Goblins Gate, or Goblin Gates, is a narrow gorge, about across, on the

Elwha River The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Mountains, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river's cou ...

in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. It is located in Olympic National Park where the Elwha River enters Rica Canyon, east-southeast of Olympic Hot Springs. Toponymist Smitty Parratt described Goblins Gate: "...the Elwha River swerves at a severe right angle and tumbles into an extremely narrow cliffside opening. Resembling two large gates such as might have been found on a medieval castle, the rock portals appear to reach out and suck the waters of the Elwha into their grasp, only to send them plummeting down a precipitous canyon in a headlong rush to sea level."

History

Golblins Gate was given its name by members of the 1889–90 Seattle Press Expedition. Charles Barnes, one of the expedition's members, described Goblins Gate as "...like the throat of a monster, silently sucking away the water." And as a resembling "multitude of faces...with tortured expressions." The chasm of Goblins Gate has been bridged twice. The first bridge was washed away during a flood event around the turn of the 20th century. The second eventually became a decaying hazard and was removed in 1935.

Natural history

As part of the

Elwha Ecosystem Restoration The Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project is a 21st-century project of the U.S. National Park Service to remove two dams on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, and restore the river to a natural state. It is the largest da ...

project, Olympic National Park fisheries biologists snorkel-surveyed for salmonids along the entire

. However, due to dangerous currents within Rica Canyon, Goblins Gate was one of the only areas, other than the

Grand Canyon of the Elwha The Grand Canyon of the Elwha is a deep canyon on the Elwha River located below Dodger Point approximately upstream from the now-drained Lake Mills (Washington), Lake Mills in Washington, United States. It can be reached approximately from the W ...

where the surveys could not take place.

Recreation

Goblins Gate is the first stop along the

Geyser Valley trail The Geyser Valley trail in Olympic National Park is an area along the Elwha River between Rica Canyon and the Grand Canyon of the Elwha, where many homesteaders tried to eke out a living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, this tr ...

route along the Elwha River above Lake Mills within Olympic National Park. It is from the Whiskey Bend trailhead. After Goblins Gate, the trail continues onto

Krause Bottom Krause Bottom is a riparian forest area on the Elwha River along the Geyser Valley trail in Olympic National Park, Washington. It contains a forest of bigleaf maple, red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree n ...

Humes Ranch Cabin The Humes Ranch cabin was built around the year 1900 by William Humes. William Humes was originally from New York and arrived in the Elwha River area en route to the Klondike. William, his brother, and a cousin liked the area so much they se ...

, and

Dodger Point Bridge Dodger Point Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge above sea level, located above the Elwha River as it exits the Grand Canyon of the Elwha just past Humes Ranch Cabin, in Washington state, United States. It can be accessed approximate from ...

, before looping back up to the Elwha trail and back.

References

Landforms of Clallam County, Washington Canyons and gorges of Washington (state) Landforms of Olympic National Park {{ClallamCountyWA-geo-stub