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Message
Olympic National Park
Posted on 7/23/21 at 1:58 pm
Posted on 7/23/21 at 1:58 pm
Planning a trip there in late September. Any "must-dos?" Will likely be staying in Port Angeles area.
Thanks
Thanks
10
Posted on 7/23/21 at 3:02 pm to Paperbackwriter
Just got back from PNW
We stayed in Port Angeles and honestly did everything we wanted in two days. If you’re staying in PA, drive up Hurricane Ridge early morning, before 7am since you’re right there. Do the Hurricane hill hike.
We did that early, then made our way towards Forks. Hiked around lake crescent, which is gorgeous, then did the Sol Duc Falls Hike.
Stayed in Forks and did Hall of Mosses first thing in AM on day 2, followed by Ruby beach.
Hurricane Ridge was our favorite part of ONP but it was clear and beautiful weather. Definitely do that first as when we were driving down the mountain crowds were getting insane.
Also, if you haven’t booked anything yet, I recommend staying in Port Angeles and Forks. The beaches and Hoh Rainforest are quite a ways away from Port Angeles.
We stayed in Port Angeles and honestly did everything we wanted in two days. If you’re staying in PA, drive up Hurricane Ridge early morning, before 7am since you’re right there. Do the Hurricane hill hike.
We did that early, then made our way towards Forks. Hiked around lake crescent, which is gorgeous, then did the Sol Duc Falls Hike.
Stayed in Forks and did Hall of Mosses first thing in AM on day 2, followed by Ruby beach.
Hurricane Ridge was our favorite part of ONP but it was clear and beautiful weather. Definitely do that first as when we were driving down the mountain crowds were getting insane.
Also, if you haven’t booked anything yet, I recommend staying in Port Angeles and Forks. The beaches and Hoh Rainforest are quite a ways away from Port Angeles.
This post was edited on 7/23/21 at 3:04 pm
Posted on 7/23/21 at 4:34 pm to Paperbackwriter
Just made the trip as well this past Memorial Day weekend. I suggest staying in the park if there's availability and you can swing it. The Lake Crescent Lodge is awesome. Restaurant is solid and it's very serene in the morning and evenings. Sunset is just incredible sitting out by the water.
As above, the park roads make a massive circle and highly recommend staying in two places. Somewhere in the NE quadrant (Lake Crescent Lodge or Port Angeles), and then in the west near the coast and rainforests (Forks or Lake Quinalt Lodge).
Activities:
- Hurricane Ridge along with Hurricane Hill Trail.
- Sol Duc Falls. There was the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, which looked nice.
- Hoh Rainforest. There are a few different trails here, do the entire thing.
- Ruby Beach - double check the tide charts and get out during absolute low tide so you can view the tide pools. Marine life and rock formations are amazing - starfish, anemone, etc. Rialto and Second Beach were two others I had saved, but didn't have time for. If we did not get out during absolute low tide, experience would probably not compare, especially for little kids.
Other activities would have liked to do:
- Mount Storm King - this was closed during our stay but we heard from others this is one of the more beautiful hikes they've done.
- Cape Flattery - this was closed due to the Indian reservation. May still be. Northwest most point on the contiguous United States. Surrounding beaches looked pretty cool as well.
- Dungeness Spit - technically part of the refuge and not Olympic NP. Longest natural sandspit in US.
As above, the park roads make a massive circle and highly recommend staying in two places. Somewhere in the NE quadrant (Lake Crescent Lodge or Port Angeles), and then in the west near the coast and rainforests (Forks or Lake Quinalt Lodge).
Activities:
- Hurricane Ridge along with Hurricane Hill Trail.
- Sol Duc Falls. There was the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, which looked nice.
- Hoh Rainforest. There are a few different trails here, do the entire thing.
- Ruby Beach - double check the tide charts and get out during absolute low tide so you can view the tide pools. Marine life and rock formations are amazing - starfish, anemone, etc. Rialto and Second Beach were two others I had saved, but didn't have time for. If we did not get out during absolute low tide, experience would probably not compare, especially for little kids.
Other activities would have liked to do:
- Mount Storm King - this was closed during our stay but we heard from others this is one of the more beautiful hikes they've done.
- Cape Flattery - this was closed due to the Indian reservation. May still be. Northwest most point on the contiguous United States. Surrounding beaches looked pretty cool as well.
- Dungeness Spit - technically part of the refuge and not Olympic NP. Longest natural sandspit in US.
Posted on 7/23/21 at 5:06 pm to Paperbackwriter
Waiting in line for the Edmonds ferry now, staying in Shadow WA this weekend so close by Port Angeles. Lots of hiking, beaching, and lakes planned
Posted on 7/23/21 at 6:28 pm to Paperbackwriter
Pretty good itineraries above . I would make sure I went out on Rialto beach and looked around a bit. An hour or two at least. I thought it was really cool. We stopped by there on our way from port Angeles to hoh rainforest.
Below link is the place I stayed near hurricane ridge/port Angelas. It was fantastic.
LINK
Below link is the place I stayed near hurricane ridge/port Angelas. It was fantastic.
LINK
This post was edited on 7/23/21 at 6:41 pm
Posted on 7/23/21 at 8:30 pm to Paperbackwriter
Sol Duc Falls and Crescent Lake as previously mentioned.
Little Devil’s Lunchbox in Port Angeles has awesome burritos and live music on weekends. LINK
The town of Sequim is pretty neat. There are many lavender farms nearby. Washington Lavender is the best. LINK
The farm has a replica of Mount Vernon that is a B&B. LINK
Little Devil’s Lunchbox in Port Angeles has awesome burritos and live music on weekends. LINK
The town of Sequim is pretty neat. There are many lavender farms nearby. Washington Lavender is the best. LINK
The farm has a replica of Mount Vernon that is a B&B. LINK
This post was edited on 7/23/21 at 8:35 pm
Posted on 7/24/21 at 2:41 pm to Paperbackwriter
We are going to the Tri-Cities area in mid September for a wedding. The wedding is on a Friday but we are flying in Saturday 9/11 into Seattle. I have never been to this part of the country so we plan on sight seeing for a few days before heading west to meet up with family. Olympic National Park is a big circle on my to-do list. It will be the first time my kids (7 and 9) will be in mountains. Are the hikes relatively easy in most spots?
Posted on 7/24/21 at 5:09 pm to sportsaddit68
quote:
Are the hikes relatively easy in most spots?
Yes
Posted on 7/25/21 at 10:31 pm to sportsaddit68
Crescent Lake is definitely a must. I will say Mount Storm King was a difficult hike for my wife and I. We aren't professional hikers by any means, but we do enjoy hiking and are pretty active people in our 20s and we really struggled with this hike. It is a beautiful hike though and it's one we will never forget because of the difficulty haha
Posted on 7/26/21 at 1:28 pm to kadillak
If you are looking for interesting towns to check out, I would recommend Port Townsend. Probably the most scenic town out of the 3 towns on the Straight of Juan de Fuca - Port Angeles/Sequim/Port Townsend.
Port Townsend is surrounded by water on 3 sides and has an "Uptown" and a "Downtown". Uptown is on the cliffs overlooking downtown, which is on the water.
There are lots of gorgeous buildings were built there in the 1870's and 1880's, as people anticipated that Port Townsend would be the end point for the railroad line coming up from California. Plans changed and the railroad ended up going to Seattle. The rest, as they say, is history.
Port Townsend became a ghost town, of sorts, and a lot of the beautiful homes that were built there were abandoned. Sometime in the 1970's, people figured out that those old homes could be renovated and turned into B and B's, and Port Townsend made a comeback. A lot of the waterfront buildings are now restaurants, bars, breweries, and shops. Pretty cool place, and the views have it all - water, mountains, etc.
Port Townsend is surrounded by water on 3 sides and has an "Uptown" and a "Downtown". Uptown is on the cliffs overlooking downtown, which is on the water.
There are lots of gorgeous buildings were built there in the 1870's and 1880's, as people anticipated that Port Townsend would be the end point for the railroad line coming up from California. Plans changed and the railroad ended up going to Seattle. The rest, as they say, is history.
Port Townsend became a ghost town, of sorts, and a lot of the beautiful homes that were built there were abandoned. Sometime in the 1970's, people figured out that those old homes could be renovated and turned into B and B's, and Port Townsend made a comeback. A lot of the waterfront buildings are now restaurants, bars, breweries, and shops. Pretty cool place, and the views have it all - water, mountains, etc.
Posted on 7/26/21 at 2:14 pm to Paperbackwriter
quote:
Planning a trip there in late September. Any "must-dos?" Will likely be staying in Port Angeles area.
Thanks
Salmon will be migrating if you like to fish. Can fish the strait of Juan de Fuca or tributaries of the strait near Port Angeles.
Someone mentioned the sol duc hot springs. I've only stayed at the campground nearby so I have no clue about their rooms.
There's 3 hot pools at varying temps. There's also a pool. I enjoyed it.
Posted on 7/26/21 at 2:21 pm to sportsaddit68
quote:There's some really cool stuff out that way too. I would try to hit Palouse Falls.
Tri-Cities area
And in general, driving the Palouse is incredible. Try to go up to Steptoe Butte:
Posted on 7/26/21 at 4:45 pm to Big Scrub TX
That's another 2 hours away and in the wrong direction. I'd advise you do all your sight seeing and hiking west of Tri. If you're coming from Seattle you could do some hiking up in the Cascades. Mt. Ranier is the obvious one but Colchuck Lake is a really good one near Leavenworth which is a fun little drinking town. Or you can drive from Seattle south to Oregon. Stop at one of the beach towns on the northern Oregon coast. Then take the Columbia River Gorge up to tri which is an amazing drive. Definitely stop in Hood River on the way. If you're flying back out of Seattle then make a big circle and do both.
This post was edited on 7/26/21 at 4:48 pm
Posted on 7/26/21 at 7:00 pm to Yeti_Chaser
We are flying into Seattle but flying out of Spokane. Wednesday-Friday we will be at the Lodge at Columbia Point in Richland. So we have a hotel Saturday night in Seattle since we are flying in on Saturday. 9/11. Sunday I figured taking the kids, wife, and I to do the Pike's Place Market, Space Needle, and anything else in Seattle area. Monday and Tuesday we have no hotel yet and no plans. Those are the days Im debating what to do. I have heard awesome things about Olympic and Port Angeles. I have also been told the Cascades. At some point, my wife and kids want to go Apple Picking.
The Oregon Trail playing kid in me wants to cross the snake river just to say I did. Lol
The Oregon Trail playing kid in me wants to cross the snake river just to say I did. Lol
Posted on 7/26/21 at 8:00 pm to Yeti_Chaser
quote:Well, Olympic park is truly in the wrong direction. My advice was more to get to their accommodations in the Tri-Cities and then do a lot of the things adjacent to that, using it as their home base. The CRG is very close to that also.
That's another 2 hours away and in the wrong direction.
Posted on 7/26/21 at 8:26 pm to sportsaddit68
quote:
flying out of Spokane
In that case then you can definitely stop off at palouse on the way to the airport. You can see the falls from the parking lot so if you're running low on time you don't even need to hike. If you do decide to hike it make sure to tell the kids to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes
Posted on 7/27/21 at 8:28 pm to Paperbackwriter
Lots of good suggestions here
We spent 2 days at Kalaloch lodge right in the Pacific. Highly recommend
ONP is so underrated IMO. Rain forests, mountains, the Pacific Ocean.
We spent 2 days at Kalaloch lodge right in the Pacific. Highly recommend
ONP is so underrated IMO. Rain forests, mountains, the Pacific Ocean.
Posted on 7/28/21 at 12:57 pm to Paperbackwriter
found this on the web, great info and details many hikes (at all 3 NPs)
LINK
we like to do road trips hitting the various parks, and this trip is on our t-do list for the next couple of years
LINK
we like to do road trips hitting the various parks, and this trip is on our t-do list for the next couple of years
Posted on 8/1/21 at 3:21 pm to Paperbackwriter
Trip review below from a quick trip last weekend. Overall, awesome place to visit and want to get back over there as we weren't able to get everything done like the Hoh, hot springs, etc. For must do I would recommend Lake Crescent as it can cater to your mountain lake/ hiking/ swimming/ bike riding/ kayaking/ fishing point.
Friday-
Friends came up from LA to visit and none of us had been over towards Olympic NP area so we rented an airbnb in Shadow WA. Was a 3.5hr drive without traffic from where I live so tried to leave around lunchtime. Went to the Edmonds-Kingston ferry where it was a 2 hour wait. Since the alternative was driving on I-5 all the way around the sound in Friday afternoon traffic, we waited. It's blackberry season so we were picking out ripe blackberries from the side of the road during the wait. Once on the ferry, went upstairs to get a view. The horn from the ship almost caused me to drop friend's wife's phone while taking a picture
View of the sound. Tons of jellyfish in the water
Once across, continued the drive over the floating bridge towards Sequim and Port Angeles. Stopped in Port Angeles at Kokopelli grill and got a burger, was good. Got to the airbnb in Shadow WA and it was nice on a small creek/river with a bunkbead (double + twin). We were pretty tired so went to bed early and got up early for the next day.
Saturday-
Wanted to make our way to the coast (Forks, La Push) area so started driving that way on highway 112. There were a few slide areas that were recently cleaned up, but was a very windy road right next to the coast. Morning fog was dense over the water but clear just over land (pic below). Made it to Forks for the Twilight reference pictures
Then we wanted to hit the coast so tried to make it to third beach for a quick hike and beach pictures but there was no parking (roughly 10:30/11am at this point). So we continued down the road to Second Beach even though the WTA site said it was closed. Got there and it wasn't closed at all plus plenty of parking. WTA site
It's a 4 mile roundtrip "hike" then you end up at the beach.
Was roughly 65*, overcast from fog, and 20mph winds so it was a bit chilly. Made our way back to the truck and drove all the way to the end at La Push to eat a packed lunch.
From here, we decided to drive back up and around the water to get to Rialto Beach. Was definitely worth the quick detour as you drive through a tiny section of ONP
Tried a little bit of fishing on our way back through the park but no luck. Saw a bald eagle fly right in front of us over the water which was awesome. Made our way back towards Shadow and stopped at the Lyre Conservation area. WTA link
Another easy "hike" of 2.5 miles roundtrip that takes you down towards the beach. Nice views, saw a wedding going on as well.
Back to the airbnb for food and relaxing.
Sunday-
Woke up and wanted to do more leisurely hiking/water exploring of mountain lakes. This lead us to Lake Crescent which is absolutely stunning. We parked at the Spruce Railroad trail and began making our way towards the lake WTA link. You hit up a cool tunnel a bit of the ways up, pitch black on the inside
We stopped just past the tunnel to relax and get in the water. Water felt fine so I jumped in, how could you not with it looking like this around?
Dried off and made our way back to the vehicle. Began to start driving back towards Seattle and saw a ton of signs for lavender farms. Hopped off the road and ended up in an area full of lavender farms, had no idea they were all over the area. This one looked pretty fancy with nice fields of wildflowers and lavender
I tried the lavender sorbet and it tasted like flowers a bit but was good. Also bought some lavender handsoap, figured its better than the dial I have. Finished up there then headed to Sequim to the Dungeness Spit for a quick walk and some nice view WTA link. Pretty crowded in the parking lot, but getting onto the beach and realizing there was a light house 5 miles away on a chunk of land made from sea debris was pretty cool. You can't see the lighthouse in this picture, would be off to the right
Since we weren't walking to the lighthouse, we opted to head back. Hit a terrible go of traffic by the Hood Canal Floating Bridge. Went 6.5 miles in 45 minutes...Then we saw signs for a ferry wait for 2 hours so opted to do the drive around the sound instead. Got all the way to Tacoma without traffic then I-5 was stopped (here's my shocked face, frick Tacoma traffic). Finally got home and still had time to enjoy a nice sunset
Friday-
Friends came up from LA to visit and none of us had been over towards Olympic NP area so we rented an airbnb in Shadow WA. Was a 3.5hr drive without traffic from where I live so tried to leave around lunchtime. Went to the Edmonds-Kingston ferry where it was a 2 hour wait. Since the alternative was driving on I-5 all the way around the sound in Friday afternoon traffic, we waited. It's blackberry season so we were picking out ripe blackberries from the side of the road during the wait. Once on the ferry, went upstairs to get a view. The horn from the ship almost caused me to drop friend's wife's phone while taking a picture
View of the sound. Tons of jellyfish in the water
Once across, continued the drive over the floating bridge towards Sequim and Port Angeles. Stopped in Port Angeles at Kokopelli grill and got a burger, was good. Got to the airbnb in Shadow WA and it was nice on a small creek/river with a bunkbead (double + twin). We were pretty tired so went to bed early and got up early for the next day.
Saturday-
Wanted to make our way to the coast (Forks, La Push) area so started driving that way on highway 112. There were a few slide areas that were recently cleaned up, but was a very windy road right next to the coast. Morning fog was dense over the water but clear just over land (pic below). Made it to Forks for the Twilight reference pictures
Then we wanted to hit the coast so tried to make it to third beach for a quick hike and beach pictures but there was no parking (roughly 10:30/11am at this point). So we continued down the road to Second Beach even though the WTA site said it was closed. Got there and it wasn't closed at all plus plenty of parking. WTA site
It's a 4 mile roundtrip "hike" then you end up at the beach.
Was roughly 65*, overcast from fog, and 20mph winds so it was a bit chilly. Made our way back to the truck and drove all the way to the end at La Push to eat a packed lunch.
From here, we decided to drive back up and around the water to get to Rialto Beach. Was definitely worth the quick detour as you drive through a tiny section of ONP
Tried a little bit of fishing on our way back through the park but no luck. Saw a bald eagle fly right in front of us over the water which was awesome. Made our way back towards Shadow and stopped at the Lyre Conservation area. WTA link
Another easy "hike" of 2.5 miles roundtrip that takes you down towards the beach. Nice views, saw a wedding going on as well.
Back to the airbnb for food and relaxing.
Sunday-
Woke up and wanted to do more leisurely hiking/water exploring of mountain lakes. This lead us to Lake Crescent which is absolutely stunning. We parked at the Spruce Railroad trail and began making our way towards the lake WTA link. You hit up a cool tunnel a bit of the ways up, pitch black on the inside
We stopped just past the tunnel to relax and get in the water. Water felt fine so I jumped in, how could you not with it looking like this around?
Dried off and made our way back to the vehicle. Began to start driving back towards Seattle and saw a ton of signs for lavender farms. Hopped off the road and ended up in an area full of lavender farms, had no idea they were all over the area. This one looked pretty fancy with nice fields of wildflowers and lavender
I tried the lavender sorbet and it tasted like flowers a bit but was good
. Also bought some lavender handsoap, figured its better than the dial I have. Finished up there then headed to Sequim to the Dungeness Spit for a quick walk and some nice view WTA link. Pretty crowded in the parking lot, but getting onto the beach and realizing there was a light house 5 miles away on a chunk of land made from sea debris was pretty cool. You can't see the lighthouse in this picture, would be off to the right Since we weren't walking to the lighthouse, we opted to head back. Hit a terrible go of traffic by the Hood Canal Floating Bridge. Went 6.5 miles in 45 minutes...Then we saw signs for a ferry wait for 2 hours so opted to do the drive around the sound instead. Got all the way to Tacoma without traffic then I-5 was stopped (here's my shocked face, frick Tacoma traffic). Finally got home and still had time to enjoy a nice sunset
Posted on 8/2/21 at 9:45 am to CuseTiger
Thank you for this detailed post. This will come in handy for me in a month.
If you had only one day to explore that area, what stood out the most?
If you had only one day to explore that area, what stood out the most?
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