Hike to the Kestner Homestead and Maple Glade

NorthBeachVacation.com

KESTNER HOMESTEAD and the MAPLE GLADE TRAIL

This is my favorite trail in the Lake Quinault area for its
variety, historical interest, and sheer beauty. The trail starts
at the Quinault River Ranger Station along the North Shore
Road. The road has left the lake at this point and opened out
into some open grassland. The sign on the road says "Maple
Glade Trail".

The trail takes you through a 3/4 mile loop of gorgeous,
moss-draped maple forest - very different than the other rain
forest trails in the area - and into the 100 year old Kestner
Homestead farm, which the park service is restoring. No
sign marks the "maple glade" - there are maples all along
the route, but it may be referring to a stand of very old and
very beautiful maples (pictured at right top) just before a
bridge that leads to the homestead. At the homestead you
leave the forest for a time and you can enjoy the grassy
fields, pretty farm, and distant hilltops. An old delivery truck
sits rusting in one fields, filled with vines. We laid down in
the tall grass nearby and enjoyed the sky.

If you can bear to pick yourself up and leave that spot, the
trail returns to the maple forest, which, if possible, looks
even prettier than before. Here there are more ferns in the
undergrowth. And you pass by a crystal clear pond full of
aquatic plants. Due to the clarity, it is hard to tell if the plants
are growing in the water or are being reflected from above in
the water.

Quinault Hiking Map
http://www.quinaultriverinn.com/images/hiking_map6.pdf

by Bob Kelly
bobkelly1964@yahoo.com
http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com

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