47 Lake Sundown

A 7.9-mile backpack from the Graves Creek trailhead to Lake Sundown.

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous.

Trail type: Foot.

Best season: Late June to mid-October.

Elevation gain: 3,275 feet.

Elevation loss: 70 feet.

Maximum elevation: 3,850 feet.

Topo maps: Mount Hoquiam; Custom Correct Enchanted Valley–Skokomish.

Finding the trailhead: From U.S. Highway 101 at mile 125.5, turn east onto Lake Quinault South Shore Road. The pavement ends after 7.8 miles, and after another 11.3 miles of bone-jarring bumps, the road ends at the Graves Creek trailhead.

The Hike

This little-used trail follows Graves Creek to a subalpine lake at the western end of the Six Ridge Trail. The lake can also be reached via Wynoochee Pass, a shorter trail that requires lots of logging road driving and some route-finding skill. From the Graves Creek trailhead, cross Graves Creek on the sturdy pack bridge, then turn right onto the narrow Graves Creek Trail. This trail climbs steadily to reach a wooded bench, then runs east to track the rather steep gradient of Graves Creek. The trail dips and climbs frequently as it passes through a mixed forest of Sitka spruce, red cedar, and noble fir. At mile 2.9 the trail crosses a rocky wash that yields the first view of Graves Creek as it tumbles through a scenic waterfall.

Beyond the falls the trail continues to climb through the hillside timber. At one point the canopy is broken by a wide brushfield, where bracken fern and thimbleberry grow to shoulder height. Shortly thereafter the trail drops into a quiet creek-bottom forest, passing a primitive campsite in preparation for a ford of the stream. Although the water is shallow here, the boulders are quite slippery, and care should be taken during the crossing. On the far bank the trail gains altitude rapidly as it zigzags up a rocky path through the salmonberries.

Lake Sundown

After crossing a small brook, the trail continues up the hillside, which gives way to an unexpected pocket valley behind a creekside knob. This secluded vale offers the possibility of seeing black bear and elk, so proceed quietly. Because Graves Creek has taken a sharp southward bend, the trail once again finds itself paralleling the stream from a steep hillside. After a time the path crosses a substantial rivulet, which tumbles from pool to pool through a miniature canyon of mossy bedrock. Shortly thereafter the trail descends through old cedars and hemlocks to reach the second crossing of Graves Creek. Several campsites adorn the near bank; the ford lies 20 yards upstream from them.

On the far bank the trail is quite brushy and may present a route-finding challenge. The brushfields soon give way to open forests, and the trail crosses three boulder-strewn washes. Just beyond the third one is the junction with the Wynoochee Pass Trail; turn left and the path becomes easy to follow once again. It climbs doggedly up the snout of a rounded spur ridge, then shoots eastward across subalpine meadows. Sword ferns mix freely with columbines, speedwell, and monkeyflowers here. Views are limited to the wooded knobs that surround the drainage.

A brief climb leads to the Sundown Pass Trail junction; Sundown Lake lies 0.3 mile to the east on a trail that rises and falls gently through a brushy subalpine forest. A few old Alaska cedars and mountain hemlocks tower in small clumps along the lakeshore, and the wooded peak at the head of the lake is adorned with a verdant avalanche slope. A snowslip lingers late into the summer here, and the evening sun burnishes it with rosy alpenglow before setting beyond the mountains. Rainbow trout abound in the placid green waters, offering the possibility of fishing to enterprising visitors. To join the Six Ridge Trail, follow the north bank of the outlet brook downstream for 20 yards to reach a marked junction.

Key Points

0.0Graves Creek trailhead. Trail crosses Graves Creek.

0.1Junction with Graves Creek (Lake Sundown) Trail. Turn right.

3.7Success Creek camp. First ford of Graves Creek.

5.7Second ford of Graves Creek.

6.3Junction with Wynoochee Pass Trail. Turn left.

7.6Junction with Sundown Pass Trail. Stay left.

7.9Lake Sundown. Junction with Six Ridge Trail.