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Visiting Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, although some roads, campgrounds and other visitor facilities close in winter. Emergency situations including flooding, blowdowns or wildland fire may also close areas temporarily.
Several Hours
If you only have a few hours, stop first at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles. Exhibits, an orientation film and friendly staff will help you make the most of your time at Olympic.
After your visitor center stop, you might consider one of these options.
A 45-minute drive from Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge brings you from the lowlands blanketed with old growth forests to treeline, where clumps of subalpine firs give way to open meadows. On a clear day, views of the Olympic Mountains and Strait of Juan de Fuca are spectacular.
From Port Angeles, drive about 30 minutes west to Lake Crescent where you can stroll along the shores of the 12-mile long glacially-carved lake.
From Forks, a twenty-minute drive will bring you to Rialto Beach, where you can walk along a cobbly beach, watch waves crash onto offshore islands and perhaps spot a bald eagle soaring overhead.
One Day
With one long day, you'll have time for a quick visit to each of Olympic's major ecosystems, the mountains, the forest and the coast.
You can reach nearly a mile in elevation with a trip to Hurricane Ridge, where you'll find a visitor center and nature trails. Beginning early in the morning will increase your chances of seeing wildlife and help avoid the larger number of visitors later in the day.
From Hurricane Ridge, a three-hour drive to the west will bring you to the Hoh Rain Forest. A visitor center, picnic area and short nature trails can enhance your rain forest visit.
After leaving the Hoh, an hour and a half drive toward the northwest will bring you to Rialto Beach on the Pacific Ocean in time for sunset.
Grocery stores, restaurants and other amenities are available in the towns of Port Angeles, Forks and at other locations along Highway 101 and the park access roads.
Two or More Days
With more time, you can explore more of Olympic's diversity. Perhaps you'd like to spend a few hours or longer hiking one of the park's trails, or visiting a lesser-known area like Deer Park or the Quinault Valley.
Lodging Within Olympic National Park
Log Cabin Resort has a variety of lodging options, along with a camping area for RVs and tents. A dining room, soda fountain, boat rentals, a grocery and gift shop and is located on the north shore of Lake Crescent, about 20 miles west of Port Angeles.
On Lake Crescent's south shore, about 25 miles west of Port Angeles is Lake Crescent Lodge. The lodge has cabins, motel rooms and rooms in the historic lodge building, along with a dining room, lounge and coffee bar, gift shop and boat rentals.
Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort offers cabins, hot spring pools, a dining room, poolside deli and a grocery store. An RV park with hookups is also available. The resort is located 40 miles west of Port Angeles.
On the park's Pacific Coast, the Kalaloch Lodge has cabins, motel and lodge rooms, along with a dining room and grocery store. This lodge is about 90 miles southwest of Port Angeles, on U.S. 101.
Olympic National Park, Washington -
Please contact the Olympic National Park visitor centers to find out more details on accessibility to the camping and hiking locations in Washington State's Olympic National Park. Also, the visitor centers in the park have current park information on weather, wild flower locations, trails, rain forests, and active wildlife.
For other National Park Web Samplers, please visit this directory:
National Park Samplers
Disclaimer - Most of the information viewed on this map is correct. However, this Olympic National Park map is made with old USGS point data along with fairly new National Park data. In some areas some features may be located wrong, or missing due to the age of the USGS data. Viewers should consider the map as historic general reference only. Use the free park map for exact locations of maintained park sites.
Source: NPS, USGS, U.S. Forest Service.
Map Copyright CCCARTO
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