If only there was a place you could be in the mountains, rainforest, and beach all in the same day. Oh wait, there is! Look no further -- the Olympic National Park has it all!
True adventures don’t go as planned...and this trip was a true adventure! Thankfully, we headed out with many ideas because unfortunately, most of them were closed. Some areas were closed because it was off season, some due to storm damage, and others to COVID. But, there were still many fun filled adventures to be had on our 3 day excursion in the Olympic National Park.
Dungoness Spit
We left Seattle and took a quick ferry ride to head over to the Olympics. On our first stop, we found the pretties spit I’ve ever seen, Dungeness Spit! A sand spit is a long narrow stretch of sand that extends away from the shore. Fun fact: Dungeness Spit is the longest natural sand spit in the United States. There is a lighthouse at the end of Dungoness Spit and it is about a 5 mile hike to walk to it. We did not have time to walk all the way there, but it was sure pretty to look at from a distance. On one side of the spit, the water was wavy and windy, but on the other, it was flat and so calm and peaceful. It was so cool to see the drastic change in the water, just separated by a little pile of sand! Click here for more info!
We stayed the night at the Port Townsend KOA in one of their cabins. We were going to camp in a tent, but it was a cold night, so we were thankful to be in a warmer spot. The cabins were super cute and cozy. There are options for tent camping as well as various size cabins. They all have individual fire pits. Click here for the link to the KOA website.
The next day we attempted to go to Hurricane Ridge, which sadly was closed. We tried to be prepared, so we called before, but there was nothing notifying us it closed that day. From there we headed to Lake Crescent to check out the Spruce Railroad trail, but the road leading to the trail was closed. It was on the Olympic National Park website, but we did not realize that was the road we needed to take.
One of the hikes I really wanted to check out, Mount Storm King, was also at Lake Crescent, but on a different side of the lake and thankfully that road was open! There is a Lake Crescent and Crescent Lake both in Washington within a couple hours of each other, so be careful to not confuse them! ;)
Location: Olympic National Park (National Park pass required)
Length: 5.3 miles
Elevation: 2,076 feet
Route: Out and Back
Difficulty: Hard
About:
This hike is STUNNING. You have to work for it, but it’s SO worth it! This is my favorite kind of hike. I love a hike that challenges me, where I feel like I earned the break and beautiful view at the top! The whole hike was gorgeous and green and made me feel like I was in a fairytale. To get to the trail, follow the signs for Marymere Falls. The beginning is flat and about half a mile in, there will be a boulder and a small sign (so be looking for it) pointing towards Mount Storm King. From there, get prepared because the rest is straight uphill.
The forest started out dense and it was so neat to see the scenery and how the types of trees and plants changed as we climbed. There were some peek-a-boos along the way to the pristine blue waters of Lake Crescent. There is one overlook at the top towards the end of the maintained trail with an incredible view. But the hike isn’t over yet. The fun begins after the sign saying “end of maintained trail”. Keep walking past the sign and eventually you will run into ropes. Grab onto those ropes and keep going. After you have climbed your way up all the ropes, there is a small scramble up some rocks to the top where you see an absolutely incredible overlook of Lake Crescent.
There was plenty of space to take photos and sit and enjoy a snack and water at the top! Honestly, the ropes and scramble were not the hardest part. It is the most intimidating, but it’s a lot easier than it looked. We were all curious and slightly nervous about going down the ropes, but it turned out to be even easier than going up. Trekking poles would have been nice for the steep climb down. I recommend bringing some, your knees will thank you! ;)
After about 5 miles of an extreme incline or decline, it felt weird, almost like sea legs, when we hit flat ground again! I would recommend bringing snacks, plenty of water and layers. It was super hot hiking up and cooled down quite a bit sitting at the top and on the way down. Since I was traveling, I had brought a plastic water bottle and it was all scrunched up (like what happens on airplanes) from the elevation decline when I reached the bottom. If that is not an indicator of the elevation change, I don't know what is! ;)
If you want to add an easy, but pretty, detour, you can take the trail to Marymere Fall. We did not take that detour this time because we wanted to head over to Sol Duc Falls.
Location: Olympic National Park
Length: 1.6 miles
Elevation: 255
Difficulty: Easy
About: This flat, easy hike was a nice break from the climb we made earlier that day. It is a dirt path and there was one spot we had to climb over or under a fallen tree trunk, but overall a very easy hike. It was not overly crowded when we were there. It was a beautiful little hike to a pretty waterfall. There are other trails that are longer, but this was perfect for us since we already did a big hike that day! If I am keeping it real, I had a vision for the type of photo I wanted, but when we got there, discovered it was only possible by drone, which I do not have...maybe one day! ;) But all in all, it was a beautiful hike and it was fun exploring!
Forks
Forks is a unique little town that is known for being the setting of the “Twilight” series. It was a very small little town. We decided to stay the night to get some real food and sleep in a bed, since all the campsites were closed. We were planning to camp at Klahowya Campground, but it was closed due to storm damage. But if you have the chance to camp there, I highly recommend it because it is stunning! Another camping spot we were looking into was the Sol Duc Campground, which was closed for the season and opening the following week for spring. We got food from Plaza Jalisco Mexican Restaurant, which was a good break from our usual grocery store or gas station snack meals. We ended up staying at the Dew Drop Inn. We didn’t do any research before so we did not know what to expect, but it was a nice and comfortable room and the perfect place to get some sleep before we began our final day in the Olympics!
Hoh Rainforest:
The Hoh Rainforest (pronounced “hoe”) was like a fairytale! I saw many pictures of this and was so excited to see it in person! I think the time of the year (beginning of April) was not prime time for the lush and vibrant green trees and moss, but it was still stunning! There are long and short trails and even a very long trail with the option to backpack! (I’ll keep that in mind for another trip). We walked the Hoh Hall of Mosses (which for the longest time we were calling Hall of Moses, until the park ranger corrected us! Whoops! Haha!) We walked the Hoh River Trail as well. On the drive into the park, we came across a large heard of what we were told were female elk roaming around the field and ponds. It was so fun, we had to stop and take pictures (from a safe distance of course!)
Location: Olympic National Park
Length: 2.9 miles
Elevation: 104 feet
Route: Loop
Difficulty: Easy
About:
The Hall of Mosses is an easy, short stroll through moss covered trees. This trail has you feeling like you stepped into a fairytale. On this trail I learned about nursing trees, which are larger and faster growing trees that offer protection, shade, nutrients to smaller trees.
The Spruce Nature Trail leads you through the rainforest to a clearing where there is a river overlooking the mountains. It was a sunny, gorgeous day and the river was so peaceful and relaxing. The river had me feeling like I was in Montana, not Washington! It was insane how drastic the scenery changed in just a few steps!
Ruby Beach
The perfect way to end the trip was relaxing on the coast. Washington is unique with the rocky coast line instead of sand. The giant boulders and rocks jutting out were incredible. It was fascinating to see the different rocks and how each of them eroded differently with their unique formations.
Tree of Life
This beach is the perfect one to lay out and relax on. It was very spacious and it was sand, not rocks! The tree of life is so unique and incredible. It is unbelievable that the tree is still alive because most of the roots are not in the ground. The area that once was solid ground, had long eroded, leaving the roots exposed!
There is so much to see and do in the Olympic National Park! I definitely want to go back! I recommend looking up what season is prime time and any park closures before your visit. Know what wildlife is in your area and always keep a safe distance and do not approach or feed them. Look at the weather and prepare accordingly. Prepare for your hikes for enough food and water for the length and difficulty and follow the principles of leave no trace! For more safety tips, click here. Have fun and stay safe!
Some other hotspots we did not make it to:
-Hurricane Ridge
-Cape Flattery
-Neah Bay
-Shi Shi Beach
-Murhut Falls
-Lake Crescent Spruce Railroad Trail
-Rialto Beach
-La Push Beach
-Second Beach
-Sol Duc Hot Springs
-Klahowya campground
Hop on the “kara-van” and let’s take the adventurous route!
~Kara Renee’
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