1. This review is for Marymere Falls Trail which was a ~1.8 miles round trip that took ~1 hour to complete. This was short and easy hike with a spectacular rainforest and waterfall in Olympic National Park, Washington. Trail was mostly a flat dirt path that becomes an incline up the stairs towards the waterfall. If you're used to Oregon waterfalls, Marymere Falls would be considered somewhat dry. Make a detour to the Lake Crescent docks for some stunning views! Beware of yellowjackets; randomly got stung near the ankle in the forest. Limited parking area at the trailhead. Restroom available at the parking lot. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/FPgMOt1G5tk 2.This review is for Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge which was a ~3.5 miles round trip that took ~2 hour to complete. Located 1 hour from Marymere Falls Trail, Hurricane Hill was a strenuous hike with stunning views of the surrounding mountains in Olympic National Park, Washington. Trail was mostly paved with steep inclines towards the top with little to no shade. Parking can be a nightmare. Small parking lot at the trailhead; additional small parking lot 0.25 miles away and larger parking lot 1+ miles away. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/0bxivXIqy4A read more

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Olympic NP is very diverse, you get the mountain ranges on the north side, the lush rainforest in the southwest and the classic PNW coastline all in one park. We actually enjoyed some of the less crowded spots more than the main attractions. Parking can be very limited, so it's worth it to arrive very early, especially during peak season. Since there isn't a road cutting through the park, plan your accommodations accordingly to reduce driving each day. The dinning options are subpar in the area, and businesses close very early. It's a good idea to plan your meals ahead of time and have snacks on hand. read more

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Better late than never! We made it to the Hurricane Ridge hike on 8/12/25 between 10am-12pm and it was 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. read more

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Overall a very solid and diverse national park compared to the others that we've been to. Tons of driving required for anything and a single spot will require hours on the schedule. Most of the famous spots underwhelm but there are many hidden gems that are less busy and more fulfilling. Food options nearby are very subpar so be ready to pack your own; everything also closes very early. read more

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Another great National Park! Its enormous, you cant see it all in one week. I would definitely map it out. I read alot of reviews and decided to go wth the recommended spot this trip. I have no problem saving my list for another trip next yr. Make sure you grab a map at the visitor center, they are very helpful. Dont miss Hoh Rainforest, I have already reviewed this park. Hope you all take some time and enjoy the USA parks. So much beauty to enjoy! read more

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My fiancé and I had the most magical time exploring Olympic National Park. If you know me, you know that I'm an avid fan of NPS. I love to visit and collect brochures from the parks we visit. Checking out this park was such a treat. I especially adored how different each section felt of this park. Each highlight of the park felt wildly different from each other. Here's what we visited (I suggest checking it all out) : Lake Cushman: Our first day at the park we decided to do a quick stop to check the lake out. We didn't go on any hikes, but we met a kind retired ranger at a viewpoint that shared Staircase was the hike to do there. Hurricane Ridge: Go early to visit this one because it gets PACKED. It's absolutely stunning and beyond gorgeous. You're surrounded by mountains and every point on the hike is a fun viewpoint. At certain angles you can see Canada and Port Angeles. There is a lot of parking here and restrooms. Kalaloch Beach: There are several beaches and entrances to this spot. We went to Kalaloch Beach 3 and had a really pretty hike down to the beach. We saw some starfish on our walk. We also saw people fishing. My grandmother who grew up here recommended checking out this beach and I'm so glad we did. Hoh Rainforest: Another really popular spot that you'll want to show up early to. There is a visitor center attached to this. It's a fairly easy loop. The trees are amazing here. Sol Duc: It was POURING when we visited this spot. It really added to the whole experience though. This hike through the forest was majestic. And the waterfall at the end made it extra special. While we weren't able to take advantage of the hot springs further up the road (before Sol Duc trailhead), I recommend scheduling a time to visit after some hiking. This park is HUGE. And filled with endless beauty. We barely scratched the surface. I'd recommend making sure your trip is at least three days. We bought the $80 annual pass for our trip since we went in and out of the park a lot. I highly recommend visiting this national gem. read more

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+ Beautiful hiking trails. + Marmots and non-bashful deer near the peaks! + Fresh, pristine ambience. Decent amount of hikers. - Trailheads lacking in restrooms, drinking water, and trashcans. Go before you go! Keep trash bags in the car. read more

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This national park is a must see! It has so many beautiful habitats from woods to mountains to oceans to rainforests. It is well cared for and all of the park rangers are helpful. We hiked hurricane ridge and loved the drive to the top of the mountain range. We were nervous that we wouldn't be able to see anything at the top but the sun came out at the end and it was spectacular! read more

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I flew to Washington to spend a week exploring both Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks. I was just amazed by the beauty of both parks. When I arrived at Olympic National Park, I was stunned by the size of this park. You cannot drive through this park, only around it. That is because at the center of Olympic National Park are the Olympic Mountains whose sides and ridgelines are topped with massive glaciers. Mount Olympus is the tallest and most prominent mountain at 7,980 feet. Driving the full loop around Olympic National Park and its peninsula will take about 8 hours of driving time. President Theodore Roosevelt originally designated this park as a national monument on March 2, 1909. Years later, it was re-designated as a national park by FDR on June 29, 1938. To see as much as possible, I had to break the park up into different sections for each day that I was here. There is just so much to do and see here. Olympic National Park has three ecosystems and four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the temperate rainforest on the west side, and the forests on the east side. I stayed in Forks and began the first part of my day on the coastline of Olympic National Park. The drive to the coast was a short drive from Forks. The coastline is 60 miles long and a few miles wide. I was able to visit Rialto Beach and the La Push beaches that evening. The beaches are not like sunny California beaches. They are cold and windy, but very scenic. The driftwood, low clouds and the sea stacks make for some stunning views. After a night of rest, I began the long drive over to Port Angeles to explore Hurricane Ridge. Olympic National Park has many visitor centers and ranger stations. The main visitor center for the park is at the beginning of the 18 mile drive up to Hurricane Ridge. The park rangers there helped me plan out my trip for the rest of the week. I really enjoyed the views of Hurricane Ridge and was able to do the 3-mile roundtrip Hurricane Hill hike. It is a gorgeous hike with lots of wildflowers and some wildlife along the way. Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh Rainforest are the two most popular areas of the park. I made a stop at Lake Crescent on the way back to enjoy its beautiful crystal-clear blue waters. Nearby is the hike to Marymere Falls. This was my favorite waterfall hike to do in the park. Another waterfall hike is the Sol Duc Falls hike. It is a short hike and is next to the popular Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. This resort has three mineral hot spring soaking pools and one freshwater pool. Many people come here to book a session in the pools. The west side of the park has four temperate rainforest ecosystems that include the Hoh Rainforest and Quinault Rainforest. This is because Olympic National Park has around 12-14 feet (144-170 inches) of rainfall annually. I have always wanted to see the Hoh Rainforest after watching many videos of it on social media. Not only do you have to book an online reservation to get in, but the line of traffic is metered because of its popularity. Because of the high amount of rain that this area gets, a lush green canopy of conifers and deciduous grow here. The Hall of Mosses Trail is a popular trail that takes you through an old growth forest where you will see lots of moss, ferns and nurse logs. You cannot visit Olympic National Park and not see the Hoh Rainforest. It is worth the wait to get in. Make sure you plan ahead and get there as early as possible. I spent my final day in Quinault and was able to explore the Quinault Rain Forest. I booked a hotel here that overlooked Lake Quinault. It was a nice relaxing way to wrap up my trip to Olympic National Park. There are several short nature hikes in this area and a few places to eat. Unfortunately, I was not able to explore much on the east side of the park due to time. But I did stop at both Kalaloch and Ruby Beaches on my way to Quinault. Olympic National Park is such a beautiful National Park. This was an amazing experience. I would have loved to have done some backpacking or camping here. But this was my first visit and I really wanted to hit the highlights. I highly recommend checking out this park. My advice is to have a plan, know what you want to see and hit the visitor centers and ranger stations if you need help. The best thing to do is to purchase an America the Beautiful National Park Pass. They are good for a year and can be used at all the national parks and monuments in the U.S. I also recommend getting a National Park passport book. Because of its size, Olympic National Park has several locations throughout the park that has places to get stamps for your book. It is a fun way to track everywhere that you have been. read more

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Amazing National Park. We only spent a couple of days here, so there is much more to see, but we had a wonderful time. Highly recommend checking out Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, as well as the beaches on the coast. Ruby Beach was our favorite. Stop by the visitor center to grab a map, stamp your park passport, and ask a ranger about hikes and points of interest depending on how much time you have. Everyone was super nice. Definitely worth a trip! read more

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We went to hike Hurricane Ridge on Saturday. A lot of dense fog coming up to the trail. Parking near the trail. And overflow on the bottom of the trail. Just be careful walking up. It's a beautiful breathtaking sight of the scenery. We even caught some deer crossing the road. Due to government shutdown, the Olympic National Park Visitor Center was closed. We will hopefully get to explore again when it reopens. read more

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We had a great visit to this National Park. The mountains. The diversity of climates was amazing, (rain forest, mountain, snow, beach). It could be pouring rain in one area and sun shining in another. We visited in mid March. Overall, our weather was good. We did have gear for rain and cold (and used it). The popular trails were well maintained. There was plenty of snow on Hurricane Ridge. Cars needed to have chains. We had a 4x4 and did use it as the road was snowy (plowed). The snowboarders at the top looked like they were having a great time. Our elevation hikes we ran into snow. Standard hiking boots worked, but we were on the edge. read more

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Such a great park to visit! We came during March and there was a lot of rain. Higher elevations required chains. But it was relatively empty, and we were prepared with boots, waterproof clothing, and umbrellas. The rainforest canopy protected us from the worst of the rain, and the few minutes of sun we got really made the views special! We visited Madison Falls, Marymere Falls, Ancient Groves, and Moment in Time. We didn't have chains, otherwise we would have visited the higher areas and the western beaches. Madison Falls is a very short hike that leads to a wonderful waterfall. Lots or runoff. There's a small path below the trail which is fun to take. Marymere Falls is more of a hike. In the rain, there were a lot of puddles, so it was a little slow going with two toddlers. A few bridges and switchbacks. Stairs to go up and down - that was probably the most challenging for our kids since some of the stairs are a little tall. But the waterfall is beautiful and well worth it! Ancient Groves had a fallen tree blocking the path, but we were able to get over it very slowly and carefully. What was pretty cool about it was the ponds on the trails formed by the rain. A few walkways and lots of fallen logs really makes the scenery unique. Moss and ferns everywhere - absolutely beautiful! Moment in Time is an interpretive loop trail with plenty of entry and exit points. We were captivated by Lake Crescent and skipped some rocks while watching a few ducks swimming around in the distance. It was so calm and serene there - we ended up spending a lot longer just enjoying the scenery than we anticipated. Also, there are a lot of explanatory signs around the trail to illuminate the history of the park. Can't wait to come back! read more

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Planning for my 3 day visit to Olympic NP was no easy feat, but the many hours of deciding where to camp, 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. read more

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Another GORGEOUS national park - don't know how anyone could rate it anything but 5/5 stars! One thing to note is this park is absolutely MASSIVE: when I initially planned my trip I had wanted to do just one day in the park but realized there was no way to feasibly do that and be able to see even half of what I wanted. I ended up doing two full days, and the first day we went to Rialto beach, Hoh rainforest hall of mosses, Ruby beach, and the tree of life down in Kalaloch beach. We stopped in La push for snacks in between Rialto and the ball of mosses. We stayed in port Townsend that night when is on the other side of the park and it was TRULY a full day. The next day we did Sol Duc falls, Marymerr falls, lunch in port Angeles, and hurricane hill before driving back to Tacoma that night and it was also a LONG day - we got back to Tacoma after 10pm. A lot of the day had to just be spent driving, and we lost an hour sitting in traffic going from Tacoma to Olympic the first day, as well as lost an hour waiting in line to get into the Hoh rainforest area. PLAN ACCORDINGLY: this was all on a Monday (July 1), so just imagine how weekends must be! That said, I adored this park. I saw beaches, rainforests, and mountains all in one area and every single thing was gorgeous, unique, and incredible. I would LOVE to come back to try to go to the hot springs, and devil's punch bowl -- and even then, there is still more you could do! It's just SUCH a spread out place, but that's part of what makes it so amazing. Side note: if you get to these sites early there is plenty of parking but it DOES fill so try to get to the most famous places (eg the hall of mosses) as early as possible. And twilight fans: in La Push on the way to Rialto there is some cute twilight fodder including "the treaty line sign," and if you drive through forks, WA (easy to do) there's a twilight museum and gift shop. All rather kitschy imo but I still thought it was cute. CANNOT REC A VISIT TO THIS PARK HIGHLY ENOUGH!!!! read more

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One of my favorite national parks so far! Olympic National Park brings so much beauty and diversity to the table, it's hard not to fall in love and want to spend longer than you've planned. Definitely stop at the main visitor center in Port Angeles first to help plan your adventures. Good sized center with great information and a small bookstore. The rangers were super helpful and helped us tweak our plans. We camped at Fairholme Campground, and if you're looking to camp, this should be a top pick. Beautiful campgrounds, and while each site is open, it still was private enough to feel like you have your own piece of the park. It's also on Lake Crescent with some of the campsites lining up to the shores. We didn't have one of those sites, but it was a quick couple minute walk to the lake. Especially beautiful at sunrise. This campground is also a pretty decent central location for your travels in the park. Definitely incorporate Lake Crescent in your journey. We spent a day centered around the Lake Crescent Lodge - started with the Moments in Time trail, moved on to Marymere Falls, and then ended at Storm King. All magnificent hikes in their own right. Moments in Time is an easy walk through the trees. Marymere Falls is an easy hike (with a tiny area of moderate at the end) that takes you to the beautiful waterfalls. If you feeling spicy and athletic, Storm King is a strenuous hike with a steep incline, a rock scramble, and ropes at the end. You will be exhausted, but you'll also get the most beautiful view overlooking Lake Crescent and Olympic National Park - it makes all the hard work so incredibly worth it. The Hoh Rainforest is 100% worth the stop. There's two simple hikes here that really highlight the beauty of the area. So incredibly enjoyable and peaceful. They do have metered entry here, though, so plan ahead. Rialto Beach didn't quite hit as much for us. Super rocky, and it's not recommended to go in the water. Highlight of this portion is the Olympic National Park sign you'll encounter on the road when you're nearly there - if you like to take pictures with the signs, this is the one you want and made this portion of the trip worth it. While not part of Olympic, I'd recommend taking a drive up to Cape Flattery and do the small hike there to the most northwestern portion of the contiguous US. It's super beautiful and an enjoyable hike. This park is huge, and while you're driving around, you'll be going through some of the gateway cities. We stopped in Port Angeles, Forks, and Neah Bay and got some delicious food in each of these places. I'd definitely look into visiting these towns on your travels. Overall, plan a trip to Olympic and enjoy. There is so much to be seen and experienced, and we absolutely loved our trip here. read more

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Olympic National Park is in Washington State, and it is truly a beautiful place to explore. The park sprawls across several different ecosystems, and you will get to see it all from the lush rainforests to the beautiful pacific coastline. I would recommend spending several days here if not much longer because there is so much to see and do in the area. If you are a hiker or backpacker, there are plenty of trails with incredible views! We loved viewing the moss-covered trees in Hoh Rain Forest and it truly felt like you were in another world. We enjoyed the spectacular waterfalls and all the natural splendor in the area. Lake Cresent is a beautiful and peaceful area with jaw dropping views. You are the adventurous type, you will love this area because it has so much to see and everything is so green and lush! It is one of our favorite national parks that we have visited so far! Allow enough time to truly soak in the beauty of this place because it is definitely a sight to see! read more

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It's a national park so it gets five stars. Beyond that, I was somewhat surprised at Olympic NP - I had in mind it would be one of my not-so-favorite parks. Nope. This place is cool. And it would be even more so for those who can hike into the back country (not me anymore, unfortunately). - Hoh Rainforest: a very popular destination so plan to get there early or you'll have trouble finding a parking spot. The area surrounding the Hoh visitor center (very excellent rangers within, BTW) sports three or four relatively easy trails that take you into a rainforest wonderland. - The Coast: separate from the main body of the park, Olympic offers a long, scenic strip along the coast. Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach are popular, for good reason. Do check out the Big Cedar trail off Hwy 101 north of Kalaloch. - Ancient Grove trail: several miles along Sol Duc Hot Springs road off Hwy 101, the Ancient is a short but very nice trail with large trees and lush undergrowth. - Hurricane Ridge: also a very popular spot but has tons of parking. The long, winding road from the Port Angeles main park visitor center takes you up in elevation to magnificent views of the surrounding area, including Mt Olympus. Lots of easy as well as longer trails. There's way more to the park that we didn't have time to visit. Two lodges at Kalaloch and Crescent Lake. Crescent is the larger and nicer one but Kalaloch seems good too if you want to be on the coast. If you can't get rooms or want to pay less, the town of Forks offers decent accommodations that are within and hour or so of the Hoh forest. We stayed in the Forks Motel. On the north side, Port Angeles is a bigger town with everything you need. read more

Olympic National Park - Ancient grove - Parks Near Me - Port Angeles, Washington

such a beautiful sight for the eyes! highly recommend that u go when it is sunny outside so that you can sunbathe and get a really good nap on your board. the water was too blue...you can see all three shades of blue hue that allowed you to see the algae and rocks below clearly. smooth waters that did not rock the board too much. not many people on the weekdays either, which was nice. take a chance and try to jump into the water as it is not too cool during this weather time. bring life jackets, and yes, if you need to go bathroom, there are public restrooms. try to have your hand sanitizer and wipes on you so that you can be clean once you get out. Watch out for the flying bugs in the bathroom because they are everywhere, ahhhhh!!! jumpscare !!!!! read more

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Must go. This place is so beautiful!!! I couldn't stop looking everywhere. Great place for the family. You can hike or even walk through this beautiful park. read more

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Amazing park! The park is huge and there are so many things to do and stop off at on your journey so you can't do it all. Highlights Lake crescent Any waterfall trail Beaches - visit several to see the difference. 2nd beach was my favorite Sol duc - spend the day here hiking and soaking in the hot springs read more

Olympic National Park - Parks Near Me - Port Angeles, Washington

We spent a lovely couple of days at Olympic National Park earlier this month - this review includes our experiences at the visitor center, Crescent Lake, and the Sol Duc Waterfall area. I've done a separate review for Hurricane Ridge. VISITOR CENTER: Olympic is a very large National Park, and the places that are worth seeing are far away from each other. So one must plan carefully, and also get up-to-date information about road closures, forest fires, tourist-induced traffic jams, beach and tide conditions, and so on. We stopped by the Visitor Center closest to Port Angeles (where we were staying) to speak to the park rangers there. While there, we also spent some time looking at dioramas and learning about animal footprints, so we could recognize whether we had crossed paths with cougars, bears, hares, etc. CRESCENT LAKE: This is a lovely deep lake (second deepest in the state), with very clear water (one can see the bottom!) due to its low nitrogen content, which inhibits algae growth. We spent a lovely morning and afternoon driving around the lake and even some time paddle-boarding on it, thanks to a generous lady who let us use her paddle board. SOL DUC WATERFALL: This waterfall is quite a hike from the parking lot (about a mile each way) but completely worth it. One of the hikers we met said - "It's like something out of Jurassic Park" - and I agree! A few miles away from the waterfall, you can pull off the road to hike The Ancient Growth Forest (which is like something out of Return of the Jedi) with mossy trees and dense foliage from before Columbus landed in North America (BONUS: we were the ONLY tourists hiking there!). We also visited the 11 foot tall and fast moving Salmon Cascades, where later in summer, the salmon begin their upstream journey from the ocean to their spawning grounds, and bears hang around to catch them! There were many areas of Olympic National Park that we could not visit on this trip - such as the ocean beaches (Ruby, Rialto, etc.), Quinault lake, and the world-famous Hoh Rainforest. That will have to wait till next time! read more

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Spent a little over a day in the park and visited 4 spots. Love that the park has a little bit of everything. It does take a little while to get around as there isn't a through road. Get to HOH early! Got there at 9 on a Saturday in mid August and waited about 20 min to get in and the line was longer when I left. read more

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Beautiful scenery! I did the hurricane hill trail and it was 4 miles round trip (out and back). Up hill on the way out and downhill on the way back. Will get your heart rate up but it's beautiful the whole way! read more

The location of one viewpoint to another is far, you will have to go around from hurricane ridge to hoh forecast, the drive is ~3 hours of more. Without the wild flowers, hurricane ridge is a bit boring to walk the trail. Hoh is just a typical tropical forest which you can easily find in anywhere in the world. Lake Cresent is the best spot in this national park. Forks is a small town if you're the fan of twilight. I rather spend time in mount Reinier national park than this. read more

Olympic National Park - Parks Near Me - Port Angeles, Washington

Fantastic place. We did Enchanted Valley Lacrosse Basin O'Neill Pass Loop with some side trips about 60 miles. Luckily 5 days of great weather and incredible views. This is only a portion of Olympic National Park and there are tons of other great backpacking and hikes should be there. Complete story about the backpack we did is here https://himebackpacker.blogspot.com/2024/12/olympic-national-park-enchanted-valley.html read more

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I don't know where to start! The park is immense, first of fall. It's impossible to do everything in one weekend. I was very disappointed with the Hurricane ridge - nothing special and took me around 45 min to go in - you can use the shuttle if you want to avoid that. My biggest recommendation is do the storm king trail! It is tough but one of the most rewarding views ever! Ranger Moore was the most adorable person! Loved it!!!! This park is spectacular! I wish I had more time read more

If you are going to Washington you have to go here. The views are so pretty and beautiful (If it is not foggy) . We saw many dear here and many bunnies. If you want to get a parking spot you should get here at least 7:30. There are many trails that are long and short. In the end, this national park is absolutely beautiful. 5 Stars read more

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The whole experience was just wonderful. There were some very huge trees to see and it was amazing to see them up close. There were lots of bees for some reason, but outside of that, there wasn't an abundance of bugs, which was nice! It quiet and peaceful but there was also a good amount of people out on the trail, so you didn't feel like you were in the cast of a scary movie. Things were mostly labeled well and it was easy to park and get back to the car. read more

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Olympic National Park is located on the Olympic Peninsula about 2.5 hours west of Seattle. To say that this park is humongous is an understatement because it has an estimated 922,650 acres which is just mind-blowing. THE GOOD: this park is SO diverse. There were rainforests, lakes, beaches, hiking trails (both short and long), and hot springs. We went on family-friendly hikes of about 1-2 miles and went on strenuous hikes with 2,000+ feet elevation. This national park was the most unique one that I've visited by far. We went to Lake Crescent, Hoh Rainforest (Hall of Mosses and Spruce Trail), Rialto Beach and Hole-in-the-Wall, Mount Storm King and Marymere Falls, and Sol Duc Hot Springs. We hoped to visit Hurricane Ridge but unfortunately it was closed due to fire damage. We really didn't even explore the southeastern and southwestern portions of the park and I'm sure there's a lot more to do there. Of the things we did, my favorites were Lake Crescent with its beauty and Mount Storm King with its challenging hike and nice views. THE NOT-AS-GOOD: because this national park is gigantic and there were no roads that went through it, it required A LOT of driving to get around. We stayed in Port Angeles and everything we did was at least an hour of driving, which meant less time actually enjoying the park. Unless you're camping in the park, expect to drive a lot. Even if you are camping in an RV, you still might find yourself spending a good amount of time behind the wheel. We went during the week and we definitely saw the benefit of that because there weren't as many people as we expected and there were very few lines anywhere. This was a different kind of national park than I'm used to but it was definitely beautiful and very enjoyable. read more

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Amazing to say the least. Olympic National Park is vast and I didn't even scratch the surface during my visit. But what I was able to experience in the short time that I was here was absolutely magical. Glacial mountains, decorated rain forests, and beautiful beaches are what you'll have the luxury of exploring at this enormous park. I drove in from Seattle at the crack of dawn for a day trip and started at the main visitor's center in Port Angeles. I'd say that this visitor's center is one of the busiest in the park due to its' proximity from Seattle. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Seattle to the Olympic National Park Visitor's Center in Port Angeles. If it's your first time visiting the park, this is a great start since there are rangers on site along with maps and limited gear on sale. This visitor's center doesn't open until 8 am, but people start lining up before then, so make sure to arrive early to get in and out. After speaking with one of the rangers, I decided to check out Hurricane Ridge. It's a popular area of the park that has stunning views of the mountains and also a ton of hiking trails. Since I was limited to a day trip, I decided to hike the Hurricane Ridge Trail. The trail is a short and moderate out and back hike that's roughly 3.5 miles long. The weather was warm but not too hot and the views on this trail were absolutely killer. What I really love about this park is that you get a nice mix of mountains, forest, AND beach. I've found that many national parks are mostly recognized for one or two out of the three which is perfectly fine of course. But when you can experience it all within one park, it's such a goldmine. Mount Olympus is gorgeous and was still capped with tons of snow in early summertime. Also can't forget to mention how insanely green this park is. Even in high summer, the rolling hills were vibrantly lush and green. Where I come from, the grass turns brown when it heats up.. So, it was nice to be able to enjoy the green rolling hills and abundance of colorful wildflowers during the summer. Although the elevation is a lot higher up, the sun is haaawt! Bring water, sunscreen, and a hat/sunglasses to protect yourself during the summer heat. All in all, Olympic National Park is breathtaking with the most astounding views. I definitely owe it several more visits in the future, and I'm so excited to come back again. read more

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This is a review of the Peabody Creek Trail specifically for trail runners. Some stuff will apply to hikers but I'm viewing this as a runner. That said, I think this would be a great family hike. It's not very difficult and I think kids of all ages would be able to do it just fine. The trailhead is in the visitor center parking lot. You don't need a pass according to the ranger at the center. Just park in the lot & off you go. There's a .25 mile Peabody Creek Trail loop but if you want to do more, there's a connection to the longer 2.7 mile trail from that loop. So if you do it all, you're just shy of 6 miles total for the out & back. I clocked 1299'' of elevation and 5.82 miles on my garmin. For the first warmup mile or 1.5 mile, I wasn't feeling this trail. Lots of rocky sections, short switch backs, rickety bridges, and undulating terrain that make it hard to get into a flow. This is because you're down in the ravine following the creek. Also, the path is really narrow at points & sort of at a weird angle making footing a bit treacherous at times. After about a mile or so, you move up and away from the creek bed. This is where the trail really shines. It opens up. Less rocky. Still undulating but you can actually run. I loved this part of the trail. Once you hit the road, the trail ends and you turn around. The trail is well worn so I don't think you can get lost although there were some side trails that looked interesting. The large canopy provided shelter from the rainy October Monday afternoon. I only saw one couple on the trail. Not sure how it is normally. I feel like this is the type of trail one can run fast on if it's the trail you do several times a week for maintenance runs so you know the sketchy parts and where you can take chances. For newbies, it's not hard but the muddiness, rocks, & general condition of the trail made it more difficult than it actually was for me. Overall I enjoyed the trail. It was a nice entrepôt into Olympic National Park. I look forward to coming back and doing some of the other trails in the park. read more

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A Million Acre to Explore .. Breathtaking Views .. Fabulous Hikes .. Spectacular Waterfalls & Beaches. Switchback Trail + Hurricane Ridge on this short 2-day visit .. memories of deers & mountain ranges. Same Time, Next Year .. a week then .. discovering new trails .. Lake Crescent .. and, Hoh Rain Forest. CHEERS! read more

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Ah, such a beautiful national park. I was in awe the whole time. Every drive, any road you take in the park is so damn pretty. If you are short on time, don't miss these spots here: Hurricane ridge Lake crescent Hoh rainforest One of the coastal beaches like Second beach Sol duc falls Marymere falls read more

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Wow! What an absolutely beautiful national park. Over 1 million acres or mountains, rain forests and beaches. That doesn't even include the surrounding Olympic National Forest which is just as stunning. It's very similar to Acadia where you drive in and out of the park and in and out of national land, private land and small towns. Weather is here pretty unpredictable here. We came in April where we experienced snow, rain and sunshine all in one day. There aren't many trails in the park that are accessible with pets (Peabody Creek, Madison Falls, Spruce Railroad, and July Creek), but you can take them on the beaches on the coast. Also because of the bordering national forest it opens up plenty to do with you and your fury ones. Also the national forests have off road trails, and dispersed camping. A couple of highlights to check out are Hoh Rainforest, Ruby And Rialto beaches, Lake Crescent and of corse Mount Olympus (if the weather lets you see it) Defiantly one of my top 10 favorite parks in the lower 48. read more

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The most crowded park I've been to besides Glacier, it's also equally amazing in its own way. The national park is really busy even weekdays but the national forest surrounding the park is less crowded and has equally cool hikes. I didn't feel like sitting in the car for 3 hours to see some of the more popular spots (like the hoh rainforest) so I just explored a lot of the area and it is all incredibly cool and can be a bit different views and climate with just an 30 minute drive. Kinds of pathetic how many areas were closed off or slowed down due to construction. Even though I car camped in many forest and recreational spots I didn't buy the discovery pass because I didn't want to give the incredibly disappointing state of Washington a penny more than I had to due to the large population of its brain dead citizens still virtue signaling their lack of independent thought by still wearing masks everywhere. read more

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Not only is it a national park, but it's also an UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are four ecosystems: mountains, rivers & lakes, forests, and coast. My goal was to see all four of them. The park is big and spread out, so it was a loooong day with a lot of driving involved. We started by going to the Hoh Rain Forest to do the Hall of Mosses Trail. So much green! I also spotted a yellow banana slug on the trail. I recommend getting here early. As we were leaving, there was a line of cars waiting to get in. Next, we went to Rialto Beach. There wasn't any spaces available in the parking lot, but we were able to park on the side of the road and walk in. We had our lunch here while watching the waves. We made our way to the Split Rock and Hole-in-the-Wall afterwards. There were quite a few giant green anemones in the tide pools there. Then, we made our way to Lake Crescent, which is surrounded by old growth forests. We hiked over to Marymere Falls. It's not the most impressive waterfall, but the trail was nice. I would've loved to stay at Lake Crescent longer to enjoy the clear blue-green waters, but we had one more stop to make. Hurricane Ridge was our last stop. It was so beautiful, but the fogged rolled in and covered the views. :( We did the Meadow Trails and spotted lots of deer grazing. We only scratched the surface of Olympic NP. Even though it was a long day, I'm glad I got to see what I set out to see. I feel like this park has something for everyone, so check it out! read more

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Only had 24 hours in Washington and this was top of the list! One day is not enough time to explore all that Olympic NP has to offer, but we worked hard and busted our butts to do Hurricane Ridge, Marymere Falls, Crescent Lake, Hoh Rain Forest and Ruby Beach. Loved everything about our quick trip, and we hope to be back in the years to come for more exploration. read more

Olympic National Park - Marymere Falls - Parks Near Me - Port Angeles, Washington

An absolute must! This is our second time visiting this national park, and it was just as amazing this time. The views are outstanding at the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center. The 18 mile drive up from Port Angeles is stunning as well. There are quite a few pull-outs on the way up to stop and take photos. Because of covid, the visitors center exhibits are closed; however, they have opened their restrooms for visitors. The park ranger standing by the front door will also give you a passport stamp if you ask. We have a National Park Passport Book, so it's always nice to be able to get a stamp when we visit. The parking area is quite large, and there are trails off the parking lot as well. read more

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Went to this park in June 2020 , we stayed at a KOA campground on the foot of the Olympic mountain. I did some research on their official website and it says it's one of the largest national park(over 1/2 million acres) among Pacific northwest/Washington state. Weather can be unexpectable as we encountered a midst of rain and cold front in the middle of June. I drove all the way up to Hurricane ridge to see the scenic view of the valley. Then it took me about 2 and half hours to our next scenery--- Hoh rainforest alongside US101. We also stopped by Crescent lake and amazed by the mirror looking shape. Totally worth the trip. Tip: make sure to bring enough jackets/coats when temperature can change all of a sudden. read more