Located just a couple of hours outside of Seattle, Olympic National Park is a perfect place to experience the wonders of the Pacific Northwest region. If you are someone who finds it difficult to choose between mountains and beaches, this park has the best of everything.
I had been fascinated by the weirdly beautiful Hoh rainforest for a while and wanted to squeeze in a trip when I was in Seattle for the Skagit Valley Tulip festival last spring. It was early April and many roads had just opened for the season making it a perfect time to visit before the summer crowds arrived. Tiny creeks with cute footbridges, gushing waterfalls, towering firs, quiet alpine lakes and every visible surface covered in lush, velvety moss. Very wet and spectacularly green!
Keep scrolling and I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
Lake Crescent
Sol Duc Falls
Hoh Rainforest
GETTING TO OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
We took an early morning ferry from Edmonds to Kingston and entered the park from the east. You can find out more information about the ferries and schedules here. If you take this route, Lake Crescent will be your first point of interest. From there on, it is basically a drive on Hwy 101 with side trips to various points of interest in the park.
I would like to go back and explore the park at a slower pace over 3 or 4 days. However, if you plan on doing it in a day, definitely bring food with you. We stopped at Port Angeles for breakfast and packed some sandwiches for lunch. Needless to say, ensure that your car is well fed too! Mind you it makes for a long day of driving. It would greatly help if you have company to take turns behind the wheel.
Do you love forests as much as I do? Check out this post from my trip to the Amazon jungle.
Been to Olympic National Park? Would love to hear your experiences and favorite hikes.
