Olympic National Park is the largest wilderness area in the contiguous United States. This park has an incredible range from precipitation and elevation to several diverse ecosystems which include glacier-capped mountains, temperate rain forests, and wild coastlines. In the end of September 2022, we explored this National Park for the first time.
When we arrived in Port Angeles, I discovered that part of hikes I had planned along Hurricane Ridge was closed and needed to figure out an alternate plan. We visited the visitor center to get ideas.
Day 1
Madison Creek Falls Trail
One of the ideas given by a ranger at the visitor center was Madison Falls. This is a very easy hike that is a paved 0.2-mile round trip trail. Though the hike is short the hike through the foliage to the gorgeous falls is quite magnificent.
Port Angeles
For lunch for the day, we decided to go to Port Angeles. We first stopped at a 9/11 Memorial Waterfront Park. This park is dedicated to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. There is portion of an I-beam that was recovered from Ground Zero, the site of the fallen World Trade Center Twin Towers. We walked close to the waterfront to view the boats before leaving.
We parked near Port Angeles visitor center to pick up various brochures and figure out where to have lunch. We decided on Downriggers on the Water. We had a view of the ferry that goes to Victoria, Canada. We spent most of the time watching the ferry unload and load. The food was all great.
We then walked by the Port Angeles City Pier that has a tower that you can climb up to see the views of Victoria, Canada in the distance and the downtown Port Angeles. From here, Michael downloaded an app of the Downtown Walking Tour. This walking tour told local knowledge and some history from the early 1900s as well as some future projects. The app was very glitchy and would stop randomly and start on another stop.
Blue Mountain Trail
We were staying off Blue Mountain Road and I thought it would be a great hike to the summit of the mountain named after the road. The trailhead is located at the end of Deer Park Road. Michael was quite stressed out driving the last 8 miles of narrow unpaved mountain road up to the trailhead.
Once we got to the trailhead, we hiked the about 0.5-mile loop trail to the summit with the elevation of 6,007 feet. This trail offers views of the Olympic Peninsula. We came on a clear day and could see Mount Rainer and Mount St Helens in the distance.
After a busy day of hiking, we drove to a local winery. Amber and Michael had a tasting. It was a nice winery to sit down and hangout after a busy day. The weather was a bit hot in the sun but in the shade, it was very comfortable.
Day 2
Forks, Washington
The next day we drove to Forks. Forks is the rainiest town in the contiguous United States located in the Olympic Peninsula between the Olympic mountains and Pacific Ocean. The town of Forks had originally been known as the Logging Capital of the World but most recently known as the town from Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga novels.
While in Forks, we first visited the visitor center that is home of Bella’s trucks. Afterwards we visited Forks Timber Museum. This museum features exhibits on local logging and farming history.
Rialto Beach
This beach is part of Olympic National Park. It was quite foggy when we arrived. As we walked towards the Pacific Ocean, we told Amber that this beach had the perfect spooky vibes with the fog rolling in the forest close to the shore. This was Amber’s first time seeing an ocean. We sat on some driftwood and watched the waves crashing on the shore. We spotted what we believe was a seal swimming in the water. Amber and I later walked long the shore taking in the rocky beach and foggy forest.
Second Beach
This beach is located near La Push. To get to the beach you need to hike a 0.7-mile trail. While the trail is relatively easy, once you get closer to the beach there are a lot of switchbacks step to get down to the beach. Along the steps there is a tree that visitors to seem to have put in keepsakes from the beach or their travel in.
Once we arrived on the beach, we were greeted with quite the dramatic scene – large sea stacks poking out through the fog. This beach was quite different than Rialto beach. Second beach was a sand beach instead of a rock beach.
We found another spot to sit to watch the waves crash into the shore. At around this time the sun started burning off some of the fog. Amber and I got up and walked around the beach. As we walked around, we spotted some tide pools.
Day 3
Marymere Falls Trail
This trail was a fairly easy hike of 1.7 mile out and back trail. The trailhead is located near the shores of Lake Crescent. Most of the hike is through an old-growth forest of conifers and maples, and the trail cuts through sword ferns and carpets of moss.
The trail is flat until you come across a bridge which you’ll need to cross and then there are some stairs. At this point the trail forms a loop that offers two viewpoints of the 90-foot falls. We took left fork to view the falls but instead of doing the loop which continued up we went back down we came. Since there was no good spot to sit for lunch, we made our way back down towards the creek.
We sat for lunch for a bit. At this point, Michael and Amber got swarmed by what we believe were bees. Michael got stung by his eye. Amber was able to pull out the stinger. As we walked back through the forest, we kept watching to make sure Michael was doing okay. By the time we got back to the car, the swelling had gone down significantly.
After a bit of an eventful hike, we stopped at another local winery. This winery has taken up residence in an old logging truck stop. Amber and Michael did a wine tasting, while I found some cheese, humus, and crackers for us to enjoy. I also found a local soda pop to enjoy while Amber and Michael had wine.
While Olympic National Park was very beautiful, we really felt how large this national park was with all of the driving we did to get from place to place.
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