Olympic National Park 2023 | Day 1 & 2

Wednesday August 2nd, 2023 - Sunday August 6th, 2023

Our recent trip to Olympic National Park marks the 6th national park visited, and the 2nd out of 3 visited in the state of Washington. Our previous visit to Seattle and Mt. Rainier National Park was at the end of May in 2022, when the weather was still gloomy and mountains still covered with snow. Visiting the pacific northwest in August is the optimal time for the best weather.

Olympic National Park is known for it’s diverse ecosystems, including glacier covered mountain ridges, rocky pacific coast beaches, and old-growth temperate rain forests. We were able to visit all of these ecosystems in a short 2.5 days thanks to a tight itinerary with early morning starts.

The diversity in what we were able to experience at Olympic National Park puts it high on my list of favorite parks.

This blog post covers Day 1 and Day 2 of the trip.

Itinerary:

Day 1:

• Fly out to Seattle, Drive to Forks, Washington (fun fact: The Twilight films were shot here)

• Visit Rialto Beach during sunset, stay overnight in Forks, Washington.

Day 2:

• Early morning drive to the Hoh Rainforest

  • Hike Hall of Moss

  • Hike 5-mile Hoh River Trail

• Drive to Sol Duc Falls, hike

• Drive to Port Angeles where we stayed the night

Day 3:

• Early morning drive to Hurricane Ridge

  • Hike Hurricane Hill

• Drive to Lake Crescent

  • Hike Mt. Storm King

  • Hang out at Lake Crescent

• Drive back to Seattle

Rialto Beach

Rialto Beach is unlike any beach I’ve seen in the Bay Area, California. The beach is filled with giant fallen driftwood, and scattered with small and large smooth rocks. Massive sea stacks (giant land mass/rocks in the ocean) make up the iconic landscape of the beach, mirrored by the forest of spruce trees on land.

A popular hike or walk along the beach to do here is towards ‘Hole in the Wall’, a huge section of the middle of a cliff eroded, creating a hole in the wall. Spending time during low-tide checking out the tide-pools filled with starfish, crabs, fish, and more aquatic life is a common activity here.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/hole-in-the-wall-trail

Hoh Rainforest

The Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rain forests in the United States. The lush forest is filled with moss covered spruce trees and big leaf maple trees. A single road leads to the park’s entrance to the Hoh Rainforest. A helpful tip is to go as early as you can, as traffic through the entrance can span hours if bad enough.

Hall of Moss

The Hall of Mosses trail is a popular short hike that is kid friendly. It gives you an easy access to old giant trees covered with Moss.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/hoh-rain-forest-hall-of-moss

5-Mile Hoh River Trail

The 5-mile hike takes you deep into the Hoh Rainforest. Peeks of the glacier blue Hoh river can be seen through some parts of the hike. As you reach the 5 mile mark, the trail opens up to reveal a large flowing river.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/hoh-river-trail

Sol Duc Falls

This short quick hike takes you through a wooded trail towards Sol Duc Falls.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/sol-duc-falls-nature-trail

This concludes Day 1 and Day 2 of the trip. Day 3 can be found in a separate blog post.