Grand Ridge: Deer Park to Elk Mountain

 We drove up to Deer Park in the north portion of Olympic National Park east of Port Angeles to hike Grand Ridge out to Elk Mountain. This was an 11.3 mile round trip hike with an overall 2,700 ft of elevation gain.

From the trailhead, the trail losses 400 ft of elevation gain onto Grand Ridge.  For two+ miles the trail meanders up and over Green Mountain through the forest. There were lots of lupine along with other wildflowers in bloom.

There were a few places where we had views of nearby peaks through the trees.

 There were also a couple of small meadows filled with flowers on the forested ridge.

From here, the trail continued to climb out into the open. We could see Port Angeles below, the Straight of Juan de Fuca and Canada to the north.

 The trail then continued over on the east side of the ridge, with lots of wildflowers and expanding views of other Olympic mountain.s

 The trail continues through the meadow towards Maiden Peak (false summit pictured here)













We took a break along the trail between the false and true summit of Maiden Peak. To the north (not pictured) we could see Mt Baker, Mt Shuksan and Glacier Peak in the far distance.

From Maiden Peak, the trail continues along a long saddle on the way to our destination Elk Mountain,  in the distance.

 There is a small camp at Roaring Winds 4.2 miles from the trailhead at Deer Park.













From here the trail climbs towards Elk Mountain going through dry steep slopes (looking back at Maiden Peak)

There were a couple of meadows along this portion of the trail.

The views are outstanding. We were able to see all of Grand Valley, including Grand Lake and Moose Lake. In the far distance is the Needles and Mt Deception.

The trail alternates between short steep uphill sections and long traverses along the side of Elk Mountain.












Pano looking across this portion of the Olympic Mountains as the trail nears the junction where a trail descends into Badger Valley 7.6 miles from Deer Park, (after this junction it is 2 miles further along the trail to Obstruction Point).

From this high point along the Grand Ridge Trail, we could see Mt Olympus to the southwest.

At the trail junction, we found a boot track leading to the summit of Elk Mountain. Love the 360 degree views!

Panos from atop Elk Mountain;

Looking south:

 Looking north:

 After a nice break on top of Elk Mountain, we returned back to Deer Park. I thought the trail down the side of Elk Mountain was more difficult than the way up as it was steep with lots of exposure and loose rock and dirt. We also got caught in a dirt devil, which made me feel like I was going to be blown off the side of the mountain!

 A beautiful trail that was as enjoyable to hike back in the afternoon as it was hiking out in the morning. Loved the views and the wildflowers.

Pano showing about 3 miles of Grand Ridge Trail extending to Elk Mountain.

 The sky seemed bluer and the views clearer to the north as we reached the north side of Maiden Peak.

 The final two miles of trail over the forested Green Mountain to Deer Park.














Along with lots of wildflowers were lots of butterflies.









Some of the many wildflowers we saw in bloom along the trail today: