Brian and I moved to the Olympic Peninsula a couple of years ago, to my family’s heritage farmland just west of Port Angeles. We now enjoy the best of both worlds—Seattle’s lively dining and social scene and the quiet green of the forest around our country home. One of the biggest perks? We’re just minutes from the incredible landscapes of Olympic National Park. With the park’s glacier-tipped mountains, ocean beaches and rainforests, it’s no wonder people come from all over the world to see it.
Spending several days exploring the park is ideal, but we’re often asked how to make the most of just one day. So we put together our favorite one-day route to help you catch the magic, even on a tight schedule.
ALPINE MEADOWS AND WATERFALLS
Olympic National Park is astonishingly diverse and absolutely gorgeous, with alpine meadows surrounded by mountain peaks, rugged sand beaches jumbled with driftwood and moss-draped rainforests. The park is also immense. It takes up 1,442 square miles, which is the entire interior of the Olympic Peninsula. To see rain forests and wild ocean beaches you’ll need to spend a night or two (in or near the tiny town of Forks). But if an overnight just isn’t in the cards, it is possible to enjoy mountains, waterfalls, hot springs and tidepools in one—very long—day. Here’s our itinerary for an unforgettable adventure in and just outside of the park:
GETTING STARTED
Head out early, ideally on a weekday, to beat the crowds. For a scenic experience, take the Edmonds–Kingston ferry. You might get lucky, as Brian did earlier this year, and spy whales while on the water. From Kingston, it’s about a two-hour drive to Port Angeles, the largest town on the Peninsula and the main gateway to the park. If a picnic is in your plans (not a bad idea!), stop by Country Aire natural foods for supplies before heading to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center for brochures, ranger advice and a hands-on kids’ exhibit.
STOP 1: SALT CREEK RECREATION AREA
Salt Creek Recreation Area, west of Port Angeles off Hwy 112, is one of the best tidepool spots in the region. Granite outcrops here are crowded with mussels and sea life during low tide. For the best experience, check a tide chart before you go. Even at high tide, though, the windswept beach, rocky alcoves and tree-topped sea stack are just gorgeous, and kids love playing in the creek that flows down the beach.
Local tip: Stop at the Blackberry Café in tiny Joyce for pie made from these abundant local berries. While there, check out Joyce General Store, an old-timey store in operation since 1911.
STOP 2: LAKE CRESCENT AND DEVIL’S PUNCHBOWL
From Salt Creek, take the Joyce-Piedmont Road to stunning Lake Crescent, renowned for its aqua-hued water that’s exceptionally clear and deep. Pull in at the Spruce Railroad Trail. The trail runs for miles along the lake, but it’s only 1 mile from the trailhead’s parking lot to Devil’s Punchbowl, a picturesque inlet surrounded by rock walls and a bridge, where the water shimmers in a brilliant turquoise color. The Punchbowl has gained a reputation as a “cool” place to swim. And it IS cool—the lake’s temperature in summer ranges from the mid-50s to low-60s.
Local tip: Look for tiny native orchids alongside the trail!
STOP 3: LAKE CRESCENT LODGE AND MARYMERE FALLS
One of my favorite parts of visiting Lake Crescent is the drive. Hwy 101 is curvy, narrow and incredibly scenic as it hugs the lake’s south shore for nearly 9 miles. Just off the highway, the historic Lake Crescent Lodge feels like stepping back in time. Built in 1916 and once visited by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the lodge features a cozy, wood-paneled lobby and a long, inviting “gallery” with wicker chairs and a many-paned window wall overlooking the lake. The lodge serves three meals a day in its Roosevelt Room, making this a good lunch stop. You can also rent a canoe, kayak or paddleboard if you want to get out on the water and explore.
The same parking lot has the trailhead for Marymere Falls, a 90-foot cascade reached by a 1-mile hike through dense old-growth forest crisscrossed by streams and little bridges. Look for delicate, feathery Maidenhair ferns that thrive in the mist at the base.
Local tip: The Moments in Time interpretive trail, a flat, .8-mile loop, meanders through towering, moss-draped maple trees alongside the lake. This easy trail, reached from the same parking lot, is absolutely gorgeous!
STOP 4: SOL DUC HOT SPRINGS AND FALLS
Just a bit farther west, at Sol Duc Hot Springs, naturally heated waters fill three pools of varying temperatures. (There’s also a cold plunge pool.) The concrete setting is rustic and the springs can be crowded, but it’s a rare and memorable experience to soak in sulfurous hot springs surrounded by forest.
The real draw here is Sol Duc Falls, a lovely, multi-stream waterfall that plunges into a canyon below. The .8-mile trail to the falls winds through lush old-growth forest with towering trees, where moss and sword ferns blanket everything in sight. The bridge across the top of the falls is one of the park’s most-photographed spots, for good reason.
STOP 5: MADISON FALLS AND THE ELWHA RIVER
The hot springs are your turnaround point. On your way back, diminutive but lovely Madison Falls, immediately east of the Elwha River Bridge, is reached via a very short, paved trail. The riverside parking lot offers a grand view of the wild, majestic Elwha River. The Elwha’s two dams were removed in 2012 and 2014, and now the river flows uninterrupted through almost complete wilderness, from Mount Olympus to the ocean. The river’s renewal has brought an influx of native salmon that has helped restore a vital ecosystem that had been missing for nearly a century.
Local tip: On your way to Madison Falls, stop by Granny’s Café on Highway 101 for an old-fashioned chocolate-and-vanilla swirl cone.
STOP 6: HURRICANE RIDGE
Finish your excursion with a drive up to Hurricane Ridge. (Most summertime visitors visit Hurricane Ridge early in the morning, but they end up in a lineup of cars that stretches for miles. If you do this excursion later in the day you’ll avoid the lineup.) It’s a winding 20-mile climb that tops out at 5,242 feet. Paved nature trails thread through alpine meadows with sweeping mountain vistas and views all the way to Vancouver Island, B.C. You’ll almost certainly spot deer browsing in the meadows, and if you’re lucky you’ll see a black bear or hear the chirp of the native Olympic marmot, found only here.
Each time we visit Olympic National Park we’re reminded of how lucky we are that this is in our backyard. We love how beautiful and special this place really is, and we hope you feel that too!
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