Washington’s oldest trees have been off-limits for five years, and the fix won’t start until 2027
Some of the oldest trees in Washington sit less than a mile from a parking lot in Mount Rainier National Park, and almost nobody has stood among them in nearly five years.
Grove of the Patriarchs holds Douglas-firs, western hemlocks, and western red cedars packed onto a small island in the Ohanapecosh River, some of them over 1,000 years old. Trees here top 300 feet tall, with trunks wide enough that it takes several people, arms out, to circle one. It’s one of the only old-growth stands in the region that dodged the logging that cleared most of the rest of the lowland Cascades.
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A November 2021 flood tore through the Ohanapecosh River and wrecked the suspension bridge that’s the only safe way onto that island. The National Park Service closed the Grove immediately, and the closure has never lifted.
The fix has taken longer than anyone probably expected. As of now, construction to replace the bridge isn’t even scheduled to start until summer 2027, which puts the ancient trees off-limits for at least one more full hiking season, maybe two.
The Grove sits in the park’s southeast corner, off Stevens Canyon Road near the Ohanapecosh entrance, close to Packwood.
What you can still hike nearby
The Grove of the Patriarchs parking lot and restrooms are still open on their normal seasonal schedule, and so are two trails that start from the same lot: the Eastside Trail and Silver Falls.
Silver Falls is normally a three-mile loop with about 600 feet of climbing, easy enough for most hikers, ending at a waterfall that drops through a narrow gorge on the Ohanapecosh River. Ohanapecosh Campground, the usual starting point for that loop, is mid-construction right now too, so you’ll reach the falls via the Eastside Trail as an out-and-back instead of a full loop.
Still a fair trade. The river along this stretch runs impossibly clear, and the old hot springs that once drew visitors here are still marked along the trail, even though soaking stopped decades ago. For more of what Rainier’s forests look like at full scale, 15 epic hikes in Mount Rainier National Park rounds up trails across the rest of the park worth the drive.
You’ll need a park pass to get through the gate — grab an America the Beautiful Pass before you go if you don’t already have one, since the Discover Pass and NW Forest Pass don’t cover national park entrances.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, or lock in your hotel near Packwood before the good rooms are gone.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
