Blue Mountain

The View

Thanks to three wonderful friends, I made my first trip (in six years) to nearby Blue Mountain via Deer Park Road last July. Notably, the mountain has an elevation of 6,400 ft and is of course, located in Olympic National Park. It got its name because of the blue haze you see in the distance in summer.

Access is via the 19-mile Deer Park Road, and the summit can be reached by walking the half-mile Rain Shadow Loop Trail which gains 170 feet of elevation from road’s end. And although I’d heard horror stories about the drop-offs and opposing traffic along the way, I found both to be more than tolerable. Once at the summit, the views were well worth it.

Since the weather was so cooperative (and typically it is in summer), we had 360-degree visibility of the surrounding mountains, including what appeared to be the tip of Mt. Baker in the distance; and we found wildflowers (including the endemic bellflower) and butterflies in the foreground, deer grazing along the hillsides, and chipmunks waiting to grab our lunch as we picnicked.

So what are you waiting for?!