If you’re looking for a new place to ride with great views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, eagles and possibly whales, and that is also fun for the whole family, consider the Olympic Discovery Trail on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
 With over half of the trail almost complete, the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) will eventually extend for nearly 125 miles from Port Townsend west to Forks and the Pacific Coast.
Built on now-defunct railroad right-of-ways, the ODT has 42 miles of paved trail completed. Another 25 miles of a good dirt trail from the Elwha River to Lake Crescent “will eventually be complemented with a paved trail for touring bikes,” says Chuck Preble, vice president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition. The group just celebrated its 20th year of volunteer work to develop the ODT.
History from rail lines
In 1887 the Port Townsend railway lines heading south were built and by 1914 they connected to the Port Angeles-Discovery Bay line. Passenger service operated on these lines until 1931. The lines were then used exclusively for freight and timber. There was a movement to revive the passenger service on these lines in 1980, but it failed and removal of the tracks began in 1985. The Peninsula Trails Coalition was formed in 1988 to gain public access for non-motorized transportation between Port Angeles and Port Townsend.
By 1991 the idea of the Olympic Discovery Trail was well underway.
On the Trail
 Starting at the marina in Port Townsend, the Larry Scott Trail is a six-mile combination of gravel and pavement. The trail is still under development from there up to State Highway 101 and west to Sequim Bay, so if you decide to ride, follow State Highway 20 to Highway 101 at Discovery Bay. Or, Preble suggests a “safer but somewhat longer route to the east of Highway 20” by picking up the ODT at Sequim Bay State Park and riding the trail all the way to Port Angeles, safely away from the highway.
Heading west from Port Angeles there is still a lot of work to be done.
“The trail west from Port Angeles to the Elwha River is under construction and should be open in 2011,” Preble says. The paved trail from the Elwha to Lake Crescent starts right-of-way acquisition in 2010 and should be complete in six to eight years.
Currently, trail users of this section need to pick up Highway 101 going west out of Port Angeles and turn on Highway 112 to pick up the Adventure Trail — located just across the Highway 112 Elwha River Bridge.
“Give us another two years and we should have a direct link from Port Angeles to Highway 112 and the Adventure Trail,” says Preble.
 The section along the north shore of Lake Crescent is in progress and should open in 2012 or 2013. The Peninsula Trails Coalition doesn’t expect work further west until these sections are complete. The completed trail will be approximately 125 miles long and “is probably 12 to 15 years away,” Preble says.
Many hands making great trails
Getting the work done is a group effort. For folks anxious to get this trail completed, there are always volunteer opportunities to participate in.
The second Saturday of each month the Peninsula Trails Coalition hosts a volunteer work party, usually performing maintenance on the trail. Work could be done for the City of Port Angeles, City of Sequim or Clallam County and lunch is always provided to volunteers who sign up in advance. To find out more, contact Carrie Kalina at peripateticme@hotmail.com or at (360) 681-0420. Check out the Work Party Status Report at www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/Documents/TrailStatus.txt to find out where and when the next work party will be.
Thursday crews from Clallam County work on maintenance of the ODT from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Peninsula Trails Coalition provides lunch to those volunteers who RSVP. For more information, contact Lorrie Campbell (Clallam County ODT Volunteer Coordinator) at (360) 565-2606. Jefferson County crews can help on their county’s portion of the ODT by contacting Jeff Selby.
You can adopt a trail or a piece of trail on the Adopt-a-Trail web page: http://www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/AdoptTrail.htm.
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