"Olympic National Park" Top 5 Page for this destination Olympic National Park by goodfish

Olympic National Park Travel Guide: 320 reviews and 756 photos

Olympic National Park - Olympic National Park

The one million acres that is Olympic National Park encompass more diverse landscapes and ecosystems than just about any park in the United States. From lofty peaks and alpine meadows to deep, lush rain forests and rugged coastal beaches, the landscape of this isolated peninsula - just a stone's throw from urban Seattle - changes climate and appearance in just a few hours drive or less.

Rialto Beach, Olympic NP

It's an old, old story of crushing glaciers, furry mastodons, ancient forests and indigenous peoples whose ancestors still hunt, fish and inhabit small villages along the coast. It was "discovered" by European explorers, settled by 19th century American homesteaders and is today driven, hiked and backpacked over by over 3 million visitors a year.

Rain Forest, Olympic NP

This is not the easiest park to visit - over 95% of it is wilderness that's inaccessible to all but hardy, back-country trekkers - and to do it properly involves the willingness and ability to deal with changing weather, crawls over giant drift piles, sharply ascending/descending trails, and getting one's feet wet.

The rewards?
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Pros and Cons

Pros:Very different ecosystems within short drives of each other
Cons:Few accommodations

Last visit to Olympic National Park: Sep 2009
Intro Updated Jul 22, 2011
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Reviews (36)

Surfer, Rialto Beach - Olympic National Park

Brrrrrrrr!!! Warnings Or Dangers (8)

The waters of the Pacific are frigid all year long plus rocks and wave-tossed debris make swimming dangerous here. We... more travel advice

Long way from the water - Olympic National Park

Hindsight 20/20 Favorites (3)

Every now and again you make some regrettable travel decisions and we made 2 biggies on this trip. We'd opted to drive... more travel advice

The tire was too big for my bag - Olympic National Park

Help keep the beaches clean! Things to Do (22)

Incoming tides toss up more than pebbles and driftwood. You'll probably see all kinds of junk and the more extreme the... more travel advice

How much time??? Warnings Or Dangers (8)

We seriously underestimated all the things you can see on the peninsula and how easy it is to fritter a day away; it's... more travel advice

Hotels (2)
See All Olympic NP West: Forks

Transportation (1)
Sail across the Sound

Comments (4)

lisa85202 Apr 14, 2012 at 4:08 PM Report Abuse

This is on my 'must see' list~ I love your photos here...the one of Rialto Beach is so beautiful
glabah Jul 22, 2010 at 4:15 PM Report Abuse

Oh Kate! When you first made your posting to the Washington forum I thought "They're going to wish they had more time out there" but didn't say anything about it, figuring that you had set things up that way for a reason.
agapotravel Apr 8, 2010 at 6:59 PM Report Abuse

Hi Kate! Wow! Your tips are so helpful, and your pictures are amazing. I got so excited about my upcoming trip to WA. Even though you think it's for sissies, I want you to look at my itinerary and tell me what you think. :-)))
amandajayne81 Mar 15, 2010 at 1:37 AM Report Abuse

Wonderful pages. I really enjoyed my virtual travel and I am even keener to get there now myself. I look forward to checking out some of your other pages.