Upper Dungeness River to Royal Basin and Lake

This was a last minute invite by a friend to spend the night up in the Royal Basin and since I had never been, I of course said yes!  The drive in is looooooong and a little confusing but there are at least signs for the Dungeness trailheads.

We were on the trail and hiking by quarter to 10am (after catching the Edmonds 7:10am ferry).  This is a great river trail that runs along close so you can watch it cascade down as you climb through the forest.  We only passed about 4-5 groups hiking out, reservations had just become available a few days before.

The wild flowers are OUT!  Columbia lilies, Indian paintbrush, and Columbine. There are quite a few established campsites along the way, and the bridge at just over a mile in even had a picnic table.  This would make a great hike for little ones.

We passed into Olympic National Park at 1.5 miles and continued on. Our first open view into the valley and up at Gray Wolf Ridge was at 3.3 miles.  The open areas (avalanche chutes) are teaming with foliage and encroaching on the trail.  Watch for the occasional nettles! This would be a great trail later in the season for thimbleberry lovers.

At 3.65 miles we passed the last campsite that allows campfires, a lovely spot right next to Royal Creek. Shortly after, the trail takes a course through an obvious debris wash that must have flooded down from ridge above.

We had a mix of blue skies and moody clouds cloaking the peaks around us.  It was nice not to have the sun beating down as we climbed up towards the lower meadow.

Leveling off, there were more than a few muddy spots and places where folks are braiding the trail by walking on the heather. That one blowdown of trees is possible to climb over rather than walk around (hikers are making a trail and damaging the terrain unnecessarily).

The lower meadow was popping with mountain lupine and there were a few nice footlogs over streams here.  There were 3 campsites here tucked back in the trees, the second two were more secluded.  This was just under 7 miles into the trip.

Another footlog, boardwalk and check steps as we climbed 400 more feet and .6 miles to Royal Lake (7.55 miles in).  We could see one tent across the lake on the rock outcropping and took a right to make our way up to where other campsites were.

There were some nice spots overlooking the lake and others tucked back in the trees but we ended up taking the furthest one back beyond the privies because the trees basically suck here for hammocking.  There was a spot closer to the lake (away and in the trees) but other folks with hammocks staked their claim.

Ours turned out to be a great spot and we didn’t see anyone come back to use the privies (no surprise). The bugs were not bad and we had a short walk to water. Plus a bonus, we had a trail that lead back and up a stream from the Upper Basin with a great view of Mount Deception!

After settling in we packed up food for dinner and hiked up into the Upper Basin area.  We said hello to marmots and deer in the upper meadow and carefully made our way across a stream on a skinny log below the runoff waterfall. Glacier lilies punctuated the emerald terrain with white!

From here the trail follows around the contour and up above Royal Creek.  The “trail” has actually lost its tread in places and is more of a bootpath at the same angle as the slope.  Luckily, the snow was now gone here and you just have to watch you step.

Gaining the basin had a few patches of snow but was melted out for the most part. Still quite soggy though!  The clouds obscured Mount Fricaba, Mount Deception, and Mount Clark but every once in awhile we caught a glimpse.

It was about 1 mile to get to that tarn everyone oohs and aahs over.  We staked a couple seats above it and took some time to walk around and explore.  The clouds burnt off and we could see the snow speckled faces of the summits around us.

Not only were the cirque views amazing here but the geology is fascinating!  The volcanic moonscape moraines and variety of rock will have me coming back for another trip. Take time to notice the circular tubes of rock frozen into twisting and layered piles (pillow basalt?).

As we got back to our dinner spot, a trail runner came up and provided dinner time entertainment taking a swim in the glacial tarn (yeah, no). Yes, the sun was out but brrrrrrr….

As we were finishing our meal about 6:30pm, the clouds rolled back in and we packed up to head back down to our camp spot.  I took a short walk down to the lake and from that vantage point, I could not see anyone and it was like we had the whole place to ourselves (even though there had to be other campers).

Overnight had clear skies and the temperature dropped making it hard to get out of my hammock in the morning! But what a beautiful sight it was as the sun glowed on the summits around us. We took a short walk up the trail behind our campsite for even better views.

My friend had to be to work at 4pm so we packed up and left camp at 8am.  If I had time, it would have been fun to do a scramble of one of the peaks in the upper basin or just explore more.  Next time!  A low fog hung over Royal Lake and the peaks reflected in the surface as we reluctantly headed out.  We passed quite a few backpackers and hikers as we walked out, I imagine it will be a bit busier up there today.

Directions: From the Seven Cedars Casino on US 101, head towards Sequim. In less than 2 miles, take a left onto Louella Road. Take Louella just under a mile to a T with Palo Alto Road and turn left. Follow Palo Alto (and brown signs for Dungeness) for 5.8 miles and turn right onto Forest Road 2880. This gravel road twists down rather steeply for a mile until you cross a narrow bridge over the Dungeness River and drive past the Dungeness Forks Campground. In another 0.9 miles, you arrive at an intersection where going straight puts you on 2870 (there is a sign for Dungeness trailheads). For almost 9 miles, FR 2870 snakes around until you pass a small trailhead on the left and cross the Dungeness again for a large trailhead is on the right.  Trailhead amenities include a picnic table and vault toilet.