Elk Overlook is the first side-trail and first named attraction one comes to, only about 3/4 mile up the main Elwha River Trail from the Whiskey Bend Trailhead, in the Olympic National Park. The intended view is of the Anderson Ranch meadow, where sometimes folks see the local elk herd feeding or bedded down. It’s worth a lot of dry runs down the hill, for the occasional sighting. Even without any elk, good views are of course not the rule in these dense forests, and any opportunity to see through the canopy from a good perch is worthwhile, whether the herd is there or not.
The viewpoint is a rocky shoulder a few hundred feet above the upper end of Rica Canyon and Goblins Gate, and the old Ranch is immediately upstream of those features, on the far side of the Elwha. The distance is short enough that one can see horse-sized elk are standing in the grass, but not close enough that a modest zoom will get a great picture. The best use of the Overlook, is the view it gives of the bottom end of Geyser Valley, the surrounding uplands & mountains, and of the (forested) geological formation that creates the dramatic Gate, and the inimitable Canyon.
Directly across the river are the lower slopes of the eastern base of Mount Fitzhenry, while further up the Valley the northern toe of Long Ridge juts out a little into the river-bottom. It’s a helpful vantage for getting orienting around the lower part of Geyser Valley, which with its minor maze of short trails, high landscape-diversity and multiple uses is an area that rewards increasing familiarity.
Elk move down from the open high country to the forested river valleys, in the fall and early winter, typically as snow starts to fall higher up. If one does have the zoom, this could be prize picture for sure.