The Queets Rainforest is located within Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington. It is located near the town of Queets. The rainforest surrounds the Queets River.
History[]
Native American's lived in the area. A few white settlers once homesteaded the valley. Evidence of their tenure still remains.
Flora[]
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) are the dominant species in the rainforest are. Some grow to tremendous size, reaching 312 feet in height and 23 feet in diameter. Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudomonas menziesii var. menziesii), western redcedar (Thuja plicata), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), red alder (Alnus rubra), vine maple (Acer circinatum), and black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) are also found throughout the forest.
Many unique mosses and lichens are also present in the rainforest, such as lettuce lichen (Lobaria oregana), which "requires the cool, moist conditions found under the canopy of old-growth forests" and is consumed by deer, elk, and other animals.
Fauna[]
Many native fauna also make the Queets Rainforest their home, including the Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), bobcat (Lynx rufus), cougar (Felis concolor couguar), raccoon (Procyon lotor), Olympic black bear (Ursus americanus altifrontalis), Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus columbianus).
The area is also home to the banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus).
Recreation[]
There is a primitive National Park Service campground at the end of the Queets River Road. The Queets River Trail begins on the north bank of the river, across from the campground, and follows the river about 16 miles upstream. Access to the trailhead requires fording the Queets River, which can be treacherous. There are primitive campsites along the trail at the Lower Crossing Way Trail junction and Spruce Bottom.