Our 4th trip was to Olympic National Park just outside of Seattle, Washington. For this trip Cami and I were joined by Cat (wife / mom). We spent almost a week exploring the only rain forest in the Continental United States as well as some of the amazing beaches.
Olympic National Park resides in the Olympic Peninsula (of course) and has incredible derisive ecosystems. Ranging from Pacific coastline, alpine areas and on the west side a temperate rain forest. The park was first designated Mount Olympus Nation Monument on March 1909 by Theodore Roosevelt. It took until June 1938 for congress to re-designate Olympic as a national park. It is also a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.
The park itself is very big, almost a million acres, and the roads are only on the outside of the park. There are no roads that penetrate very far into the park itself. So getting from one end to another can take a very long time. We stayed near La Push on the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula. So our focus was on the beaches, rain forest and the Lake Pleasant area. We did not have much time (only about a half of day) in the alpine area of the park. It is on our list to go back and stay somewhere closer to the alpine area to explore the higher elevations.
There are little towns scattered all around the park, so finding a hotel or camp site can be rather easy. We stayed in the Quileute Oceanside Resort, run by the Quileute Tribe. It was a super nice place to stay with many cool things to see just on the reservation itself. It also made getting to most of the places on our list rather easy.
The coastline is very interesting a great place to explore. Its over 60 miles long however, it’s not connected to the the rest of the park. There is a small strip of private land between the coastline and the main park. The beaches are very diverse, some are mostly sand, others are very rocky. Many are covered in large trees that have fallen and are washed onto the beach. This makes for some amazing sunset photography.
Exploring the beaches can be a full day activity. Some of them are an easy walk from the parking lot, others are a mile or more hike through the forest and then down a steep incline. If you hike far enough you can see tide pools, sea stars, anemones, and all manner of interesting things from the sea. We spent a good deal of time hiking on Kalaloch Beach 4. Second, third and Ruby Beach where also stunning places to explore. We enjoyed more than one fantastic lunch at Creekside Restaurant in the Kalaloch Lodge while exploring these stunning beaches. This was also the first time
Cameron experienced a working telephone booth.
The rainforest is something truly unique in the lower 48 states. The Hoh Rain Forest has its own visitors center (worth a stop). There was an easy hike beginning and ending at the Visitors Center where, if you’re lucky, you might get to see one of the protected Banana Slugs that are critical to the health of the rainforest ecosystem. The Hoh Rain Forest gets around 140 inches of rain yearly. The Hoh Rain Forest once spanned from the Pacific coast to southeastern Alaska to the central cost of California. The Hoh is one of the finest remaining examples of a temperate rain forest.
We spent a lot of time hiking and exploring different areas around the rain forest, and yes it did rain on us while we where there! Sol Duc Falls was maybe the coolest thing we saw in the rain forest. The falls are an easy 1.6 mile hike from the parking area. Mostly flat, but amazing views along the way, including a cool stream with bridges that you have to cross. When we were there, the falls had a hard water flow and it was pouring rain. Such a cool way to experience the rain forest.
There are many other waterfalls you can see in the Hoh Rain Forest. Some of them are even right next to the road! Others like Sol Duc require some amount of hiking to see. However, you really can’t beat Sol Duc Falls.
You can also see the Worlds Largest Spruce Tree. Standing an amazing 191 feet tall, with a 58’11” circumference. It’s a fun little side stop that only takes 30-60 min to see and explore the area.
Cami and I spent a little time exploring the Lake Crescent area of the park. Always around sunrise for photography and while Cat found some much needed rest! Most of the area was still shut-down from the winter and we had the place to ourselves. It was stunning and peaceful in the early morning.
We did not have a lot of time in the Alpine section of the park, again this is something we plan to revisit. On our last day while we where driving out we drove up to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. The drive itself was stunning, we left the warm temperatures of the lower elevation and found ourselves surrounded by feet of snow. The few hours we spent exploring in this area where well worth it! If nothing else it had convinced us of the need to return.
We spent our last two days in Washington in Seattle, hanging out with some friends and exploring the city!
