickly changed into dry camp clothes and topped it off with puffy everything. The lake was serene and quiet as no one had been up there in quite a while, including animals from the lack of tracks. Sunday morning made the short but relatively steep 500ft out of the lake basin. Then started the traverse to Boulder Lake. The way finding was relatively easy as it’s a ridge run, but there were a couple sections that had me reference the gps. Got way off track at the crystal ridge interchange. After an unnecessary climb back up, it was pretty smooth sailing to the lake. I did end up deploying my crampons and ice axe as there were a couple sketchy, ice slopes that felt safe with claw feet. Up to this point I’d just been using micro spikes. Which I’d have to say, these conditions were perfect for micro spikes. Only the second time I’ve ever felt the need for micros and they were perfect for the occasion. From Boulder lake, it’s a long downhill trek back to the bike. I made a quick stop at the hot springs to unfreeze my befree filter. The hot water did the trick, but even with flushing it out with river water, it stunk up my Nalgene with sulfuric smells. Water was great, but the aroma made it difficult to want to drink. The bike ride back was a dark but fast ticket back to the car. The whole ride back was by headlamp. All in all, I would recommend going clockwise instead of counter clockwise as I did. Have a shovel, ice axe and crampons for this season. Snowshoes could be good if there was a fresh dumping of powder. But current conditions are perfect for boots and traction.