Pluto Peak is located in the Olympic National Forest and is accessed via a decommissioned forest road. The RT hike is 4 miles with 850 ft elevation gain. Access is at Dosewallips Road (47.69872, -122.89640) off of Hwy 101. Distance from Hwy 101 turn to parking is 9.8 miles. I did not have any cell coverage at the summit (ATT) but there is a robust APRS infrastructure in place in these mountains and I had full two-way APRS messaging for spotting.
From Dosewallips Road, take Rocky Brook Road which turns into FR-2621. Left at the Y to take FR-2658, then left again at the next Y to take FR-2651. Park at: 47.738220, -122.981230
The beginning and the end of the decommissioned road has been returned to their natural state. By that I mean that the roadbed is now the same angle as the hillside slope. This means that for nearly half of the hike you are “side-hilling” and it can strain your ankles, make sure you have good footwear! I’d call this hike “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”
First: The Good. The summit has a large clearing with trees for shade and antenna supports. It has beautiful mountain views of the surrounding higher summits, especially Mount Juniper. (Summit pics posted to SOTA Atlas). Also the mid-section of the hike contains original (i.e. FLAT) roadbed that is covered by a thick layer of moss so it feels like you are hiking on shag carpet. Hiking on this section is very fast, easy and comfortable.
Next, The Bad. The side-hill walking can get painful. Fortunately, it is at the start and end of the hike and you can find almost level parts during some of these sections. Hang in there. Also in the “Bad” category is the state of the access road. Potholed in some places and encroaching brush for some sections of the drive to TH.
Finally, The Ugly. As of 2026 there is an approximately 1/4-mile section that has a large number of alder saplings that make passage pretty slow going. I posted pics below. I went in early May and there was no snow, and the leaves had not leafed out. I’d imagine in summer it would be pretty bushy in there.
