Olympic National Park is located in the Pacific Northwest and located on Washington’s peninsula. It’s vast and has tons to do! You can see crystal blue lakes, mountain peaks, moody coastal beaches, rainforests, and more! I have visited this park twice and would still like to go back and see more of it! The park has a $30 entrance fee unless you the yearly parks pass. You will do a lot of driving so make sure to plan at least 3-4 days to experience everything you want to do! I also highly recommend checking out Cape Flattery as well but more on that later.
Where to stay in Olympic National Park?
Olympic National park is about 3 hours away from Seattle. We opted to stay in Port Angeles, Washington because it is a little bigger than Forks and has more food and hotel options. We stayed at the Quality Inn as we booked last minute and it was what was available. We did have a great view of the water though! Staying in Port Angeles gives you access to the park. You will be about a 30 minute drive from Lake Crescent, an hour drive to Sol Duc Valley, and to get to the coast it will be about 2 hours.
There are cabin that can be booked within the park such as Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, Lake Crescent Lodge. If you’re interested in more lodging within Olympic National Park check out there website!
Airbnb could be a cool options if you’re want to cut back on some of the drive times between locations.
Will I have cell service in Olympic National Park?
I have been to Olympic National Park twice and each time my cell service has been hit or miss. Most of the time my cellphone was in SOS mode or only had one bar so I couldn’t really use it. I do have a Verizon phone plan. The other person I was with had T-Mobile which seemed to have worse service than me throughout the trip.
With that in mind I do recommend downloading offline maps of the Olympic National Park with google maps. That way if you do lose cell service you will still be able to access maps!
There’s aren’t too many roads out there so I would think it would be hard to get lost BUT downloading the map ahead of time is just a smart idea.
Visiting Lake Crescent Olympic National Park’s Best Lake
Olympic National Park’s Lake Crescent is only about a 30 minute drive from Port Angeles! And I think it’s the perfect spot to start your national park get away! There’s waterfalls to hike, boats to ride, paddle boarding, and hiking there! You could easily spend all day there. By far hiking to Devils Punchbowl is one of the most popular things you can do at Lake Crescent.
How to get to Devils Punchbowl Lake Crescent
To see the famous Devils Punchbowl you will take SPRUCE ROAD TRAIL. Spruce road trail to the punch bowl is about 2 miles round trip! Plug into your GPS Spruce Railroad Trailhead-Camp David Junior Road and google maps will take you there. From Port Angeles you will take highway 101 and turn onto E Beach Road.
The hike to devil’s punchbowl is easy as it is mostly paved the whole way. Once you reach the cave tunnel there will be a sign that points to devils punchbowl. This part is NOT ACCESSIBILITY FRIENDLY but it is a relatively short walk to the bridge. We went around around noon and it was busy and people were jumping of the cliff into the water.
Why is Lake Crescents water so blue? Lake Crescent has a low nitrogen content which makes it impossible for green algae to grow. According to the national park service website you can see as far down as 60 feet in some areas! The deepest part of the lake is 623 feet!
Check out my other posts!
- Visiting Beautiful Cape Flattery Worth It? The Most Northwestern Point
- Must see Olympic National Park – Sol Duc Falls, Lake Crescent
- Roadtrip from Minnesota to Washington State
- Beautiful Northern Minnesota Roadtrip Must Stops
Other things to do at Lake Crescent
We did not have the time to do these things but I would have given the chance. Mt Storm King is a hike on lake crescent that give you amazing views of the lake from above my coworker showed me pictures and it was absolutely beautiful!!
Marymere Falls is also a super popular spot to hike in Olympic National Park. It’s located on the opposite side of the lake. It’s about a 2 mile round trip!
If you’re looking to paddle board or kayak on the lake the lake crescent lodge offer rentals! Check out their website for more information. Lake Crescent Paddle Board Rentals.
Exploring Sol Duc Valley – Sol Duc Valley Falls
Sol Duc Valley is about 40-60 minutes outside of Port Angeles. Be sure to stop at the view points along Lake Crescent as you make your way to Sol Duc Valley!
By far the most popular spot in Sol Duc Valley is the Sol Duc Waterfall. We arrived here around 4-5pm in the afternoon and there was plenty of parking spots! It’s a 1.6 roundtrip trail in an old growth forest. It’s super mossy and green and it felt like you were in a fairytale! The path is very easy to follow but you gotta watch your ankles as I tripped a few times from not paying attention! You will pass by streams on the way to the waterfall. It’s very serene.
I heard if you go later in the day you have a higher change of seeing a rainbow with the waterfall! This was hands down my favorite thing I did at Olympic National Park.
Are you interested in Visiting Cape Flattery?
Check out my latest blog post about my trip to Cape Flattery
Sol Duc Hot Springs and the Rest of the Valley
After you finish your hike to the waterfall you can stop at the resort that’s a short distance away. You have to pay to enter the hot springs but there is a gift shops to get stickers, snacks, and use a the nice restrooms if you aren’t planning on staying for long!
Salmon Cascades in Olympic National Park are another popular spot in the Sol Duc Valley. The best time of year to spot the salmon is late summer to early fall! So, keep that in mind when visiting the park. It’s a beautiful spot either way.
Visiting the Hoh Rainforest
One of if not the MOST POPULAR destination in Olympic National Park in the Hoh Rainforest and for good reason. It’s very beautiful but with that said there is LIMITED parking so you need to either get there early in the morning OR later in the afternoon to avoid crowds especially on busy days during the year! I have heard of people having to wait OVER 2 HOURS to enter the park. So be mindful of your itinerary and plan accordingly. For more information about wait times visit the Olympic National Park Website.
At the Hoh Rainforest there are two main trails most people do. The Hall of Mosses which is a little under a mile and The Spruce Nature Trail which is about 1.2 miles! Both are equally beautiful and you should do both if you can! The Spruce Nature Trail will take you along the Hoh River so can get a nice shot of the hills and river! On both trails you’ll be able to see crystal clear water and all the moss below! There are a plethora of mossy tree to look at and get pictures of and lots of ferns. I’ve see the forest on a clear day and a rainy day. I preferred the rainy day so if you can plan it on a rainy day do that instead!
Coastal Beaches in Olympic National Park
I’ve seen Ruby beach and Kalaloch beach with the tree of life. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to see second beach which is where you can get the famous hole in the wall shot! Instead of seeing second beach we decide to explore Cape Flattery which is located on the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States! So I didn’t want to miss out on that.
Anyways, i’ve seen the beaches on a clear day and on a moody foggy day. I personally liked seeing he beaches when it’s moody and foggy out. So if you can group the hoh rainforest and the beaches together when it’s rainy I think that will give you a better experience! Oh, and be sure to be on the look out for the banana slugs!!
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