Touching Heaven: The Hike to Lake of the Angels

We'll get this out the way early. This is a hard hike. But it's definitely worth it. About two hours southeast of Port Angeles, the Putvin Trail to Lake of the Angels is 7.4 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of 3,358 (starting elevation is 1,530 and you go to 4,888).

Once you get off US 101, you'll go about 12 miles on Hamma Hamma Road before finding a "parking lot" on the left side of the road. You're now at the trailhead. 

While there are portions of the hike which are flat, be prepared to grind it out on the uphill sections of this hike. The hardest section is from the 1.5 mile marker to 3.0 where you will gain almost 2,000 feet of elevation. However, while you are short on breath, don't forget to look at the scenery. If the air is clear, you might even get to see Mt. Rainier's snowy summit off in the distance. 

Once you've completed the first serious uphill (the one after the sign showing the distance to the Olympic National Park boundary and Lake of the Angels), the trail levels out to give your legs a break. 

After a half mile or so, you'll enter into a swampy portion of the trail.Stay alert as there are various markings for where you should go but the trail is hard to find. Once you are through the muck, you have one more gnarly uphill to go until you set your sights on the beauty of the lake.

Enjoy the views. Enjoy the wildlife (might even see a mountain goat). There are few places as secluded in a National Park.