Olympic required several bases because its major landscapes are spread around the peninsula. We started with Dungeness and Hurricane Ridge, moved through Lake Crescent and Sol Duc, then used Bogachiel for the Hoh Rain Forest and the Pacific coast from Rialto to Kalaloch and Third Beach.
Pick a stop to see its story and photos.
The Coupeville–Port Townsend ferry crosses Admiralty Inlet between Whidbey Island and the Olympic Peninsula. We used it to avoid Seattle traffic while towing the camper and to reach the north side of Olympic.
Dungeness Spit extends more than five miles into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with driftwood beaches, bird habitat, and a lighthouse at the far end. We camped nearby and visited the shoreline twice for sunset and birding.
Hurricane Ridge provides Olympic's most accessible alpine views. We combined the short Cirque Rim walk with Hurricane Hill, a paved climb through wildflower slopes with deer and views across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Lake Crescent is a deep glacial lake with a historic lodge, picnic areas, short forest walks, and several trailheads. We used the lodge area as a base for wildlife watching and the nearby Moments in Time loop.
Marymere Falls Trail is a short old-growth forest hike from Lake Crescent to a 90-foot waterfall. The final section climbs to viewpoints above the moss-lined ravine.
The Spruce Railroad Trail follows the north shore of Lake Crescent on a former rail grade. We biked the smooth lakeside route through tunnels and stopped at Devil's Punchbowl, a clear blue swimming cove.
The Sol Duc Valley combines a forest campground, river overlooks, mineral hot springs, Salmon Cascades, and the short hike to Sol Duc Falls. We spent three nights here and used it as our base for the northern interior of the park.
Forks is the main service town for Olympic's west side and preserves the area's logging history at the Timber Museum. Nearby Bogachiel State Park gave us a central campground for the Hoh Rain Forest and coastal beaches.
Rialto Beach is a rugged coast of sea stacks, driftwood, and tidepools. We timed the 1.5-mile beach walk to Hole-in-the-Wall for low tide and found sea stars, anemones, mussels, a bald eagle, and four river otters.
Ruby Beach is one of Olympic's best-known coastal stops, with sea stacks, tidepools, driftwood, and rapidly changing fog. Our morning included a bald eagle, a Wilson's warbler, and exposed marine life at low tide.
Beach 1 is a southern Kalaloch-area beach access on Olympic's Pacific coast. We stopped here for tidepooling among the rocks, finding one of the strongest collections of anemones, mussels, barnacles, and other exposed marine life from that coastal day.
The Kalaloch section of Olympic's coast includes Kalaloch Lodge, the Tree of Life, and broad beach access near the campground and lodge. We stopped here for lunch, visited the exposed-root spruce, and watched gulls and pelicans using the freshwater pool on the sand.
The Hoh Rain Forest protects old-growth Sitka spruce and western hemlock along the Hoh River. We walked the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trail, where nurse logs, dense moss, banana slugs, and river views explain the forest's ecology.
La Push is the coastal Quileute village at the mouth of the Quillayute River, near First Beach and the Olympic wilderness coast. We stopped there on a low-key day for lunch on the bluff, ocean views, and ravens working the crowd.
3rd Beach begins with a forested trail from La Push Road before descending to the coast. Our hike continued south past the beach toward Taylor Point, with steep cable-and-plank ladder sections, forested bluff travel, a quiet stretch of shoreline, and a distant humpback whale sighting on the way back.
The Coupeville–Port Townsend ferry crosses Admiralty Inlet between Whidbey Island and the Olympic Peninsula. We used it to avoid Seattle traffic while towing the camper and to reach the north side of Olympic.
Dungeness Spit extends more than five miles into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with driftwood beaches, bird habitat, and a lighthouse at the far end. We camped nearby and visited the shoreline twice for sunset and birding.
Hurricane Ridge provides Olympic's most accessible alpine views. We combined the short Cirque Rim walk with Hurricane Hill, a paved climb through wildflower slopes with deer and views across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Lake Crescent is a deep glacial lake with a historic lodge, picnic areas, short forest walks, and several trailheads. We used the lodge area as a base for wildlife watching and the nearby Moments in Time loop.
Marymere Falls Trail is a short old-growth forest hike from Lake Crescent to a 90-foot waterfall. The final section climbs to viewpoints above the moss-lined ravine.
The Spruce Railroad Trail follows the north shore of Lake Crescent on a former rail grade. We biked the smooth lakeside route through tunnels and stopped at Devil's Punchbowl, a clear blue swimming cove.
The Sol Duc Valley combines a forest campground, river overlooks, mineral hot springs, Salmon Cascades, and the short hike to Sol Duc Falls. We spent three nights here and used it as our base for the northern interior of the park.
Forks is the main service town for Olympic's west side and preserves the area's logging history at the Timber Museum. Nearby Bogachiel State Park gave us a central campground for the Hoh Rain Forest and coastal beaches.
Rialto Beach is a rugged coast of sea stacks, driftwood, and tidepools. We timed the 1.5-mile beach walk to Hole-in-the-Wall for low tide and found sea stars, anemones, mussels, a bald eagle, and four river otters.
Ruby Beach is one of Olympic's best-known coastal stops, with sea stacks, tidepools, driftwood, and rapidly changing fog. Our morning included a bald eagle, a Wilson's warbler, and exposed marine life at low tide.
Beach 1 is a southern Kalaloch-area beach access on Olympic's Pacific coast. We stopped here for tidepooling among the rocks, finding one of the strongest collections of anemones, mussels, barnacles, and other exposed marine life from that coastal day.
The Kalaloch section of Olympic's coast includes Kalaloch Lodge, the Tree of Life, and broad beach access near the campground and lodge. We stopped here for lunch, visited the exposed-root spruce, and watched gulls and pelicans using the freshwater pool on the sand.
The Hoh Rain Forest protects old-growth Sitka spruce and western hemlock along the Hoh River. We walked the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trail, where nurse logs, dense moss, banana slugs, and river views explain the forest's ecology.
La Push is the coastal Quileute village at the mouth of the Quillayute River, near First Beach and the Olympic wilderness coast. We stopped there on a low-key day for lunch on the bluff, ocean views, and ravens working the crowd.
3rd Beach begins with a forested trail from La Push Road before descending to the coast. Our hike continued south past the beach toward Taylor Point, with steep cable-and-plank ladder sections, forested bluff travel, a quiet stretch of shoreline, and a distant humpback whale sighting on the way back.
We made our way to Dungeness Recreation Area, just outside Port Angeles. Port Angeles sits at the northern…
Hurricane Hill is one of the signature hikes in Olympic National Park, with sweeping alpine views, summer…
We packed up to leave Dungeness Recreation Area, heading off to spend the next three nights at Sol Duc…
With Sol Duc as our base camp in Olympic National Park, we headed to Lake Crescent and hiked to Marymere…
Our second day in Sol Duc, deep within Olympic National Park, was officially declared a chill day. That…
After packing up at Sol Duc, we made the roughly one-hour drive west to Bogachiel State Park, our next home…
We got an early start for Rialto Beach so we could catch the 8:30 a.m. low tide and make our way to…
We started the day at Ruby Beach under clear skies. In the parking lot, a bright yellow Wilson’s warbler…
After a 45-minute drive from our campground, we reached the Hoh Rainforest just before 9 a.m. The parking…
We wrapped up our Olympic National Park adventure with the hike to Third Beach and Taylor Point. The trail…
