Marmot Pass is on the Olympic Peninsula and lies within Olympic National Park. It's a worthwhile trek if you get to the area. The forest road is paved for the first 9 miles. The last 4 miles are unpaved, but still a great road. I was surprised. Not a difficult hike, but a long one with a steady incline the whole way to the pass as the trail follows the Big Quilcene River most of the way.
The first portion takes you through old growth forest along the river. The campgrounds and trail is very well-maintained. There's no signage along the trail, so when you arrive at both Shelter Rock Camp (3600 ft) and Camp Mystery (5300 ft), just continue straight through.
After around 4.5 miles you will leave the forest and enter a meadow that leads to the pass. The view from on top is beautiful and gives you the choice of going off in three other directions via Tubal Cain Trail. I took the trail to the south up to the ridge which is a difficult climb, but you are rewarded of course.
The Tubal Cain trail past Buckhorn Lake leads to the old Tubal Cain Mine site as well as the ruins of a B-17 plane (next time). From Marmot Pass there are tons of backpacking possibilities. This area is definitely worth a weekend.
