The Dosewallips River Road was washed out several years ago by the Dosewallips River. Since that time, controversy has plagued the National Forest Service regarding the rebuilding of the road. Almost all Brinnon residents and land owners want the road repaired and reconstructed. They want to see access to the Olympic National Park restored. They feel that it is critical to the economic and cultural health of the local community in South County.

On the other side of the debate are outsiders, primarily from other counties, who think that the repaired road would cause stress on natural resources. They claim that the road should not be repaired, and that those who wish to visit the National Park could hike the entire road past the ten-mile point where the road was washed away.

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Brinnon residents want to restore the historic trail that starts at the Ten-Mile Bridge, just off of the Dosewallips River Road, and follows the Dosewallips River along the southern side, finally crossing the river again to end close to the Trail-Head at the end of the Dosewallips River Road. This trail was first constructed well over 80 years ago, and still exists, less the original wooden bridges.

It seems that many people are interested in creating a trail to provide an alternative for hikers that want to hike more of the valley away from motorized vehicles, either as a day hike, or as an alternate means to reach the Dosewallips trailhead at the ranger station. The current proposal is to simply restore the trail, in addition to offering the handicap and public access via the 70-some-year-old Dosewallips River Road.

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