Enthusiast II
A couple of links for driving Washington DNR lands. First Open data for WA dnr lands. This is a map showing "active" dnr roads, meaning, it's mostly a "who maintains this road" map. It shows a lot of USFS lands because they are used to access dnr lands. It's a good reference tool for determining possibilities for travel with one important caveat. Orphaned or abandoned roads are considered "off road" on dnr lands. The DNR prohibits motorized off road travel on its lands. This does not mean it is rigorously enforced but if you have an accident or breakdown they could conceivably force you to extract your vehicle via helicopter. Again, probably not likely, but possible. The state gets a tremendous amount of revenue from these lands and if you plug up a road you plug up the money and just look around at who went cross eyed and farted. And this money comes mainly from logging. Here is an excellent write up about driving in logging country. If you drive logging country, get a cb radio. They're cheap and that's the way truckers communicate. Even if you are legally allowed to travel, 80 tons gets a bigger vote than one ton. Consider the driver, 50 tons of logs aimed at the back of your head makes your attitude a little different. These guys are trying to make a living and are just operating machinery in order to do that. Everyone above their level in the corporate chain is trying to minimize the amount of money that gets down to the driver level, which includes the steepest grade possible and the narrowest road possible. Their job is difficult and making it harder is going to impact your relationship with them. At the start of every active logging road I have seen will be a crudely spray painted plywood sign that says for example " cb 14 mile 0" meaning announce yourself on channel 14. There will be subsequent markers as the road goes on. The above link to the article explains. Also if you see that sign you might choose another road (see links above) If you see a road that is listed as active and there is grass growing in the middle of it, it might be a good go. If a road is unmarked by a cb sign and it is pounded smooth and bare and covered is bark chips... you get the idea. Also, it's usually a day job so they knock off at 5:30 or so and probably not on weekends. (emphasis on probably) This might seem like a hassle but camping on dnr lands is often the quietest and most serene available. Especially considering that "first come first served" in a national park means "keep your thumb on the safety". This summer there was a 4 hour wait just to get into the parking lot at the Hoh Rainforest site.
