The Pacific Northwest is often thought to be a cloudy, rainy part of the nation, and to a degree, that is true, but rain or shine, Olympic National park is an absolutely stunning place to visit. Mountains, ocean, and lush forests all in one place make Olympic a perfect place to enjoy multiple aspects of nature. In summer 2019, my family spent 12 days in this area, and I absolutely fell in love with it. This is personally one of my favorite parks because it is just so packed full with varieties of plants and small animals.
If visiting Olympic, the first thing on your list should be Hurricane Ridge. From here, you can get a stunning view of the Olympic Mountains, and most notably, Mount Olympus, not to be confused with the one in Greece. From Hurricane Ridge, there are a few hiking trails of varying lengths and difficulties that will take you throughout the mountains and to other spectacular lookouts. During the cold season, Hurricane ridge is also open to snowshoeing and cross country skiing.
Lake Crescent is another must see in Olympic. It’s waters are impeccably clear, and during the summer months, the perfect temperature to take a swim in to cool off. The lake is surrounded by tree covered mountains, creating a pristine little oasis where it truly feels like you are within nature. There are several hiking trails around Lake Crescent, a handful of picnic areas, and places to rent kayaks to take out on the water. It is the perfect place to enjoy a relaxing afternoon!
My third must see in Olympic National Park is Sol Duc falls. There are two main ways to access the falls. The first is just a one mile walk from a parking lot, and the second is a 6 mile out and back trail called “Lover’s Lane”. I hiked the Lover’s Lane trail when visiting in 2019, and it was the best hike of my life. The trails were well kept, it wasn’t heavily trafficked, and the destination was beautiful. These unique falls rushing straight into a ravine covered with ferns and moss are truly unforgettable.
My final recommendation in the park is Second Beach. This beach is one of the best places to view Olympic’s epic sea stacks and to watch a spectacular sunset. It is about a 15 minute hike from the parking lot to the beach, a small inconvenience for such an epic destination. There are tidepools scattered throughout the beach where I was able to see otters, anemones, crabs, and starfish. Additionally, there are perfect climbing rocks around the beach that you can sit on and enjoy the view. When the sun begins to set, the silhouettes of the sea stacks against the fading sky are so beautiful it seems unreal.
Between mountains, beaches, sea stacks, crystal clear lakes, wildlife, and forests, it’s impossible not to fall in love with Olympic National Park when visiting.
Hi Maria,
I really love this whole post. Visiting parks and natural places like this has always been a dream of mine to do and you are literally living it through these posts. I really enjoyed how you did not simply just list facts about the place; instead, you really put your own thoughts and opinions into the post, giving recommendations of different spots to check out and how fascinating the wildlife is. I really liked the aspects of the post where you had your own photos because it gives the post a lot more of an authentic feeling and shows that there is another dimension to the post. Anyways, I really enjoyed scrolling through the post, looking forward to seeing future posts.