Olympic Discovery Trail

A view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the Discovery Trail.

The Olympic Discovery Trail is a designated non-motorized, multi-use trail spanning the north end of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The route spans 120 miles between Port Townsend, Washington and La Push, Washington. As of 2011, 40 miles of this trail are complete between the towns of Blyn and Port Angeles.[1] The remainder of the route can be ridden using a combination of public roads.

History

The trail was the brainchild of three area cyclists who formed the Peninsula Trails Coalition for the purpose of developing the trail across a derelict railroad grade. The railroad was sold off fairly quickly so the coalition has been working with a number of agencies to build a cohesive trail system along a similar route.[2]

12 miles of the trail have been adopted by Clallam County[3]

Using public roads and off-street non-motorized trails the trail is a contiguous 120 miles in length. There is an optional adventure route that can be substituted for the west central section of the trail from Elwha River to Lake Crescent.

Route

The trail can be ridden in either direction. A basic outline of the route from east to west includes:

Trail status

Section Off-Street Trail On-Road Temporary Total
East 7.8 mi 19 mi 26.8 mi
East Central 24.4 mi 2 mi 26.4 mi
West Central 15.7 mi 16 mi 31.7 mi
West 1.5 mi 40.1 mi 41.6 mi

Adventure route

The adventure route is an optional adjunct to the west central section of the main route. It routes riders from Elwha River to Lake Crescent using single and double-track unpaved trail. One third of this section is forest roads.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Peninsula Trails Coalition. "Olympic Discovery Trail". Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Peninsula Trails Coalition. "History of the ODT". Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Clallam County Parks. "Olympic Discovery Trail". Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Peninsula Trails Coalition. "The Adventure Route". Retrieved 24 March 2011.

External links