What is it?
Mountains! Lakes! Rainforests! Beaches! Hot springs! Ocean! A little slice of heaven within a day’s drive from Seattle.
The Ridley Review:
My vote for super-sleeper national park: if by a miracle I am privileged enough to visit all 64 full-blown National Parks in my lifetime, I am confident this will stay in the top 10. There is something for every nature lover here; so many varied landscapes that it’s hard to believe everything is within the same park. The one day I was lucky enough to spend here was, no exaggeration, a top 10 day in my lifetime.
The main attraction, and the one on most of the advertisements you see, is the Olympic Mountains in the center of the park. If you are day tripping, these are best taken in from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (enter from the North off 101), where there are several amazing overlooks leading up to the grand reveal of the mountain range at the top of the road where the visitor center is. Several short hikes around Hurricane Ridge offer different vantage points and chances to glimpse the abundant wildlife. The vistas are spiritual, I swear. To experience the magic these mountains have to offer up close, backcountry hiking and camping is necessary. Someone more experience then me can hopefully chime in what that is like, because the interior of the park is so vast and remote (no paved roads), that it must be a surreal experience.
If that isn’t your vibe, you have plenty of other options to choose from. Further west along the northern edge of the park, you will find Lake Crescent and a turn-in to the Sol Duc Hot Springs. Lake Crescent is a large, pristine blue body of water with hiking, camping, and kayaking opportunities and the 3 hot springs have camping options and a resort next to them.
Further to the West, coming down 101 still and passing Forks, is the turn-in to Hoh Rain Forest. It is hard to describe how odd it is stepping into a rainforest in North America, especially one that is the quietest place in the country. The two trails there are both peaceful and beautiful. I even came within 20 feet of a black bear while rounding the corner along the Spruce Nature Trail, which was an intense experience back when I had less experience in the wild!
Detached from the rest of the park, there is a long, narrow stretch of park along the Pacific Coast, from just North of Lake Ozette down to Kalaloch, both with campsites. There are several roads leading to this section off of 101, and 101 also runs into the Southern portion of the beach section. The beaches are as pristine and peaceful as one can imagine, with plenty of sea stacks (rock formations) out in the water to feast your eyes on. These are generally fairly rocky beaches that do require a short hike to get to, so be prepared and have shoes other than flip-flops for these bad boys!
I spent one epic day in Olympic in the Summer of 2019 while doing a brief road trip after graduating school and starting to work. It was an epic itinerary: starting at Hurricane Ridge, continuing to Hoh, and then saw the sunset over Ruby Beach. While I couldn’t believe what I saw in the span of one day, if you have the opportunity to visit I definitely recommend making it a multi-day tour: there is just so much to see one day is barely enough to soak it all in. There are plenty of camp sites available in different parts of the park, and several small towns around the edge that provide lodging as well.
The one thing that stuck out to me: the lack of crowds. Olympic, somehow, doesn’t have the same name recognition of the Yosemite’s and Yellowstone’s of the world, and that is a darn shame because I feel it rivals those in sheer beauty. But with that comes a more intimate experience: you are much more likely to find peace and solitude with your surroundings here than in Yosemite Valley; I found this added to the already incredible experience.
Rating: A must see.
Fast Facts:
Location: Northwest Washington state, split into several parts across the Olympic Peninsula. Entrances and paved roads at the Southeastern Staircase section (doesn’t go far into the park), at the north off Highway 101 to Hurricane Ridge and Sol Duc Hot Springs, at the western part of the main section to Hoh and Quinault Rain Forests, and plenty of entrances to the various beaches at the disconnected beach sections. 1
Founded: 1938
Size: 1,441.6 square miles
Visited: 2019
Hikes and attractions:
Hurricane Ridge: The greatest lunch view you will ever have.2 The main visitor center for the alpine section of the park, has a large picnic area and is the launch point for many trails leading deeper into the park and along the ridge itself.
Meadows Trail: A short, paved trail around an alpine meadow. Great for accessibility and for seeing wildlife grazing in the meadow. 0.5 mile round trip, easy.
Klahhane Ridge Trail: From the end of the Meadows Trail loop, continue onto this trail, which takes you along the ridge for some spectacular vantage points of the surrounding mountains. If you visit on a clear day, you may even be able to glimpse Canada. Definitely worth doing if you are here for one day, to get a sense as to the enormity of the mountain range. 7.6 miles out and back (3.8 miles each way), intermediate
Hoh Rain Forest: A legit rain forest; it is dope seeing one in person.
Spruce Nature Trail: A flat loop trail taking you around the edge of the rainforest and also along a river. Prepare to see many large trees, ferns, and animal species. I did this instead of the Hall of Mosses trail, which I hear is far superior. 1.2 mile loop, easy.
Ruby Beach: Can’t recommend this place enough: a truly S-tier place to watch the sunset. So many cool sea stacks, sandy areas to spread out, and it is a little hike from the parking lot, meaning crowds aren’t a major factor. It is vast: you have hundreds of yards in either direction to explore along the ocean’s edge. 0.5 round trip (0.25 miles either way) from the parking lot to the beach.
A note: as with all reviews to come, this will be updated upon any re-visit to the park. I only have included hikes and attractions that I have experienced personally, but please feel free to comment or send in your own reviews or recommendations and we will get it added here!
National Park Rankings:
- Yosemite National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Mount Rainier National Park
- Kings Canyon National Park
- Zion National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Arches National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Crater Lake National Park
- Indiana Dunes National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Acadia National Park
- Redwood National Park
- Pinnacles National Park
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Gateway Arch National Park
Footnotes:
- Information comes from the NPS website and history from Wikipedia ↩︎
- At least, it will be up there! ↩︎
