First established as the Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897, and designated as a national park in 1938, Olympic National Park is breathtakingly beautiful.
If you’re wondering where to start exploring the nearly one million acres replete with hiking trails, mountain peaks, 70 miles of coastline and beaches, a temperate rainforest, campgrounds, fishing, and wildlife, Hurricane Ridge is a great place to start.
A 17-mile drive over a winding paved road takes you up to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. Stop at any (or all) of the numerous overlooks and pull-outs for scenic view after scenic view.
Pull over at the Switchback Trail trailhead, about 9.5 miles from the park entrance. More of a pullout than a parking lot, there’s room for dozen or more vehicles and the views from both sides of the road are magnificent.
The Switchback trailhead. It’s well maintained, but pretty steep. I chatted with hikers who said even this late in June there’s still snow at the top and the trail can be slippery in places.
Even though I didn’t go more than a few hundred feet up the trail as Mom was with me, we thoroughly enjoyed this running creek at the trailhead.
Wild lupines were growing profusely along the roadside.
Creek running down the mountainside, Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park
You have reached your destination 🙂 Walk around to the back of visitor center (ramp on one side, stairs on the other) where, in addition to amazing views, there are a few picnic tables.
From the Hurricane Ridge visitor center.
Another view from the Hurricane Ridge visitor center.
Now you know what mountain peak is what.
We then drove another 1.5 miles to the end of the road, past several picnic spots, and parked at the beginning of the Hurricane Hill trail. The paved trail is an in-and-out, 1.6 miles each way.
Chipmunks kept skipping across the trail, but this one was obliging enough to pose for an instant.
We went about half way along the trail before heading back to the Visitor Center and driving back down to Port Angeles.
A series of three tunnels carved through the basalt rock. Pull over at the scenic overview just beyond the tunnels.
You can see the Dungeness Spit on the left jutting out into the Strait, with Sequim in the center and Mount Baker on the right from the lookout.
Some pictures I snapped from the various pullouts and overlooks along the way.
A raven surveying his domain.
These are volcanic rocks behind the daisies, even though there are no volcanoes in the Olympics. The basalt rocks were pushed from the Pacific Ocean by ocean floor movement, and thrust upward over eons.
Port Angeles down below and you can barely make out Victoria, British Columbia across the Strait.
The alien looking pod of a stinging nettle. As with most things in nature, if it looks fluffy, it’ll hurt if you touch it.
Things to keep in mind:
- Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center has large parking lots, restrooms, a gift/snack shop and is staffed by park rangers.
- Easy and short walk to picnic tables.
- Check the webcams before you go for visibility and accessibility, especially in the fall/winter when snow can close the visitor center and roads.
- National Park pass is required. For 2021, the cost is $80 a year and can be purchased at the park entrance, or online at: https://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html
Links of Interest:
- Hurricane Ridge website
Location:
3002 Mt Angeles Rd, Port Angeles, WA 98362
