Planning for my 3 day visit to Olympic NP was no easy feat, but the many hours of deciding where to…read morecamp, which sites to see, which trails to hike and logistics for 6 people arriving from different states made for a wonderful and enjoyable trip. Offering attractions like the breathtaking coast, awe-inspiring rainforests, and majestic mountains, Olympic National Park has quickly become my favorite national park. After deciding on the campsites, booking campsites through recreation.gov was challenging. During the planning process, Hoh campground, near the Hoh rainforest, was not opened due to road closures. Moreover, recreation.gov releases campsites on a specific schedule so if you're NOT booking at the beginning of the year (like me), then you need to set a notification on the website to let you know when campsites open up. Initially, the campsite availability looked bleak at first, but campsites do open up and more campsites are released a couple weeks before you want to go so hover over the recreation.gov site to learn how to book a campsite. When planning, I wish the map of the park (the one given at the entrance of the park) was online so I could make better choices when planning. To help others plan, I've posted a photo of the map that I wish I had. You're welcome. As the dates of my trip approached, Hoh Campground opened up! Because spending time near the rainforest was important to us, we cancelled our other reservations (yes, you lose some $) and I booked two nights at Hoh. If you camp near the restroom, the dishwash station is nearby and the bathrooms have electrical outlets, but no soap. Bring your own. Since I knew ahead of time that there were no nearby showers, I brought a portable shower which was refreshing after enduring a hot and humid afternoon hiking to Marymere Falls. However, there is a cold stream that's fun to walk through right next to the campground to cool off during the heat of the day. One of the downsides of tent camping is that the mosquitos come out and if you're susceptible (like me), it's brutal even with insect repellant. Another downside is unaware campers like the women across from us in her Sprinter van who didn't turn her generator off at 10pm (quiet hours). By midnight, a brave soul in our party went to her van and rang her doorbell to let her know to turn off her generator. After spending a minute or two trying to communicate with her with her windows and door closed, she complied with no apologies. Early the next morning we headed off to Rialto Beach to see the tide pools (it was low tide at 8am) and hole-in-the-wall rock. Having seen lots of tide pools, I was initially not inclined to wake up early to drive 45 minutes to Rialto Beach, but the tide pools were fascinating as was the the hole-in-the-wall rock. Upon returning, we took an informative guided tour of the Hoh rainforest lead by an ebullient ranger. BTW, if it's a really hot day, spend time in the Hoh Welcome Center where the displays are interesting, you can refill your water bottle and there is A/C!!! After packing up the next day, we headed to Fairholme campground where the ground is uneven but bearable for tents. En route to Fairholme, we made a stop to hike up to see the thrilling Sol Duc Falls. Prior to that, you can make a stop to see the Coho jumping up the river (in August) which was totally mezmerizing and makes for great photos. Since Fairholme is right next to Crescent Lake, we all braved the cold water and played in the lake which was fun. For safety, there were FREE PFDs hanging near the sign which I took advantage of. Just like Hoh, Fairholme had a dishwash station near the bathroom which had electrical outlets, but no showers. Because it rained all night and my tent had lost its waterproofness, my sleeping bag was soaked by the next morning. While drizzling, we packed up to leave in all our wetness. Before saying good-bye to the park, we drove to Hurricane Ridge where we were able to hike to the peak (it had stopped raining) and see a deer walking through the parking lot, a marmot looking for food from tourists and a sooty grouse. Last but not least, if you entered the park and plan to exit the park through Port Angles to catch the ferry, it's another thing to be aware of as it's best to make reservations, especially if you're near a holiday. Despite our reservations, we asked if we could catch an earlier ferry than our 5pm reserved time. Although all ferry reservations were fully booked, we could give up our reservation and wait on stand-by which we chose to do, but it was a mistake. Looking back, it would have been better spending more time at the park or spending time in Port Angeles rather than giving up the reservation as there were no stand-bys while we were waiting and we ended up loading onto the ferry at the original reserved time. Phew! We made it without a reservation. With hours of prior planning, this park was memorable and enjoyable even with mosquitos and rain.

Better late than never! We made it to the Hurricane Ridge hike on 8/12/25 between 10am-12pm and it…read morewas too hot for me with barely any shade up top and throughout our way down. I would recommend going sooner 7-8am starting time. We camped the night before at HEART O' THE HILLS Campground without prior reservation. It was a quick drive up top to Hurricane Ridge the next morning for our hike. The hike didn't live up to our expectations! Not much to see and not much shade anywhere. Some decent views up top but you can get much better views without hiking up this way. What I appreciate is wheelchair accessible trails up to certain areas of the trail! Plenty of free parking areas up top. For me personally, the views, the landscape, the scenery aren't worth the hype and planning for me to make a trip out here during the second week of August. There are better choices for hikes elsewhere and in the next state, Oregon. The HEART O' THE HILLS campground was nice option for camping and I do appreciate they still offer spots without reservations as it should be as first comes first served instead of let people hoarding them way ahead of time because they have the means to do so and preventing available spaces for true camping spirit. The restroom was cleaned and maintained.

Firstly, several of these reviews are for the wrong hot springs. If a review mentions a restaurant,…read moreor a resort, or a time slot, they are referring to the SOL DUC hot springs, not these ones. Also, the reviews that mention that the hike is easy are all outdated! It's a slog to get there! The Olympic hot springs are a 12 mile hike mostly uphill. It used to be a much shorter hike but about five years ago the road washed out and you now have to hike an extra 8 miles... 12 miles total... one way. It's a slog! The springs themselves, while pretty, are shallow, muddy, slimy, and overall pretty gross. The signs warn of fecal bacteria. If you're hoping to hike 12 miles to soak in pristine pools, think again. Nudity is common. If anyone is actually using the hot springs, they will likely be nude. Get over it!! Let the nudists have their place... and 12 miles deep in the woods is a nice place to be nude. You might also see nudists hiking or biking on the trail to the hot springs. It's not common but does happen occasionally. Just smile and say hi! The hike starts off easy on a paved road for about 3/4 of a mile. Then you have to use a single-track dirt bypass trail that is steep and rooty. If you're using a bike you'll be pushing and carrying it over things. Then you're put back on an old paved road again. It's another 2 miles to the Glines Canyon overlook which is fun to see. Then it's another 5 miles on the same road, but now 100% uphill and sometimes steep, just to reach the trailhead. Once at the trailhead, you're already over 8 miles into it and you have another 2.5 or so to hike... bikes not allowed. You have to park at the Madison Falls parking lot. You're supposed to have a National Park pass.

Enchanted springs in enchanted forest, I have camped here quiet a bit when in college…read more Most special hot springs on earth to me. Hike is fun not too strenuous

This park has great grass, begging for barefoot frisbee! The playground is pretty new and our 2…read moreyear old has a blast on it.

Nice poop free, people free, wide open space. That being said, now that I write this review all you…read moreasshats who don't pick-up after your Dogs will go ruin it.

Webster Park is really just trees, but they're old trees from before Port Angeles was a city and…read moremake you feel like you're in the woods right in the middle of the city. I suppose in fairness I should probably give three stars because there's nothing fancy here, but I have loved walking around this park for over 40 years, and emotional attachment is making me give another star. Unlike when I was a kid, homeless people live here now, but none of them have ever bothered me. Honestly, I'm just glad they have such a nice place to go. There's plenty of room for everybody.

These photos may be dated, but please be aware of the numerous homeless tents and RVs. It's not…read moresafe, and many locals are already aware of this. When I was able to walk it was safe, it was a peaceful experience. There was a beautiful cherry tree near the clubhouse and a shared library for books at that time, although the last time I saw it, it had been converted into storage with threatening signs.

Lincoln Park is a peaceful place to visit. I can't give five stars, because they've removed the…read moreplayground equipment, the tennis court has not been kept up and is unusable, and the restroom was locked. I've been there plenty of times before when the public restroom was unlocked, and if it was locked in the early evening in August, I wonder under what conditions it's unlocked. Despite that, the little cabins I used to play in as a kid are still there, disc golf is available, there are nice facilities to reserve and rent, and there are a lot of pretty places to walk. You get a real outdoorsy feel without being far from civilization. It's worth a visit.

Underutilized park on the west side of Port Angeles, Crown Park doesn't offer much, but at least…read morethere are no crowds. There are a couple of trails that I used to take when I was young that led down to by the mill. At 48, I'm not about to volunteer to check out if they still go through. I'll leave that for a young spry yelper. The view is very nice, and there is a picnic table and a play structure. The park closes at 11:00 and no overnight parking is allowed. Remember that it's right by the water, so even if it's a warm day, be prepared for wind.

I was in Sequim Washington visiting my aunt well also training for a 10K for suicide prevention and…read moredepression awareness. Being the explore that I am, I used a combination of -yelp and Google to find parks near me. I was excited to find that there was a park 3 miles from my aunts house. I asked to borrow her car and away I went. When I arrived, I found a small parking lot. I noticed cut outs in the woods that resembles trailheads, but not many markings. I happened upon a trail head board, where I was able to pull a trifold brochure with map out of the case. From what I can tell, this series of foot, bicycle, and horse paths is maintained by volunteers. The trails are easy to spot, but not all have signage Or names. I noticed That's some of the posts had numbers, but that really means nothing unless you have a copy of the map. At some junctions, you are left to wonder where the path will lead and whom it is intended for. Summer designated foot only, summer horses only, and some are shared use. I used my Fitbit to track my GPS, so I can upload a map with my review, but I very much felt like Hansel wandering the dark forest. There are many beautiful trees, some great signage and points of interest for foliage in centuries. the brush is trimmed fairly well and it's pretty easy to find yourself alone on a path. During my run, I encountered walkers, the folks on horse back, mountain bikers, and even Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, Complete with ornaments. As I stopped to take a photo, I could hear something breathing nearby. It certainly was not a human. It sounded like a horse, but as I stood still, I heard no other movement and could see no horses, so I'm not 100% sure what the creature was. I read another review that said someone happened upon a coyote. Little red riding hood happened upon a wolf, but being Hantzel, I'm not so sure who was stocking me.Oh, and I found the witch's table in a clearing on a path, which let me know that I was indeed in the dark forest. The hours to the small park are 8 AM to dusk. There is no running water but there is one single Porta potty at the main trail head. They also provide doggy bags and a 5 gallon bucket that serves as the trashcan for the doggie Doodoo. The Porta potty was pretty well-maintained, the log shows that it's cleaned every 1 to 2 weeks. Being Covid, I was disappointed that the hand sanitizer was empty. All in all it was a pretty good run/walk in the woods. Be prepared for hills. There are many. My weaving loop in the woods was just under 3 miles, but I'm certain there's more to discover. I didn't travel all of the trails, in fact when I returned to the parking lot I discovered another path that had been blocked by a horse trailer when I arrived. four stars for the confusing intersections and lack of signage on many of the paths. Would I run this trail again? Yes. would I recommend this trail for someone to explore alone? Yes, if you are good at directions, not in a hurry, have your phone and GPS handy, just in case, and or if you bring plenty of breadcrumbs to drop along the way like Hantzel and Gretel.

Nice wooded wide trails! Great for younger kids or those looking for a fairly easy walk. Some…read moretrails are shared with horses and dogs are permitted on leash! Enjoy!