The lush forests in the Quinault, Queets, Hoh, and Bogachiel valleys are some of the most spectacular examples of primeval temperate rain forest in the lower 48 states. These rain forests once stretched from northern California to southeast Alaska but little remains outside of protected areas like Olympic National Park. The recipe for temperate rain forest starts with rain, and lots of it! Storms from the Pacific Ocean drop between 12 and 14 feet of precipitation each year and moderate temperatures allow for incredible plant and tree growth.
The rain forest contains large old growth trees, including the dominant Sitka spruce and western hemlock with bigleaf maple, Douglas-fir and western red-cedar as well. The presence of epiphytes, meaning plants growing on other plants, is typical of the rain forest and creates the feeling of being in a jungle. Mosses, lichens and ferns drape over the old growth trees while nurse logs and dead wood on the ground provide nutrients to shrubs, ferns and hundreds of species of mosses, lichens and liverworts. Tree-seedlings, fungi, small mammals, amphibians and insects also benefit from the decay of the rain forest's giant trees.