Olympic National (Wildlife) Park


What We liked:

It is a Wilderness Park;
Many Hiking Trails - 600+ miles;
It has a Wilderness Coast - 73 miles;
Temperate Rain Forests - Hoh, Quinault, Queets;
Beautiful Waterfalls;
Has Glaciers believe it or not but not easy to get to;
Large Trees (some record) like Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, Cedar;
Endemic Animals and Plants - 23 or so plants/animals found nowhere else in the world like  the Olympic Marmot, Chipmunk, Ermine and Banana Slug.

Now our visit:

I saw this park on the Travel Channel show that featured parks with the best wildlife viewing.  This is a seldom mentioned park that we really enjoyed.  It has three temperate rain forests and many big trees.  We flew into SeaTac then drove to Port Angeles through the capital of Olympia because I wanted to see the Hood Canal scenery.  At Sequim we unexpectedly ran into the fields of lavender.  I did not know that this part of the country is the lavender capital of North America. There were fields and fields of lavender on either side of the road.   Apparently Marilyn was inspired by this because we stopped at every place where there was a purple/lavender flower to take a picture.  The ladies will like this scenery!  I guess if you create a field of lavender, they will come.  Port Angeles is a good departure point if one goes to Victoria (lots do) on Vancouver Island in Canada.  We did not have passports which are now required after 2001.

We got to Port Angeles early afternoon but at that latitude it is not dark till very late in the day.  So we drove to Hurricane Ridge which is 5,200' - nice drive.  We went on the Hurricane Ridge Trail to Hurricane Hill (5,757') where we could see part of the Olympic Range and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  One sometimes sees the Pacific and Mt. Rainier from the hill but it was too cloudy that day - see profile picture I posted of Marilyn & I.  We also saw lots of wildlife on the Ridge.  I should note that there is no road that cuts through the park.  One can only go around the perimeter taking various roads that penetrate somewhat into the park, but part of the perimeter road is scenic Hwy 101 that is a continuation of Hwy 1 in California.  I think it changes to 101 in Oregon.

After stopping at Crescent Lake, we went to Sol Duc where the hot springs are then contined to Sol Duc Falls which was beautiful - only .8 mi from the end of the parking lot.  We then struck out for a strenuos hike to Deer Lake which was about 2 miles more up into the mountains.  When we got there it was like being completely isolated.  Birds landed at our feet scratching around for insects with no fear of us.  Deer were grazing in the openings unconcerned about our presence.  Everything was green and pretty.  One could be completely at peace at this lake.  This is what a wilderness park is all about.  On the way back, I walked right past a banana slug but Mariln saw it - I have not lived that down yet even though it has been 5 years.  We now have about 10 pictures of a banana slug - thank goodness for digital cameras.  It rained on us which made us colder. When we got back, the hot tub at the motel was just what the doctor ordered.  It is not well known that Seattle proper only gets about 38 inches of rain a year (compared to 50+ in Louisiana) whereas the Pacific Ocean side of the park gets up to 200" of precipitation at spots; hence, rain forests!

The next day we decided to go to the Hoh Rain Forest and also check out some places on the Wilderness Coast.  When in the rain forest be sure to have plenty of insect spray and dress accordingly!  We took the shorter trails at Hoh but these had nurse logs which are very interesing.  There are two other rain forests that we did not visit - you should see at least one of them.

The Wilderness Coast is a detached area from the main park.  Ask a ranger in the Kalaloch area where there are burl-like growths on some trees on the beach side.  On the Olympic Park map near Kalaloch (southwest corner), there is a Beach 1 designation which I think is it.  It might be Beach 2.  When we went down the trail to see them I thought of 'Alice in Wonderland' since it was so unexpected.

We had to watch the tide tables to make sure that we were on the coast at Ruby Beach when the tide was out.  This allows one to see sea stars, anemones and other sea creatures among the sand and rocks in the tide pools.  We saw bald eagles fly to their nests on sea stacks - that is what is left of the shores long ago.  We picnicked at Rialto Beach where we had to climb over huge logs that had been washed down from the park in years past.  The cliffs and logs are massive - well worth seeing!  I felt very insignicant in their presence.

I wanted to see an Olympic Marmot but failed in that quest - we had to settle for a slug!  I also wanted to see a Roosevelt (Olympic) Elk since I have never seen that kind of elk and the park was almost named Elk Park for them but had to settle for a slug.

When the Elwha Dam near Port Angeles was built years ago, it cut off the salmon return for spawning.  That dam is supposed to be removed soon so that the Elwha River will return to its former state.  I'm for that.

Upon returning we crossed Puget Sound to Seattle in a ferry from Bainbridge. Neat.  It is a one-time experience so do it if you can.

I consider this is a park of the unexpected.  I would like to go back to do things we couldn't do in 3 days.

 

    We visited Olympic Park and the surrounding area on several occasions.  Hurricane Ridge and the views of the Olympic Mountains, Juan de Fuca Strait, and Vancouver Island, Canada are impressive.  Yes, there are many remote glaciers in Olympic National Park.  And of course are the evergreens, flowers, and other foliage which get plentiful moisture there.  I recall hearing that in some years the Hoh rain forest can get up to 400 inches of rain. Yes, the Roosevelt elk species are found in the park; as I recall they are larger and have some color variation from the elks here in Colorado. One reaches the Hoh River and rain forest from Port Angeles by driving westward and around through Forks, Washington to the Hoh turnoff from the Pacific coast.  Back on the North side at Port Angeles, Washington where the turnoff to Hurricane Ridge is one can ride the "M.V. Coho" ferry to Victoria, B.C. on Vancouver Island; the trip is somewhere around  1/2 - 2 hours as I recall.  It is optional to also take a vehicle on the M.V. Coho.  This opens one up to Victoria and Vancouver Island which is at least a couple of hundred miles long with its own spectacular mountain, lake, glacier, ocean, farm, wildlife scenery as well as history.  The town of Victoria and surronding area has lots of tourist sites/activities.  The famous Butchart Gardens has hundreds and hundreds of scenic flower gardens with species from all over the world and blooming at various times.  The massive Empress Hotel and the British Columbia capitol building on the waterfront at the Port of Victoria are historic.  Fishing trips, whale watching trips, etc depart from the waterfront area and also Alaskan cruise ships dock nearby during the summer.  Victoria has its own historic Chinatown area and shopping areas (with for example Hudson's Bay store). One can also take B.C. Ferries from the Victoria area (Swartz Bay) to Vancouver, B.C. on the Canada mainland or the Washington state ferry from nearby Sidney, B.C.  thru the San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor, etc) to Anacortes, Washington.  Anyway, back to Port Angeles and the gateway to Hurricane Ridge, as one drives east as Bill mentions is Sequim which draws lots of tourists during the lavendar season when the flower fields are in bloom .  Around that area, dungeness crab are a favorite catch as I recall and I think there is a wildlife park. 

I wish we had had access to Bill's & Leo's posts before we visited Olympic N.P. last June.  We really enjoyed it.  We didn't make the hike up to Hurricane Ridge.  We camped at the Elwa River Campground.  Wish we had stayed another day there.  Visited the Hoh Rainforest and really enjoyed walking through it.  It was calving season so we were able to see some of the Roosevelt Elk with their young.  As in other parks the Rangers earn their pay keeping the "slow witted" from getting too close to some of the wildlife.

Bill, I'll have to count up how many of the nat'l parks we've seen, it's about 20, absolutely one of the best vacations one can have is to visit them and get off the pavement onto the dirt roads and hiking trails.