Name: Rainshadow Trail
Rating: 3.8

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Features Birding · Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Trailhead is accessed via Deer Park Road. Deer Park Road closes at the Park Boundary at first snow and reopens once it is melted out *usually* Mid June. The road is snowbound in winter. Avalanche dangers exist, winter navigation skills required. Bikes and dogs on a 6' or shorter leash are allowed on the road (but not the trails originating off the road) while the road is closed.

Description

This short self-guided loop trail to the summit of Blue Mountain has panoramic views of lowlands and mountains. The trail is named for the fact that Blue Mountain is in a rainshadow- all of the moisture from Pacific storms is dropped as clouds rise over Mt. Olympus and the Bailey Range.

Because Blue Mountain is on the dry, eastern side of the Olympics, it gets about 18 inches of rain per year. Compare this to places the Olympic's western slopes (like the Hoh Rain Forest) which can get 140 inches of rain.