48°03'56.9"N 123°51'33.8"W
EXPLORE OUR ULTIMATE HIKING GUIDE TO SUMMITTING PYRAMID PEAK. THIS HIKE IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK AND IT IS TRULY AN OFF THE BEATEN PATH GEM.
While Mount Storm King might get most of the fanfare in Olympic National Park, we instead recommend heading a bit more off the beaten path and hiking up to the top of Pyramid Peak - a stunning forested trail that leads to remarkable views of Lake Crescent, the snowy Olympic Mountains, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and even Canada.
We were actually recommended this trail by one of the national park rangers after explaining we were looking to do a tougher hike that led to a mountain top (we have a thing about summits). After giving us a couple of options he mentioned that this one was more of a hidden gem and would likely have way fewer people than many of the other trails in the area. Sold.
After making our way to the trailhead and spending about five minutes on the beautiful forested singletrack trail we were definitely thinking we made the right call. For even on a busy Saturday morning we only saw a handful of people - and this was on a weekend where there were zero parking spots left at the Lake Crescent/Storm King Ranger Station parking area. And of the few people we did see on the way up, we only had to contend with four of them on the actual mountain summit. Now that is a pretty hard thing to beat in a place as busy as Olympic National Park.
So if you are like us and are looking to do an awesome, somewhat challenging hike in Olympic National Park, then we cannot recommend Pyramid Peak enough. We honestly think it is one of the most underrated (but fun) hikes in the whole national park. Below is an in-depth guide on the beautiful hike - including how to reach the trailhead, what to bring with you and what to actually expect on the trail.
\\ How to Get to the Pyramid Peak Trailhead
Even though the trailhead is in Olympic National Park, there are a couple of transportation options on how to get there. While driving your own vehicle is definitely the most straightforward and fastest route, you also have the option to take a public bus and even bike.
DRIVING TO THE TRAILHEAD
FROM PORT ANGELES AND LAKE CRESCENT
It is just over 30 miles from downtown Port Angeles to the Pyramid Peak Trailhead. This drive should take around 47 minutes to do. To start, drive out on Highway 101 towards the town of Forks (west). Keep driving all the way around Lake Crescent until you see signs for the Spruce Railroad Trail and Fairholme Campground. Turn right at the signs onto Camp David Junior Road. Keep driving on this paved road around the lake until it turns to dirt. Keep driving on the dirt road (don't worry it is well-graded and you do not need a 4x4 vehicle) until you get to a cow grate and you see cars parked on the side. There will also be a trailhead marker for both the Pyramid Peak Trail and the Spruce Railroad Trail (which is part of the much longer Olympic Discovery Trail).
Park here, making sure you are not blocking the road, and then cross over the paved bike trail up above the parking area. There is also lake access just down the way at the North Shore Picnic Area (as well as a bathroom).
FROM SEATTLE
It takes roughly 3 hours and 20 minutes to go from downtown Seattle to the Pyramid Peak Trailhead. This route includes both driving and taking a ferry (more on that in a second). Or, if you don't feel like taking a ferry, you can also drive all the way down to the Tacoma/Olympia area via Interstate 5 and then up and around the Puget Sound until you reach Highway 101 near Discovery Bay.
If you are okay with taking a ferry, then your best option is to ride the Seattle to Bainbridge Ferry (which departs from the Seattle Ferry Terminal) and then drive from the cute town of Bainbridge Island all the way to Port Angeles, which is roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes away. Once you make it to Port Angeles, you just need to keep heading west on Highway 101 until you get to the turn off for Spruce Railroad Trail and Fairholme Campground.
From Highway 101 it is approximately 3 miles down Camp David Jr Road to the trailhead.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
If you don't feel like driving to the trailhead, or if you don't have a car available, then you can also take a public bus from Port Angeles to the turn off onto Camp David Jr Road and then walk from there. The best place to pick up the bus in Port Angeles is at the Gateway Transit Center, which is located in downtown Port Angeles near the town visitor center and the Black Ball Ferry Line.
There is actually a designated bus stop at the intersection of Highway 101 and Camp David Jr Road, so don't worry about missing it.
From the bus stop, you just simply have to walk the three miles from the intersection to the trailhead via the road (don't worry, it isn't that busy of a road).
The final option for reaching the trailhead is to bike along the Olympic Discovery Trail, which passes right in front of the trailhead. You can reach the paved bike trail in Port Angeles, or at numerous trailheads along the way. The closest biking trailhead to the Pyramid Peak Trailhead is going to be at the opposite end of the Spruce Railroad Trail near Piedmont. From that trailhead you also have the option to stop and see the very scenic Devil's Punchbowl.
EXPLORE MORE | EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VISITING OLYMPIC HOT SPRINGS IN OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
\\ The Best Time to Hike Pyramid Peak
While you can hike up to the top of Pyramid Peak anytime between April and October, in our opinion, it is a great trail to take on between mid-June and mid-July because you will likely see a whole lot of wildflowers along the trail. Likewise, because the trail is so shaded (you are in the forest all the way until the very end) you can definitely do this hike even during the hottest part of the day and year.
We do suggest though that if you do want to hike Pyramid Peak in the summer - the busiest time of year to visit Olympic National Park - you should try to arrive at the trailhead early, especially on a weekend. We ended up showing up at the Pyramid Peak trailhead just after 9 AM on a Saturday and there were already a good handful of cars parked.