Miles: 2.7 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 201ft/204ft
Map: Brochure Map, my GAIA
Favorite Eats After Hike: Turnip The Beet, Nourish Sequim, Linda’s Wood Fired Food, Finn River, Sunsets West Co-op, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike details:
The Lyre Conservation Area is a 280-acre property just east of the Lyre River on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This Conservation Area features the estuary at the mouth of the Lyre River, streams, tide-flats, kelp beds and a ½ mile of Strait of Juan de Fuca shoreline.
My trip reports:
9/20/2020
On our way back from backpacking the Ozette Triangle, we stretched our legs a bit by hiking in to Lyre from the road rather than the campground area. We turned on to Reynold’s Road just east of the turn for the campground and the road shortly ended at the parking lot for the trail.
The walk in was an old forest road, wide and open. One side offered a peek into old growth coastal forest, the other meadows and views of the foot of the Olympic Mountains. It was about .6 miles until we reached the junction with the campground trail.
12/1/2019
We stayed at the Lyre River Campground Saturday night and I noticed a sign for the Lyre’s Mouth Trail that lead away from the campground and promised that the Stait of Juan de Fuca was just 1.25 miles away. The trail did not appear on GAIA, but then neither did the campground. Hmmm…sounds like something to check out!
The trail started just where the road opens up into the campground area, leaving on the left and running parallel to the river. The trail was soft with pine needles and an easy gain for about .14 miles.
Here the trail climbed up shortly to meet the East Lyre River Road and crossed to the other side. Making a hairpin turn, it took me back the direction I had come but now through a forest of naked red alder trees on the north side.
In .45 miles I left the DNR land and entered the Olympic National Land Trust and Reynolds Road, a road closed off to motorized traffic about a quarter mile on to my right. Turning left, I followed the signs saying the mouth of the Lyre River was in 3/4 of a mile. There were several markers that talked about nature bathing and encouraging time spent outdoors.
The wide road was tranquil and flat. An occasional picnic table and resting bench lined the path.
At about .8 miles the road twisted to the right and then left, dropping down to sea level and the Lyre Conservation Area. A port-a-potty sponsored by the Surfriders indicated this must be a popular spot for those trying to catch some waves (and I passed 3 such folks on the way out).
Crossing over a bridge, a meadow was being restored on the right and the river ran on the left. There was a sign on the right marked “Trail” on a small wooden sign but I continued towards the strait.
At 1.2 miles the trail came out to the rocky beach with a handmade bench of driftwood to rest on. Seagulls sat on the waves in the estuary hoping to find a bite to eat and barges moved slowly by off in the distance.
The trail continued a bit further along the beach before tucking back into the trees and making a loop around the meadow to where I had seen the first “Trail” marker. At this point it was 1.5 miles and I returned back on the road back to camp. The total trip was almost 2.7 miles.
Directions: From Port Angeles westbound, drive 3.5 miles to the junction with SR-112. In 14.5 miles between mileposts 46-47, turn left (north) on paved road .4 miles. Turn left into the Lyre Campground. You can also park off nearby Reynolds Road making for about a mile of walking. Discovery Pass needed to park seasonally.
For more hikes in the area, visit my Olympic Peninsula page.
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