Itinerary:
Day 1: Flight to Seattle, Mt. Ellinor, Murhut Falls, Sequim, Port Angeles
Day 2: Hurricane Ridge
Day 3: Whale watching tour, Marymere Falls, Lake Crescent, Sol Duc Falls, Rialto Beach, Forks
Day 4: Hoh Rainforest, Second Beach, Lake Quinault
Day 1: Flight to Seattle, Mt. Ellinor, Murhut Falls, Sequim, Port Angeles
If you are not from the Pacific Northwest, the airport that you will most likely be flying into is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac for short and fun). From the airport, take the shuttle bus (located outside of baggage claim) to pick up your rental car. This experience was extremely easy and efficient. After we were situated with our rental car, a trusty Toyota Corolla, we headed for the northern coastal city of Port Angeles, a great jumping off point to visit the main sites in Olympic National Park! Depending on when your flight arrives in Seattle, I will give you a few options that you can add to your drive up to Port Angeles.
If your flight arrives in the morning:
Stop 1: Hike Mt. Ellinor via the Upper Trailhead / Drive time: 2.5 hours
This is a 4 mile out and back strenuous hike. On a clear day you will be rewarded with views looking onto Lake Cushman, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt Adams to the south. I couldn’t think of a better way to stretch your legs and get oriented with the beauty of the Pacific northwest!
Stop 2: Murhut Falls Trailhead / Drive time: 1 hour and 16 minutes
This will be a quick and easy 1.4 mile out and back to Murhut Falls. This trail is definitely more about the destination (the falls) than the trail itself.
Stop 3: Sequim, WA / Drive time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Enroute to Port Angeles, I recommend stopping in the trendy little city of Sequim (pronounced “squim”), WA about 25 minutes from your final destination. It’s a great place to stretch your legs, check out a street market or some unique shops and restaurants. Fun fact: Sequim receives only 16 inches of rain per year due to its location within the rain shadow of the nearby Olympic Mountains. Yes, a place in rainy Washington, near some of the wettest rainforests in the US, is a place that gets roughly as much rain as Los Angeles, CA. Anyway, drop by and check it out! There’s some notable trails you can find here if you’ve got another day around these parts.
Stop 4: Port Angeles / Drive time: 24 minutes
After finishing your drive to Port Angeles, you’ll be gazing across the Salish Sea at the Canadian province of British Columbia! This was an ideal first leg journey, putting us in a picturesque and convenient location a short ride from Olympic National Park. Once we arrived at our hotel, we opted to walk along the town’s waterfront and quiet city streets. You’ll have panoramic views of mountain landscapes and rugged islands everywhere you look. We didn’t realize it at the time, but we would be ascending up Mt. Angeles the next day and gazing down on the town from a very new vantage point. There is a pier (with plenty of nearby parking and restrooms) and an elevated platform you can climb up, giving you a bird’s eye view of your surroundings. We watched as some teenage boys were daring each other to jump about 15 feet from the pier’s edge to the water below. Being a responsible adult, I took it upon myself to watch and see if they’d go through with it. Sure enough, each took a turn plunging into the roughly 60 degree water. Pier pressure, anyone?….yikes snuck a dad joke in, I’ll show myself out.
Additionally, there is a well-maintained bike trail spanning several miles along the city’s waterfront. Port Angeles is a great place to visit a grocery store to get some hiking staples. Safeway was a short walk from our hotel and we gathered a few days worth of highly helpful supplies and food. We snapped up a quick dinner and retired to the room, sorting out our gear and plan for the next day. There’s always a bit of anxiety about embarking on a full hiking agenda wondering if we’re in good enough condition to do so. It’s impossible to do any elevation training where we come from and finding anything taller than a flight of stairs to climb can be a challenge, so…let’s do some mountains instead!? We usually find our level and are surprised how fast we can acclimate. Cracking the window and propping a fan nearby, we slept off some jet lag and were well prepared for our first day of hikes.
Hotel: Port Angeles Inn – Great location, View (from some rooms), easy parking, refrigerator, microwave, coffee in the room. No AC
Day 2: Hurricane Ridge
First time entering the gates of Olympic National Park. If you are inclined to visit more than one national park while you are in the PNW or have any future national parks in your crosshairs, now is a great time to invest $80 in an annual parks pass. Information here. Then, you can collect one per year (with a new park pictured each year-this year it’s Grand Teton National Park, last year we got Acadia National Park in Maine) and show them off like Pokemon cards to your nature lover friends…win win!
Wake up early and drive to one of the most well known regions in Olympic National Park…Hurricane Ridge. Once you get to the visitors center, you will understand why this location is so popular. From the parking lot, you will be greeted with sweeping views of the alp-like mountain range. Today, we were also greeted by a family of deer grazing in the grass right by the parking lot.
But you don’t want to stop at the parking lot, you will want to hike on one or more of their well-maintained, scenic trails. Unfortunately when we visited, Hurricane Ridge was under construction so part of the parking lot and one of the main trails was closed.
Our detour of a hike started from the visitor’s center at Hurricane Ridge and saw us make a plan on the fly to do the Klahane Ridge trail (Klahane Ridge via Hurricane Ridge-7.2 miles round trip (out and back). As with many trails, there are several places to access it, but starting from the visitor’s center offered secure parking and a more manageable hike. The trail was relatively steady for the first few miles, but culminated with many switchbacks on loose ground for the final push to the top. Between working out the remaining jet lag and getting acclimated to the altitude this trail presented one of our bigger challenges, but we were rewarded for our efforts with views of alpine slopes, meadows and wildflowers along the way. Hiking poles will be of great help as the latter half of the trail has a lot of loose ground (“slippy” as they say in Pittsburgh…or so I’m told). Once to the top, you’ll appreciate views across the Strait of Juan de Fuca (part of the Salish Sea) to Vancouver Island with the snow-capped Mt. Baker [more on Mt. Baker] in the distance to the East and a deep sense of satisfaction as you look down on the city of Port Angeles where the day started.
When you get back to town, you can strut around and point to the peak you climbed earlier today as you hobble around with your burning quadricep muscles! Take the time to stretch and cool down…do as I say not as I do.
After trudging our way back to the car, we were ready to have a well deserved rest back in the city. You know you’re early in the trip when you get the quivering quadriceps dance going on. We started our hike by 9:30am and found ample parking and relative peace on the trails. We came back early afternoon to find a very full parking lot drawing weekend crowds and a line out the park entrance that would make even the most patient minivan dad crack. Be kind to yourself and arrive early, it’s no big secret and you’ll thank me later.
We made our way back into Port Angeles to grab dinner at one of their many restaurants. While home to around 20,000 people, it is a quiet town and you’ll find most establishments close in the early-ish evening. Make your dinner plans sooner than later and take time to stretch your legs before bed. That crisp air is just magic to us, it’s so refreshing to go outside and not sweat through a T-shirt before getting to your mailbox. Sarah made a savvy, last minute decision to book a whale watching tour for us the next day. We’d get the whale watching in early then head back into Olympic National Park for more exploring….vacations are not for rest, you can sleep when you’re dead….which uhhhh will be a really really long time from now [edited for cancer humor]! Goodnight.
Made it to the top for fantastic 360 views. Salish Sea and Mt. Baker in the background
Day 3: Whale watching tour, Marymere Falls, Lake Crescent, Sol Duc Falls, Rialto Beach, Forks
This morning we’d check out of our hotel, pack up our car and walk ten minutes down to the dock at Island Adventures Whale Watching. We simply drove around the corner and found a free street parking spot before making the short jaunt down to the dock. There is plenty of paid parking near the whale watching departure point, but it is on the pricier end. They have a very nice little souvenir shop with clean bathrooms and offer 25% off items purchased in the gift shop. We got ourselves an Olympic National Park magnet…. our knick knack keepsakes of choice when traveling. The whole operation was very efficient, staff was accommodating and knowledgeable and the atmosphere was wonderfully laid back and fun. If you are going to spend four hours on a boat, this is a perfect scenario to do so…and you’re guaranteed to see whales, wildlife and priceless views.
Our curator/naturalist, Lisa, was friendly and very engaging. These folks really love this ecosystem and are passionate about its preservation! We learned history and got a rundown for every geographic feature we were seeing from the boat deck. You can get a good glimpse of Victoria British Columbia at one point during the ride and a number of islands with absolutely fascinating histories. You’ll also get more stunning views of Mount Baker, which really doesn’t seem real as it looms far in the distance. We ventured out about an hour before beginning to see our first set of whale friends. These fellas/gals were Minke whales (“stinky Minkes” lovingly called so because they’re a bit shy and elusive). We watched as they zipped through bait balls that floated to the surface and scattered birds in every direction when they coasted through for a bite to eat. It was a perfect day, calm water and warm sun on a comfortable boat. There were two restrooms and a bar/concession area conveniently located below deck. If you want a hot dog and beer to supplement your whale watching excursion here’s your opportunity. Check out the chart of marine life on the wall, I bet you didn’t know there were over 70 toothed whale species…unless you did, in which case disregard my hastily researched google factoid.
We reached our farthest point and had to begin our return trip. There was a sense that people wanted more whales, because who doesn’t!? Overheard a kid say to his mom, “I hope we see some real whales,” tisk tisk so disrespectful to our new Minke whale brethren! About a third of the way back, we received a cryptic message over the speaker that there was “another species” of whale mulling around. Soon we would see multiple Humpback whales emerging, spouting their blowholes high in the air and dipping back down exposing their flukes (not tails as we learned). It’s hard to say how big they were, I’d estimate at least 15 feet long. These mammals can grow up to 60 feet long, which is truly massive. They are able to individually identify them by the amount and pattern of white coloring on their flukes, which we found interesting. On this day, three different Humpbacks made an appearance. We followed a pair of these sea creatures and shot a number of great videos as we steered back towards Port Angeles [pics]. This was the perfect ending to a relaxing morning.
Back on dry land with a ton of new photos, we prepared for another foray into Olympic National Park.
Stop 2: Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls / Drive Time: 30 minutes
First, we made the drive to Lake Crescent, the second deepest lake in Washington state (about 20 miles west of Port Angeles). It is exceptionally clear and surrounded by a number of trailheads and waterfalls.
We took a relatively short and flat trail to Marymere Falls from Lake Crescent. After taking in some unobstructed views of the falls, we made our way back to the car to head towards Sol Duc Falls.
Marymere Falls
Stop 3: Sol Duc Falls / Drive time: 50 minutes
We made a few stops along the Sol Duc River to get close to the water and snap some close ups. We came to a bit of a conundrum as the day wore on, make it the last leg to Sol Duc Falls trail for a quick peek or ensure that we made it to Rialto Beach on the Pacific for sunset?
Stop 4: Rialto Beach (for Sunset) / Drive time: 1 hour 10 minutes
This evening would be our best shot at catching a sunset so we opted to make a beeline for the beach. Our next hotel for the night was in Forks, WA (about 90 minutes away). Rialto Beach was an additional 20 minutes from there, so we decided to book it for the coast first. The last little stretch to the water’s edge takes you through unspoiled forests on country roads and becomes eerily quiet as the sun gets low. It reminded me so much of a painting that hung in my grandparent’s house when I was a kid. A weird sense of deja vu I didn’t see coming….ever get that? Anyway you’ll come to the end of the road and probably see plenty of cars already haphazardly parallel parked (especially if you get there 20 minutes before actual sunset like us!). There is a parking lot, but we didn’t even bother to try to find a spot, opting to grab an open slab of muddy ground and hoof it to the beach. We’ll worry about our compact car getting out of the muck when we get back (we managed)! We came to a wall of driftwood between us and the water and fought our way over.. I’m not kidding, there were tangled trees everywhere that we climbed over like an obstacle course, but it just added to the anticipation. Once you were past the trees, you got that first glimpse of the vivid orange sun and felt that jolt of brisk sea breeze. It left us speechless.
We narrowly made it to one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed. I collected several smooth beach rocks like a nerd and Sarah captured video of a lone harbor seal swimming in the turbulent surf without a care in the world. These are the moments that make the driving, the airport madness, the packing and planning all worth it. This was a seemingly insignificant moment of the trip on paper (we weren’t married to the idea of rushing there initially) that turned into so much more. We sat in inspired appreciation and snapped some of our favorite photos from this very spot.
Sunset at Rialto Beach
Stop 5: Forks, WA / Drive time: 25 minutes
At nightfall we made our way to the hotel in the town of Forks, WA. This trip was starting to pick up steam and we were just happy to be present with much left to see.
Hotel: Pacific Inn Motel: Good location, clean, modern, laundry facilities on site
Day 4: Hoh Rainforest, Second Beach, Lake Quinault
Today would be our last day within Olympic National Park so we were ready to really make it count.
Stop 1: Hoh Rainforest / Drive time: 45 minutes
Our first stop was Hoh Rainforest, about a 45 minutes drive from our hotel and one of the largest temperate rainforests within the U.S. The best way to get a feel for the vegetation and climate around the rainforest is to walk two nearby short trails, the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trail. Together, these trails cover a bit over two and half miles and make for very serene exploring. I would definitely recommend slapping on a quick layer of bug spray before taking the trail. Otherwise, it’s a very comfortable place to walk and let your mind wander under the thick vegetation.
Stop 2: Second Beach / Drive time: 1 hour
Back in the car and due south for more coastline, we worked our way to Second Beach around midday. This was the perfect picnic spot and opportunity to get creative with some of our leftovers. Salsa….on a Cheez-it….uhhh sure. We tread our way across a few rocks and natural obstacles and found a tree trunk to plop down on and spread out a bit (recommend good, closed-toe footwear, at least until you get down the incline to beach level and get around some of the rocks and tree branches). There are two bathrooms here and you should be able to find parking without much fuss, but know you may have to get creative with a parallel parking job a bit away from the actual lot, which fills up fast. We sat and listened to the ocean roar and scanned along the rock formations as waves smashed into them. Naturally, we noted all of the well-behaved off leash dogs sitting quietly next to their owners and thought of our rowdy canine twosome back home. It was a beautiful sunny day and a stop we were pleased to make. Highly recommend to break up the driving monotony and get reinvigorated by that wonderful dose of salt water.
Second Beach is the perfect spot for a quick picnic lunch
Stop 3: Lake Quinault / Drive time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Now, we would continue back inland toward Lake Quinault. Lodging became more scarce the further we ventured from the larger towns around Olympic National Park, but Sarah was able to find this relic of a hotel built in the 1800’s that really transports you to a different era. Walk the halls and scan some of the old pictures on the walls showcasing milestones from the early 1900’s. Lake Quinault Lodge is steeped in history and makes you feel like a person on holiday many many moons ago. If everyone here were dressed up like characters from the Great Gatsby, they wouldn’t look far out of place. There is a map provided at the desk, that allows you to take a self-guided tour of the lodge and learn the history of its construction and early days. Additionally, you can pick up a trail map to wander further from the lodge. Here’s a bit of a rundown on some nearby hikes and points of interest. There is essentially little to no cell service here, a limited amount of wifi provided for free (once it’s used up, you can pay for more…but why? You’re here to disconnect), no TV’s, and no gratuitous amount of modern distractions. The rooms are updated and nice, the hotel is gorgeous and the grounds are postcard worthy. This was a truly unique experience.
Right across the street begins an easy to mildly moderate trail (Falls Creek and Quinault Loop) to stroll around and help you shake out some cobwebs and get back to the whole reason you’re here….the natural wonders. Follow the map provided from the front desk and follow accordingly. Signage was good and we walked along through a bog and came back to cross over a quaint little bridge near the falls. We were parked right up front, so once we finished our loop, we hopped into the car for a driving tour around Lake Quinault. If you want to go the distance, it’s roughly 30 miles or about two hours. The road is gravel in some places, but offers plenty of places to park and inch down towards the water. We were tired, but glad we took this opportunity. Our maps from the hotel pointed out other attractions along the route, including the world’s largest Sitka Spruce tree, Merriman Falls and Bunch Falls. Additionally, there are picnic areas and canyons to enjoy. It’s a good chance to work up an appetite before grabbing dinner back at the lodge…ideally with a nice lake view!
After completing the loop, we got cleaned up and went downstairs to the little cafe, got some simple burgers and ate literally fixated on the view from the deck. You can’t take a bad picture of Lake Quinault, from any angle it just photographs well. We watched the sunset over the mountains and walked down to the dock to sit at dusk. We put Sarah’s new iPhone to the test here and I’d say it delivered. Retiring to the room, we cracked the window (no AC) and let some of the nice cool air flow in before drifting to sleep. This is a special place, FDR has dined here, so by the transitive property (probably using that wrong), we were now part of major American history…right? Getting a room here during high season can be a bit competitive, so book ahead as far as possible. There is a nearby general store and a gas station within walking distance, so modern amenities are always within reach. Enjoy your stay and take a much needed break from the insanity of our modern world!
Sunset over Lake Quinault…the perfect way to end our trip to the beautiful Olympic National Park