Anybody done it? Any recommendations?

Pick a time to go when the tide is really low and go tide pooling.

Hurricane ridge. And take the dirt road back behind the main road. I'll look up the name later.

Enjoy the rainforest.

The lodge at Hurricane Ridge burned down recently and traffic up to Hurricane Ridge is limited. There can be long waits as they let one car in for every car that leaves once they reach capacity. Keep an eye on that.

We enjoyed the park a lot. Bring waterproof shoes and a decent quality rain jacket (don't go cheap with a Walmart poncho) and you can fairly comfortably endure the constant light drizzle. Don't forget the same gear for the kids if you have them.

The drive over to the west side of the park along the lake shore is gorgeous.

This is not in the park but has good tide pools.

https://olympicpeninsula.org/things-to-do/diving/salt-creek-recreation-area/

Also not in the park, but worth a visit
Neah Bay and Cape Flattery

https://makah.com/activities/cape-flattery-trail/

If you make the trip out to Cape Flattery, have lunch at Calvin's Crab House in Neah Bay.

Have done it multiple times over the past 15 years, and have made the loop going in each direction. Best recommendation is to spend one night each in Lake Crescent, Forks and Lake Quinault…staying at the NP lodges if it is at all possible. You can do the loop faster than 3 nights, but then you will miss so much stuff and feel like you spent most of your time driving in the car.

There is plenty to see and do at each location so if you have time then spend 2 nights at each location. If there is time, we also like to visit Port Townsend. And taking the ferry to Victoria is also great. This loop is one of our favorite trips as there such great scenery…rainforests with giant trees, wild beaches with tidepools, majestic mountains, great hiking and old NP lodges. Really great trip and can't recommend it enough as there is nothing like it in the continental US.

Is the ferry over to Victoria a day trip or would you recommend staying a night over there?
And thanks for all the insight.

When? Where are you staying? Are you driving from SeaTac or taking a ferry?

Heads up, Hurricane Ridge will be closed on 8/6 for my dumb bike race.

Just now making plans to go in late August. Looking for all suggestions.

Na Zdrav 87 said:

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Just now making plans to go in late August. Looking for all suggestions.

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Ok! Then you should be dry and warm! You could maybe get a sneaker dusting of snow, but highly unlikely until later September.

Just my preference, but I'd take the ferry to Bainbridge vs. driving down through Olympia. Places like Bloedel (https://bloedelreserve.org/bloedel-explore/) are totally worth a stop on the way to Port Angeles / Olympic.

The only musts from me: Hoh River Trail, Ruby Beach, Hurricane Ridge and Sol Duc Falls.

The ferry from Port Angeles to Vancouver Island is a tad over an hour.

We crawl a lot of forest roads to disperse camp. Let me know if you're interested in that.

On the east side, https://hamahamaoysters.com/pages/oyster-saloon , is a must!

If you are staying in Port Angeles then you could do Victoria on a day trip, but most people like to visit the Butchart gardens while in Victoria and that would make for a very long day. Victoria is nice enough that it is worth spending a night, especially in the Fairmont Empress.

Is late April or early October a good time to visit this area?

thanks!

The times I have been, it was always during early Aug - mid Sept so I don't have much insight into the weather in April and Oct. However, even during Aug / Sep the marine layer can be thick and the wind off the ocean blows cold. There have been many times when it is medium jacket weather walking on the beach. I wouldn't hesitate to go in April or Oct as the park won't be as crowded and the spring / fall could be great. Just be prepared for a bit cooler weather and for potential snow if you go to elevation at Hurricane ridge or mountain hikes elsewhere.

That sounds great compared to this heat here in central Texas!

Went this past April. Weather was cool and overcast in Seattle, rainy in the rainforest.

I wore a pull-over every day and was fine.

Take a rain jacket. Wore it every day. My wife forgot hers and it is surprisingly hard to find one in Seattle. Ended up getting one at an Army surplus store to avoid paying REI prices.

For Olympic, cdub06 put together a nice day trip for us.

Left Seattle, first stop, Quinault Rainforest trail. Swung by Ruby Beach. Then our big hike for the day Hoh River to Mineral Creek Falls. Brief hike for Madison Falls and a few stops for Cresent Lake. Burgers in Gig Harbor. Full day, but cdub drove all day and I didn't, so I was good.


I'll share some photos of the weather.


Hoh River


Lake Crescent


Ruby Beach


Kerry Park, Seattle

Question: should we take our car across the ferry to Victoria for the day or can we just walk around to see enough? Or suggestions for staying overnight?

No car. Stay at the Fairmont Express. Take a taxi / Uber to Butchart Gardens if you want to go there.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/cougar-attack-child-olympia-national-park/281-102e0158-a488-48ac-aea0-54a5578d0a36

Don't forget to grab some bear spray when you land. Even in campgrounds, you never know.

Lake Crescent Lodge should be a stay on your trip. Lake Quinault Lodge as well.

You timed it perfectly for our heat wave and smoke.

It should clear out by Monday. And checking forecasts, snow level will sneak down to 8k starting Tuesday with the low brining some precip. Maybe some freshies for you too see on Mt. Deception, et al! Hurricane Ridge is at 7, so maybe maybe something to actually get out in!

The view at Cape Flattery was awesome!

We made the drive out to Cape Flattery twice. It was really foggy the first time. Could only see a few yards. Second time was much better vis. Ate at Calvin's both times. Did you make it to the Salt Creek tide pools?