Olympic
NATIONAL PARK
By DIENEKE
Did you know that North America has a rain forest?!?! The first time I heard this while living in Portland, Oregon, I knew I had to visit. But the Olympic National Park has more to offer more than enormous leafed, moss covered forests, it also has rugged Pacific Coast, pristine inland lakes and a ridge worthy of it’s name: Hurricane.
We embarked on this adventure with my sister, and we actually got to take Lola since we weren’t entering the back country or too far off the road, really. The Olympic National Park has so many diverse areas and quite a distance between each, so we pulled the Burro from Portland and headed towards Port Townsend. Our itinerary for Olympic was as follows, working in a counter-clockwise fashion:
- Day One: Hurricane Ridge & Lake Crescent
- Day Two: Kalaloch Beach & Hoh Rainforest
- Day Three: Lake Quinault
A quick note about your furry family members at a National Park. It’s not impossible to enjoy a National Park with a dog; however, it is limiting. It is a source of frustration for anyone with a fur-baby who would like to experience these great lands with all members of their families, but alas, this is a different post. Just be prepared that your exploring will be limited to paved paths. Olympic has specific trails listed that are open to dogs, so check those before you go. They are different now than in 2014 during this exploration.
DAY ONE
From Port Angeles, we headed south on Hurricane Ridge Road towards…Hurricane Ridge. Again, NPS road/view/trail naming is spot on! We popped into the Visitor Center, enjoyed a picnic lunch did a short hike on the Hurricane Hill Trail, 3 miles round trip, partially paved that affords outstanding views in all directions. In any weather, the Olympic Mountain Range stands proud and mighty.
I love an National Park experience that starts out with a bang! Shocks the system out of the daily grind, the worries of work and into something magical that allows the stress to melt away.
Back towards Port Angeles and onto US-101. If you haven’t been to the west coast, you might not realize that you are on the classic “101” that starts here in Washington and heads south all the way to Los Angeles. We headed west towards Lake Crescent Lodge and were met with this glacially carved, beautifully pristine lake nestled in the northern foothills of the Olympics. It felt like walking into another era, of which I want to go back and actually stay!
We did linger a little to enjoy Marymere Falls Trail, an easy 2 mile round trip stroll through old growth forest to a 90 foot waterfall. We walked from the Lodge parking lot, over an old moss-covered bridge to the start of the trail. There are a fair number of steps but we were the only ones on the trail and took our time to enjoy the scenery.
DAY TWO
Started the day with another great waterfall trail: Sol Duc Falls. Another easy 2 mile round trip through an old growth forest to a very unique fall. Sol Duc splits into as many as four channels as it cascades 48 feet. There are various viewpoints of the waterfall, both upstream and down, as well as on a bridge that crosses the river. We saw several photographers with tripods catching the beautiful morning light on the water spilling into the narrow, rocky canyon.
This was our only outdoor adventure for the day as we wanted to make it to Kalaloch Beach Campground, which would serve as our base camp for the next two nights as we made our way to the Hoh Rainforest.
Olympic National Park differentiates itself from other National Parks by its many campgrounds! This made it a perfect park to travel with the Burro and Lola. We were traveling in June but as this isn’t a highly visited park, we never had a problem finding a campsite and the temperate weather made it perfect for Lola to take naps in the car with the windows cracked while we went on the “no dog” hikes.
Kalaloch Beach Campground still remains one of my favorite spots we camped with the Burro. It had the classic “Pacific Northwest beach” vibe and we snagged a spot on the cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean. If you haven’t been to the PNW coast before, it is unlike the sandy beaches of southern California; it’s rocky, rugged, cloudy and cold, but since my skin burns walking Lola on a cloudy day, this is perfect for me. We leisured at the campsite and planned out our final day in the park.
DAY THREE
Mild winters, cool summers and up to 12 feet of annual precipitation produce the giant evergreens that dominate the Hoh Rain Forest, stated to be one of the most spectacular examples of temperate rain forests in the world. Big leaf and vine maple host epiphytes (plants growing on other plants) that give the rain forest its characteristic look and ethereal quality. A plethora of mosses and ferns compete for space on the forest floor as dead trees slowly decay and support new life as “nurselogs.” The circle of life is apparent in this extreme forest community.
There are many short trails to explore from the Hoh Visitor Center. Choose one or them all!
Our last stop in Olympic National Park was Lake Quinault, located in the southern part of the park. The Quinault Valley is a wilderness of alpine meadows, crystal clear lakes and snow-capped mountains. For this short visit, we stuck to the valley and the scenic loop drive around the lake. Along with a stop inside the lodge and a couple of easy hikes.
And we couldn’t leave without seeing the “Big Sitka” spruce tree. The world’s largest at almost 191 feet tall and nearly 60 feet in circumference.
An under-rated but magical place to visit, Olympic National Park has so much to offer for the hiker, mountaineer, beach bum or causal resorter. A true gem of the National Park system and Pacific Northwest.
