[fixiewrek]

Looking for a recommendation for a overnight trip with our two girls, 4 and 5, for late April. Ideal hike is about 2-ish miles each way, less than 3 hours from Seattle, low elevation gain, no snow, and a fire would be sweet. We went to Untanum Creek last year with them and it was great, just looking for another option. Thanks in advance.

[contour5]

The coastal strip of ONP, if you can do it in decent weather. The Ozette Triangle would fit your criteria nicely, and it's a great hike. The whole loop is 9 miles, but you could shorten the trip by just going out and back to either Sand Point or Cape Alava. Fires are ok at Cape Alava but prohibited at Sand Point. Or you could go to Ozette Lake, ride bikes 4 miles N and then bike/walk down (a mile?) to Seafield beach which has a nice camp on the bluff.

[woodchips]

There's some good kid trips near Baker Lake as well. From the north end of the road, you can either go up the Baker River trail to Sulphide Creek, or you can turn east and camp on the east bank of Baker Lake. While not quite as rainy as the coast, it still rains a lot up here, so keeping an eye on the forecast is important! I also second the suggestion for the Ozette triangle. It's 3 miles, but on pretty easy (flat) boardwalks. Also, Elkhorn Campground on the Dosewallips. Note that the WTA description says 1.3 miles, but as of last spring there was a new washout that added a couple more miles. We went up there this time last year with a bunch of similar aged kids, and they loved it.

[slabbyd]

Not 3 hours but Sand Point, Sand Point, Sand Point, Sand Point............trust me. It's the one. Or as also pointed out the first campsite on the east bank trail of Baker Lake is an easy 2 miles and campfires allowed.

[Mikey]

Do you intend to camp at a trail-head or hike 2-3 miles into a location and camp there? For dry weather in late April, east of the Cascades is probably better.

[fixiewrek]

Hike in the <2 miles and then camp there. I was thinking east of the Cascades too.

[MangyMarmot]

Check out Ancient Lakes. That's a good one for the kids.

[Tom]

Is it safe to drink the water? If not, would probably need to pack it in if camping at Ancient Lakes. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/ancient-lakes

[Navy salad]

First hike I took my boys on was Galena Chain Lakes -- the one off Hwy 542 near Kulshan Ridge (take 542 till it ends). Leaving from this trailhead (note there are several possible access points), it's practically level and the first (little) lake is only 1.75 miles. The next one is another quarter mile and another one or two a little further, which gives you something to explore the next day. When we did this hike, it was first-come-first-served for campsites. Now, I expect the park wants you to make a reservation, which is probably a good thing.

[silence]

You can drive in as far as the upper Hoh VIC/car campground inside the ONP. Then hike in 1 or 2 miles with no gain to a designated riverfront camp site (camp 1 or camp 2) along the Hoh River trail (pretty sure campfires are permitted at that elevation). Might even encounter some elk during the trip. Plus, if you have time you can do a little 1 mile loop hike thru the Hall of Mosses near the VIC where y'all will be wowed as well.

Roosevelt Elk

[Bootpathguy]

Suiattle River Road is open for business

[treeswarper]

Is the important part the hike or the camping? An hour or so more from Quincy will get you to Banks Lake and there is a walk or boat in camping area in the state park there. The walk isn't very far but the campsites are almost waterfront and you have a pit toilet and water from a faucet which would be nice to have with a munchkin. The bad part is the short hike in--maybe a quarter mile or more? and you will have to keep an eye on the munchkin as the area is on the water. It has a great sandy beach if the lake level is just right. We like to walk in and have "retriever trials" at the beach there. We camp in our campers and trailers with the masses in the other part of the campground.

[cascadetraverser]

Most of the Olympic river valleys are open in April. Some of the roads aren`t... I took my young kids up the Dungeness, Skokomish, South Fork Hoh, Elwha, Greywolf and Dosewallips. All have nice camps 2-3 miles in. Most you can make a fire too which is a big hit with kids.

[JVesquire]

Ozette trailhead is easily 4.5 hours from Seattle, more if you stop or don't get on the ferry immediately. That's a lot of travel with a little one for an overnight, would be more worth it if you're staying two nights. The coastal strip of the triangle is tough hiking, so unless your little one is a real trooper, I wouldn't go for that. The trail to Sand Point is relatively easy but there's still the drive. Suiattle River has some sites about one to three miles in, but they aren't near anything super scenic or fun (like a fun stream to sit by and play with for a few hours). I'd look at Boulder River, which is less than two hours from Seattle and has some camping options, Carbon River at Mt. Rainier if they can bike and you can pull the gear, Ingalls Creek may be snow free at this point and has sites within two miles of the trailhead but can feel a little cliffy for a little one at times early in the hike, Rialto is a closer drive than Ozette but has a stream crossing that can be more challenging for a small one early in the summer, Second Beach is probably better, shorter and more scenic than all of the above if you'd rather spend time in camp than hiking. We also did Third Beach with our then-four year old, but that's also a pretty tough hike even if you take the backdoor. The east side is great this time of year too, so take a look over there for flowers, birds, and more. Potholes and Seep Lakes probably has some options for walking and camping if you look closely. There's lots to choose from, have fun!

[markh752]