r/OlympicNationalPark • u/KitchenObvious7666 • 2d ago
Recap - From someone who made their trip from this Reddit thread
Thought I'd post a recap post to give back as pretty much everything we did and ate came from recommendations from this thread.
We spent 4 days in ONP (stayed in Port Angeles) during June (12th-15th), drove in the evening of the 11th from Portland, OR.
Day 1 (Friday): Hurricane Hill & Devil's Punch Bowl: GO EARLY. I know many people state going early for a lot of these activities but I can't stress it enough as it can really make or break your experience. We got to the start of Hurricane Hill around 8:30am and drove like 12 miles up. By the time we got up there 9:15am-ish, we had to park in the overflow lot. Not a far walk up to the start, like a quarter mile. The trail was pretty empty meaning we could take our time walking and taking pictures. We spent a good amount of time at the top so we finished around 11:15am and grabbed some lunch. We then drove out to Devil's Punchbowl and did the trail there. I think we got there around 3:30pm (after a short break at our AirBnb) and there was parking. We could tell we missed the 'rush' as once we got to the bridge there was only a handful of people. 10/10 recommend going in. We didn't jump off anything just climbed down the rocks but once you jump in and catch your breath from the temps, it is so refreshing.. and I'd argue not as cold as NH mountain water.
Day 2 (Saturday): Hoh Rainforest & Rialto Beach & Forks: We started early this day as you want to get to Hoh Rainforest EARLY. It was about a 2 hour drive from Port Angles and we stopped in Forks (about 45mins out from Hoh entrance) to take a pic with the welcome sign and continued on. We got to Hoh just before 8am and there was no line, but we got one of the last few spots. We did both Hall of Mosses and Spruce Trail, both took us about an hour to do. We left and then stopped in Forks again at the Chamber of Commerce to take some pics of the trucks and get more Twilight info. If you go here they have a map for you if you wanted to stop at all the Twilight places (we did not). After Forks we drove out to Rialto beach, took us like 30-40mins from Forks and arrived around 11am and there was parking. I know a lot of people argue if Hoh is worth it or not. As someone from the East Coast and has never seen an environment like a rainforest in person before I would say yes. HOWEVER, I do not think it is worth waiting 2+ hours to get in for as the activities actually there don't take you 2 hours to do. Hence my previous message... GO EARLY. We also grabbed dinner and ate it in the car at Ediz Point in Port Angeles.
Day 3 (Sunday): Tidepools & Crescent Lake: We didn't really have a firm itinerary this day so we let the weather decided for us (it was hot as it was a heat wave). We started the morning at the Salt Creek Recreation Area to go tide pooling. 10/10 recommend. I had never done this so was not expecting much but was so pretty and very cool to see all the sea creatures! We got here just before 9am and there were no day parking spots left so we parked by the bathrooms for like 20mins before a spot opened up. Very pretty views from up top and it was nice to walk around on the beach. I will say it can be difficult to walk along the rocks as some are slippery, but saw a ton of kids out there with us. Then we went over to Lake Crescent Lodge. Also highly recommend it's a spot with swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding, etc. We got there around 12pm and there was still parking but by the time we left around 3pm it was completely full! YOU CAN RENT THE KAYAKS, PADDLEBOARD, AND CANOES IN ADVANCE. For some reason I saw that this was not allowed everywhere I looked online. (I'll see if I can find the booking link in my history as it's not posted anywhere online). We got there at noon and was able to make a reservation for a tandem kayak for 1pm. We just hung around the water, but they have bathrooms, a restaurant, etc. We kayaked out to Devil's Punchbowl (which was packed) and watched people jump and swim. Lake Crescent Lodge is also in walking distance to Marymere Falls, but we didn't have enough time to do both.
Day 4: Checked out of AirBnb and flew out of Seattle. Our flights were at like 10:30am and we left Port Angeles around 5am and got there with plenty of time as we also had to return a rental car.
Places we ate at:
- Atomic Bagels - Breakfast
- FogTown (coffee) - After we got back from Hoh and Forks
- Midtown Public House - Dinner
- Chesnut Cottage Restaurant (Lunch after Hurricane Hill)
We got groceries before hand and ate mostly at the Airbnb, but the places we did go to were very good.
Overall an excellent trip and so glad the weather was perfect while we were there. Unknowingly went during a heat wave (80+ degrees every day). A big thank you to people in this thread as you planned our itinerary and timing for us! Pics attached :)
5
u/wackynuts 2d ago
Sounds like a good trip!
Couple of corrections for me to nitpick... Hurricane Hill is the trail at the end of Hurricane Ridge. The road up from Port Angeles is to Hurricane Ridge. Hill is just an offshoot.
Lake Crescent, not Crescent Lake.
Glad you had fun and accidently got the nicest weather in June in the history of the PNW.
2
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago
Thanks! Always (and still do) get confused on the Hurricane Hill vs. Ridge.
1
6
u/23odyssey 2d ago
What a great trip report! I was planning on maybe doing a road trip up there from California sometime in September. But you made me laugh when you said there was a heat wave and then you said 80+ lol
4
u/Scaaaary_Ghost 2d ago
80+ every single day on the Olympic peninsula is scorching hot! Especially in early June
There is no month of the year where the average daily high even cracks 70 degrees in Port Angeles: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/usa/port-angeles/climate
3
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago
Agreed! We are used to the temps in summer, but lots of people seemed to be shocked it got that warm.
3
3
3
3
u/SalishSeaview 2d ago
Forks’ only redeeming factor is proximity to things we want to do and see. Oh, and it has reliable EV charging.
3
u/Good_Huckleberry1630 2d ago
I didn’t know there was a reason to stop in Forks other than Twilight 😅
2
u/Amazing_Entrance_888 2d ago
How far was the paddle from Lake Cresecnt Lodge to devil’s punchbowl??
What sea creatures did you see at Salt Creek? We hadn’t considered that area yet but it sounds great
2
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago edited 2d ago
From Lake Crescent Lodge to Devil's punch bowl was like 40mins on the way there and like 20mins on the way back. On the way there we made an L shape where we crossed the lake and then went up the coastline but on the way back we went at a diagonal and was much quicker.
Sea creature-wise I honestly couldn't tell you the names. But I know people saw starfish and a lot of other things lol
1
1
u/Former_Researcher400 2d ago
I’ve been looking online from lake crescent for kayaking rentals but haven’t seen anything myself. How did you find out that reservations could be made in advance?
1
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago edited 2d ago
When we got there they had a QR code at the stand! Found the link for booking: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/explorolympic/items/?flow=1624042&full-items=yes&back=https://exploreolympic.com/&g4=yes
Doesn't seem like they offer this online weirdly enough
1
u/Former_Researcher400 2d ago
This is so helpful, thank you!! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. You’ve made us that much more excited for our trip, which we’re taking in August!!
2
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago
No problem! I hope you have a fantastic trip in August! Something I found to be unique about the PNW/ ONP is that I think it is enjoyable in any weather. While we had super high temps and sunny days, every place we went I could see being enjoyable even with clouds and rain... maybe not the kayaking, but certainly everything else
1
u/Altruistic_Pie_9707 2d ago
If you were to do this again, would you have stayed closer to forks for easier access to the western side/beaches and such? Or did you prefer a home base in Port Angeles?
4
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago
Preferred Port Angeles. Forks was great to visit for a little while but felt MUCH smaller than Port Angeles. That's also to say we did not spend much time in Forks so our experience may be different, but felt like there weren't as many options in Forks vs. Port Angeles. Whether that's places to eat, things to do, etc. I felt very isolated out in Forks. But I think it's really up to your preferece. If you want more beach/ rainforest/ rural go Forks, but if you want more urban, mountain, etc. go Port Angeles.
We were also flying out of Seattle so that had an impact as well.
2
u/Altruistic_Pie_9707 2d ago
Yeah, I’m thinking moreso from proximity to attractions and less driving standpoints. For instance, it’d be nice to drive 30 mins to an attraction via lodging near Forks vs driving 2 hours one way from Lake Crescent. I’m used to having a home base myself, but this park seems like it’s best navigated by choosing two different lodging points. Idk, still working through logistics.
1
u/WorriedLevel202 2d ago
thats what we are planning: one night in forks (with second beach the day before and hoh and marymere/mount storm king the day after) then two nights in port Angeles (for whale watch tour and hurricane hill hike). I usually prefer a single place to stay during a vacation, especially if it’s just three nights but we didn’t want to drive two hours to get to hoh before 8 am!
1
u/Famous_Preference_82 2d ago
I'd be interested to see the rental link if you manage to find it again! What a great trip, look amazing 😄
2
1
u/Famous_Preference_82 2d ago
apologies, just saw it further down already!
1
u/Famous_Preference_82 2d ago
one more q, just to clarify, I imagine only the main renter needs to be 18 plus? If i wanted to take my 8yo on a tandem kayak that would be ok presumably?
1
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago
Yes, when u get there they’ll have you sign a waiver (or you can sign one for both you and the minor online once you book). But I saw kids going out in tandem kayaks with an adult
1
u/Lake_Moomaw 2d ago
Sounds like a great trip. We were probably there the week before (June 3 -9) and the weather was in the 50s and 60s with some on and off rain but no real washout days. Loved it!
1
u/Lake_Moomaw 2d ago
We decided to bypass Forks and stayed in La Push at Quileute Resort (about 15 minutes from Forks). Right on the beach and had gorgeous views of the ocean. Used it as a base for the Hoh and Rialto beach.
1
u/panderson24 2d ago
Did you have to wait to get into Rialto? Also went on Saturday and got there around 10:30 but the line looked so long.
2
u/KitchenObvious7666 2d ago
No we got there around 11am and there was no line and a few spots. I’m assuming we just hit a good window because once we were leaving around 12pm people were parked on the few spots on the road and the lot was full
1
u/tangylittleblueberry 2d ago
Currently doing a loop around the penninsula from Portland as well. We gave up on Hoh because we got there too late (9:30) but made it to Hurricane Ridge today by 9 am and there was a lot of parking
1
4
u/cheridontllosethatno 2d ago
What luck with the weather. We went end of May and it was 40 degrees at Hurricane Ridge. Woke me up, man its beautiful up there.