Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is diverse and beautiful. From rainforests to misty beaches, there are a wide variety of popular activities to do while in the park. We spent just over a week in the Pacific Northwest, devoting two full days to Olympic National Park. Here are a few of our favorite destinations.

Hoh Rain Forest

We arrived early to the Hoh Rain Forest Visitors Center as the parking lot fills early; before 10 o’clock. We came to hike the 0.8 mile Trail of Mosses. Being surrounded by towering Western Hemlocks and Maple trees draped in spike moss was both eerie and breathtaking. On average, the rain forest gets 140 inches of rain annually creating a green canopy over and around these hundred year old trees. Arriving early meant we didn’t need to wait for parking and at times we had the trail all to ourselves. The Hall of Mosses Trail was a trip highlight.

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Rialto and Second Beach

Olympic National Park features 73 miles of coastline. We opted to explore several of the beaches that dot its shoreline. Our favorites were Rialto Beach and Second Beach. Rialto is a park favorite because of the hike to Hole in the Wall. The 2-mile long trail to this rock feature is the beach itself and should be done at low tide. Along the way there are a few tide pools to explore and sea haystacks to admire.

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After a fun hike to Hole in the Wall, we continued down the southern coastline to Second Beach. We made the 1-mile hike into the beach and set up camp to spend the night oceanside. Second Beach offers backcountry camping, with a wilderness permit. Sites are first-come, first-serve. The only amenities are pit toilets so bring all necessary supplies including a bear vault. Sleeping on the soft sand with the sound of waves crashing while in Olympic National Park will be a core memory.

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Sol Duc

The interior of Olympic National Park is lush and dense with thousand year old spruce trees reaching over 300 feet tall. We chose to stay and hike in the Sol Duc area to be immersed in the ancient groves. On our way from Port Angeles to Sol Duc we made a pit stop near Lake Crescent to hike to Marymere Falls. The hike was about 1.8 miles round trip and relatively flat. Once we reached the 90 foot falls, we stopped for photo ops at both the lower and upper viewing platforms before making our way back to the parking lot.

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Another reason we chose to stay at Sol Duc campground was because of the hot springs. To avoid crowds, we chose to hit the Sol Duc Hot Springs before breakfast. In my opinion, the springs feel even better in the crisp, early morning air. It was such a great way to start the day.

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Side trip: Salt Creek State Recreation Area

Just outside the Port Angeles entrance to Olympic National Park is Salt Creek Recreation Area. The area is well known for tide pools. We were fortunate enough to arrive during low tide (sheer luck) and spent over an hour peering into the shallow pools along the rocky shore. We spotted lots of crabs, anemones and other sea life. The boys LOVED exploring the area but be careful. The rock shoreline is VERY slippery.

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Our adventures in Olympic were part of a larger trip to see all the national parks in Washington. Read more about our time at Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Park as well as our stop over in Seattle.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle

***special note-the Hurricane Ridge area was closed while we were in Olympic National Park due to a fire that destroyed the visitor center. Had the area been accessible, a hike up hurricane hill was top of list.