Marymere Falls Trail: A Beginner Guide to This Hike

The Marymere Falls trail is one of the most popular hikes in Lake Crescent which is located inside Olympic National Park. I’ve done it twice and while there’s nothing really difficult about it, this guide is going to be helpful for anyone who has never tried it before.

Quick info on the Marymere Falls trail:

Name: Marymere Falls.
Location: Lake Crescent Olympic National Park (20 minutes from Port Angeles WA).
Hike distance: About 1 mile in and out.
Height: Almost 100 feet.
Difficulty: Easy.
Family friendly trail? Yes.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Recommended? Yes! I’ve done numerous hikes around Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls is one of my personal favorites, not just because it’s easy, but also because it’s a very beautiful trail with sights and many other trail options nearby that are also there as extra stuff to see and do.

Here’s a Marymere Falls trail map:

5 quick things to know about the Marymere Falls hike:

There is a parking lot to this trail that’s right off the 101 road in Lake Crescent.
The parking lot is pretty big and besides the trail there, you will also have other things to do.
The trail goes underneath the 101 road through a tunnel.
There are very scenic spots throughout, plus some other connecting trails on the way.
The last section of the hike to Marymere Falls is short, a little bit moderate but there’s wooden handles to use.

1) Reaching the Marymere Falls trailhead:

To access this trail, you first have to be driving on the southern end of Lake Crescent, on the 101 road. You will see signs for Marymere Falls, but they are not that frequent so I do recommend you put in a GPS to Marymere Falls before you go, because there are very places with good connection while you’re driving through Lake Crescent. Once you leave the 101, you will get to the parking lot near the road where you will see a ranger station, some camp sites and a few other trail options you can check out later.

2) Starting out on the hike:

After you park your car, you will need to head east from the parking lot to start the trail (there will be signs for Marymere Falls). You’ll be on a concrete path for a few 100 feet which will have you passing underneath a short forest with beautiful birds, and then a beach to your left. Once you pass that area, you’ll walk through a tunnel, the same one which passes underneath the 101 road.

3) Hiking to Marymere Falls:

After you pass the short tunnel, the trail to the waterfall will become much more “traditional” in the sense that there will no longer be on any concrete. Although you can totally do this entire hike in regular shoes, I would recommend OK and above hiking shoes, or even trail runners (there are differences between trailrunning shoes vs hiking shoes) but my usual pick for these is the Salomon Speedcross 5.

Anyway, the hike is going to be pretty flat for about 1/4 of a mile and you will walk moreso than hike through this area. There will be huge Conifer trees all around you and some amazing mossy trees as well. If you love trees like this and want to see more of them, there’s tons throughout Olympic National Park but just so you know, these trees are similar to Redwoods and Sequoia trees, but they are not as tall or wide, but I do have more details on the Redwood vs Sequoia topic as well a the best places to see Redwoods in California as well as things to do in Sequoia National Park so you can find a bunch of other locations with these kinds of attractions.

You will also cross at least 2-3 other forks throughout the trail which lead to other hikes around Lake Crescent. Most of them are not as easy and it’s recommended to do them separately, so stick to the main Marymere Falls trail.

4) Passing the bridge and hiking up to Marymere Falls:

After you pass the beautiful Conifer Tree area, you will come across a beautiful wooden bridge and pass another one shortly after that is much more narrow. After this you will turn left and hike up to Marymere Falls. You will also notice that there is a fork in this area where you turn left, and that is actually a very short loop you can take after you hike up to the waterfall, to then come down, but you can also just return the same exact way.

The hike up to Marymere Falls isn’t that long but there is a bit of an incline with rocks and an uneven trail, but like I mentioned earlier, there will be a wooden “railing” to help you with that. Once you get to the waterfall, you can take some amazing photos of it before turning around or finishing that short loop that is part of the main trail.

5) Returning back to the Marymere Falls trailhead:

The return hike is simple as you just backtrack. Don’t forget that there are still going to be some forks to the other trails on the way back but just stay on the main one. Hiking back to the trailhead is easier because of the decline but the views on the way back are also different, yet equally amazing so I would recommend taking your time walking through the Conifer Trees area and any other spot that is beautiful to you.

Things to do after your hike to Marymere Falls:

The same parking lot you stopped at has numerous other things to check out and I did mention a few activities earlier, but here is a breakdown of the nearest ones:

There’s a Lake Crescent Lodge you can stay at too.
Booves Meadow is a small beach overlooking the Lake which I recommend seeing.
There’s also a Nature Bridge attraction where you can boat on Lake Crescent.
There is also a much longer/difficult hike called Storm King Trail nearby.
There’s the Moments in Time Trail nearby which is even shorter and easier than the Marymere Falls hike, as it just takes you through areas close to Lake Crescent.

All of these attractions are right by the same trailhead to Marymere Falls so you can easily check them all out after your hike.

More places to see near Marymere Falls Washington:

1) Devils Punchbowl:

This is another awesome and easy hike about 20 minutes from Marymere Falls. The Devils Punchbowl Lake Crescent trail is just a short walk to a beautiful swimming hole and view of Lake Crescent, but it is very easy to walk on and you can also fit that trail into the same day’s activities in addition to completing the Marymere Falls hike.

2) Sol Duc Falls:

The Sol Duc Falls trail is an even more popular hike about 30 minutes from Marymere Falls where you will hike to an even bigger waterfall. In fact, both Sol Duc Falls and Marymere Falls are 2 of the most popular Washington waterfall hikes you can do.

3) Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park:

Port Angeles is only 20-30 minutes from Marymere Falls and in addition to staying in this town, you will also have the option to see another side of Olympic National Park which is through the Hurricane Ridge area.

4) More Olympic National Park hikes:

Marymere Falls and the other trails I mentioned so far are some of the best hikes in Olympic National Park and many of them are around the Lake Crescent area.

5) Hall of Mosses and Cape Flattery:

The Hall of Mosses trail is an equally beautiful hike in the western area of Olympic National Park and takes about 40 minutes to reach from Marymere Falls. Cape Flattery is a bit further than all the other options above (1-2 hours from Marymere Falls), but it is worth checking out for the beautiful sea caves and the fact that it’s one of the most beautiful areas on the Washington Coast overall.