Quinault · Olympic National Park wilderness

Wolf Bar

Recreation.gov listing: Wolf Bar

Location: 47.5998° N, 123.6187° W Not for navigation.

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Area sketch

Wolf Bar campsite area sketch
Credit: Bearpath. Not for navigation.

About this campsite

Reviewed 2026-09-30 by Bearpath Editor. Written from the sources listed below; the review that follows is from a visit.

Wolf Bar is a small campsite in the Quinault Valley area of Olympic National Park. The campsite is on the edge of the North Fork riverbank, with a mix of grassy and sandy soils to camp on and plenty of tree coverage.

Wolf Bar is a good choice if you’re looking for a short, easy, first night stop, or if you’re exiting via the North Fork Trailhead and want a quick hike back to your car on your last day.

Wolf Bar has four primary camping areas, each of which can comfortably fit multiple tents. One camp area requires walking through another camp area and traversing a short, shallow side channel of the river, which was dry when we visited in early September (see area sketch).

The camp has no bear wire nor toilet infrastructure. Water is accessible from the river, and depending on the water level may require a short hike down a large rock pile for the two connected camp areas.

Bearpath review

From a visit on 2026-09-06.

My fiancée and I trekked the Quinault loop over Labor Day weekend, and made Wolf Bar our second night stop so we could have a quick final day before heading home. The descent from Three Lakes wasn’t as difficult as we had feared, and while Wolf Bar is devoid of backcountry infrastructure common at larger Olympic campsites, we enjoyed sitting next to the river, plopping our feet in, and relaxing after the long hike.

We didn’t notice much backcountry furniture like you find in some campsites, and we couldn’t find a good elevated, flat surface to put our stove on, so we had to set it on the ground. The camp areas themselves had a mix of flatter parts and sloped parts, so if you’re in a group with multiple tents it might be hard for everyone to get an ideal position.

Dates and availability

Published Recreation.gov availability for 2026-11-01 to 2027-05-31 is in the planner.

See dates on the map · How current is this?

Getting a permit for this camp

A wilderness camping permit is required year-round.

On Recreation.gov, choose Starting Area Quinault.

What each availability status means

How to get an Olympic National Park wilderness permit

Group size

Recreation.gov group size option: 1–12 people.

Advance reservation season

NPS lists this campsite as open to advance reservations year-round. Check Recreation.gov or contact the Wilderness Information Center.

A season governs when advance reservations are taken, not whether camping is allowed.

Practical notes

Listing notes and park-wide rules

Park-wide distance rule: NPS states that Recreation.gov will not book a campsite more than 15 miles from a trailhead or from the previous campsite, or more than 10 miles on the coast. For a longer distance, the Wilderness Information Center (WIC) sets up the permit by phone. Source: NPS backpacking FAQ (opens in a new tab).

Food storage: NPS wilderness food storage (opens in a new tab).

Sources

Permit facts from Recreation.gov and NPS data. Listing names come from the Recreation.gov permit listing, booking methods from Recreation.gov and the Wilderness Information Center, advance reservation seasons from the NPS wilderness map, Starting Areas and group size options from Bearpath’s research into the Recreation.gov booking grid, and map locations from NPS map data or a location Bearpath reviewed.

How Bearpath uses these sources

Sources for this write-up

  1. NPS North Fork Quinault River Trail (opens in a new tab), accessed 2026-09-30
  2. NPS wilderness campsite information (opens in a new tab), accessed 2026-09-30

Written by Bearpath Editor. Reviewed 2026-09-30 by Bearpath Editor.