Just a short (1.8 mile round trip) walk from the Storm King Ranger Station in Olympic National Park lies Marymere Falls; a 90 foot high waterfalls surrounded by mossy rocks, creating an inviting pool of water at the base.
Your hike starts at the Storm King Ranger Station. There is plenty of parking, however, this is a popular trail, and the lot provides parking for multiple trailheads in the area, so take that into consideration when planning your trip. The Ranger Station had a board out front with updated info (trail, weather, local wildlife) that only takes a few minutes to read, and if you've read any of my other posts you know I like to be prepared.
Once you head out from the Ranger Station, you'll pass a grassy area that at the time we hiked (June 30th) was filled with white and yellow wildflowers. From there you will walk briefly along part of Lake Crescent before veering right, away from the lake and through an underpass to get to the other side of the main road. You will pass a huge, moss-covered tree before heading into the forest filled with towering pines.
The trail itself is wide and well-maintained, surrounded not only by the tall trees, but also large ferns and beds of moss.
As you make your way along the trail, there is an intersection for Mount Storm King which heads sharply up to your left (but that is a trail, and post, for another day ;) ). There is a second intersection just passed where you will turn right to continue towards Marymere Falls. After crossing the bridges that will take you over the stream, you can take either the left or right fork to get to the falls. I would advise taking the left fork as it takes you towards the base of the falls and is not as steep an ascent as the right fork. From here the trail does get narrow and bit steep, but only for a very short way until it levels out at the viewing area for the waterfall.
The steep drop of water from 90 feet above as it streams over the mossy rocks surrounding it to splash into the pool below is not a rushing roar like some waterfalls. But rather more gentle, subtle, almost musical as it trickles along the rocks and moss. Admittedly I waited quite a while at the viewing area until there was a break in the people, so I could hear that waterfall music without the interruptions of other people talking, laughing, or complaining about the heat. But the short wait was worth it to have the sight and sounds to myself for a bit.
From the base of the waterfall, you can head straight back the way you came, or you can keep heading around the loop up a short steep embankment to a viewing area slightly higher up (maybe 15-20 feet). Personally, I think the view from the base is "better", but any view of a waterfall is a nice view. The you complete the loop with a steep descent back to where the loop started and head back out the way you came to the Ranger Station.
This hike is definitely easy for families or anyone who just wants a quick jaunt in the woods. It is 1.8 miles round trip with an approximate elevation gain of 315 feet. I didn't note the exact time, but moving at a leisurely pace, stopping to taking pictures and just enjoy the view took about an hour (AllTrails app notes an average of 49 minutes to complete) from Ranger Station and back again. We got lucky and had a nice sunny day to hike. But I bet this would be a good hike on the rainier days as well since you are under tree cover for the majority of the hike.
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