History
Like any 135 mile trail or converted rail grade, there is a long history behind what we see and enjoy today. By remembering our history, we celebrate the ODT’s past and appreciate how far it has come.
Olympic Discovery Trail
2024 $3.75 Million for Clallam County ODT Planning
2023 Major Grant Funds Completion of Missing Sections
2023 Another Trail Segment Completed
2022 PTC Starts Managing Tour de Lavender
2020 Spruce Railroad Trail Completed
2019 ODT Voted Best Bicycling Adventure
2018 Spruce Railroad Trail Phase One Completed
2017 Four additional miles to the Lyre River Under Construction
2016 Expansion Continues both East and West
2014 Ennis Creek Upgrades and 1.5 Miles Added in Port Townsend
2014 Major West End Sections Opened
2012 Trail Completed to Elwha River
2010 Railroad Bridge Park Trestle Redesigned
2009 New Elwha River Bridge Dedicated
2008 Priest Road and Eagle Habitat
2008 Volunteers Save Barker Road Railroad Bridge
2005 Adventure Route Segment Begun
2004 McDonald Creek Bridging and Connector Trail Completed
2003 Third Railroad Bridge and Trestle Rehabilitated
2000 Two Additional Links and a Pedestrian Bridge
1999 Volunteers Rebuild Morse Creek Trestle and Bridge
1995 First Trail Construction Grant Awarded
1993 Critical County Plan Adopted
1991 First Trestle and Bridge Saved
1988 Founding the Peninsula Trails Coalition (PTC)
1931 Passenger Service Discontinued
1915 Railroad Development and Passenger Service
** Your help and support are making this happen! **
Olympic Adventure Route
2005 Let the Adventure Begin!
Whether traveled on horseback, bicycle, or foot, the Adventure Route is an exhilarating, no-services, out-in-the-woods experience from the State Hwy 112 parking lot to Lake Crescent. Sustainable 8% grades are frequent, and tight downhill switchbacks are thrilling and breathtaking.
This 26-mile route (22 miles single-track & 4 miles of logging road) is an off-road alternative for horsemen, mountain bicyclists and hikers. The Olympic Adventure Route was hand-built by the Clallam County Chain Gang and the volunteer Thursday Trail Crew using hand tools, chain saws, and mechanical wheelbarrows. They removed brush, stumps and roots; hauled rock and gravel; packed and leveled trail; felled, cut and stacked logs for trail boundary, bridges and stringers; built turnpikes and crib walls; dug and trenched wet areas; and buried culverts.
The OAR is maintained by Adopt-a-Trail members, Backcountry Horsemen Association members and interested nearby residents. These groups have tackled all of these tasks plus contributed toward maintenance of the trail system as winter storms pass, often ravaging trees and freshly made trail. If you are interested in volunteering, please email AaTmanager@olympicdiscoverytrail.org
The Kitsap Connection
A trail connecting Kitsap County with Jefferson County is in the concept stage. This connector trail would continue the 100-mile Mountain to Sound Greenway east of the sound, to Bainbridge Island, across the Kitsap Peninsula and connect with the Olympic Discovery Trail at Discovery Bay.
A suggested route in Jefferson County might be from the Hood Canal Bridge to Port Ludlow, moving close to Anderson Lake State Park and connecting with the ODT somewhere near Eaglemount Rd—a spectacular viewpoint overlooking Discovery Bay.
The Bainbridge-Hood Canal Bridge route would run from downtown Winslow, along State Hwy 305 to the Agate Pass Bridge. From there it would go north to Poulsbo, along the waterfront at Liberty Bay, cross State Hwy 305, move to Big Valley Rd, and then meet State Hwy 3 just east of the Hood Canal Bridge.
The Kitsap-Jefferson county connection could become part of the developing North Kitsap String of Pearls—a cycling route that links the region’s historic waterfront villages with a system of interconnecting trails and open space corridors.
May you be young enough and fortunate enough to ride the dream!
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