Queets River

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The Queets River.

Landslide on the Queets River Road (as of Jan 2006).

Another view of the Queets River.

Aerial view of Olympic Peninsula.

The Queets River is located in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It rises at the foot of the Queets Glacier, on Mount Queets, in the Olympic Mountains, within the Olympic National Park, and drains into the Pacific Ocean, 47 miles (76 km) away, dropping over 5,000 feet (1,500 m).

A point north of the mouth of the Queets River is referenced as one of the corner boundaries of the Quinault Indian Reservation, in the Treaty of Olympia, 1856, signed at the capital of the Washington Territory.

A National Park Service trail once ran for 15 miles (24 km) along the northern bank of the Queets, from a Park Service campsite at the end of the Queets River Road to the Pelton Creek campsite about 5 miles (8 km) below Service Falls. This trail is now (as of July 2006) in poor condition and has been partially washed away by the river. A severe road washout in 2005 has caused the campsite, ranger station and road to be abandoned. A sign still exists at the campground, describing the trail, as does a single trail marker. The campsites along the trail have also been abandoned.

The ranger station, campground, and trail have not been "abandoned", they just haven't seen as much use since the washout of March 2005. ONP currently plans to restore access to the area via an alternate route. (Environmental Analysis for Restoring Interim Access to the Queets Area (ONP December 2006)

The trail length is 16.2 miles (26 km) according to Custom Correct Maps. The actual trail length may vary slightly due to recurrent washouts and regular re-routes of sections of the trail.

The distance between Pelton Creek Shelter of 16.2 miles (26 km) from the Queets Trailhead to Service Falls is approximately 10 miles (10 km) of the river.

There are few "hardened" campsites along the length of the Queets River Trail. Due to the road washout of March 2005 and the subsequent reduction in visitors, these few sites would have seen less use over the course of the last two seasons and might have appeared to be "abandoned", although the three most popular (lower crossing site @ 4.2 miles (6.8 km), Spruce Bottom @ 5.0 miles (8 km) and Tshletshy @ 7.2 miles (11.6 km)) all saw usage during the 2006 season.

The stretch of river from the old trailhead/campground down to the Highway 101 bridge (roughly 19 miles (31 km)) is runnable via kayak or canoe, but is replete with hazards, mainly in the form of log jams. In flows below 2,000 cubic feet per second (57 m³/s). This is a good maximum level for a safe, enjoyable trip. There is adequate time to pull over and scout upcoming hazards.

Wintertime flows on the Queets reach enormous volumes, occasionally exceeding that of the Columbia. Many winters there will be surges to above 100,000 cubit feet per second (14,000 m³/s). This ensures new channels and islands most years, and also creates massive log jams, many of which enable river crossings for hikers.