Note: Since Olympic is such a large national park with several distinct areas, I’ve broken up my list of recommended hikes and grouped them geographically. 

North Area (Hurricane Hill & Lake Crescent):
🥾 Hurricane Hill (3.4 miles, 826 feet elev. gain): One of the park’s most popular and picturesque hikes can be easily accessed from Port Angeles. The hike features a paved trail that guides visitors to its namesake viewpoint, providing unparalleled views of the Olympic Mountains on the way up.
🥾 Mount Storm King (4.1 miles, 2,106 feet elev. gain): This rugged hike takes visitors up a steep trail to a rocky top, where permanently-placed ropes help guide travelers to the hike’s terminus. At the top, stunning views of the deep-blue Lake Crescent can be found. The Pyramid Peak Trail is another hike in the Lake Crescent area that offers similar views at its summit.
🥾 Marymere Falls Trail (1.7 miles, 298 feet elev. gain): This short hike in the Lake Crescent area guides hikers to a beautiful waterfall nestled among Olympic’s forests.

Pacific Coast:
🥾 Rialto Beach to Hole-in-the-Wall (3.3 miles, 108 feet elev. gain): Rialto Beach is a solid example of the rocky Pacific coastline that Olympic is famous for. If you venture about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, you will find the aptly named “Hole-in-the-Wall,” where tidepools filled with sea life abound.
🥾 Ruby Beach (1.0 miles, 49 feet elev. gain): Ruby Beach is another great showcase of Olympic’s rocky Pacific coastline. I hear this is a great place to watch the sunset.

Hoh Rainforest:
🥾 Hoh Rainforest Hall of Moss (1.1 miles, 78 feet elev. gain): This easy hike guides visitors through the Hoh Rainforest’s lush greenery.
🥾 Hoh River Trail (up to 34 miles, 6,026 feet elev. gain): This trail is used to access Glacier Meadows, the basecamp to summit Mount Olympus and a 17-mile hike from the trailhead. As a hiker, you can venture as far or as little as you want on this trail. This trail is also great for backpacking.

🏔️ Climb Mount Olympus: This experience is not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced. But, for those in great shape and those with an aptitude for mountaineering, summiting Mount Olympus – the park’s highest point – is an unforgettable adventure and impressive feat. The most direct approach to Mount Olympus is via the Hoh River Trail, which is described above in the “Must-Do Hikes” section.
🎒 Backpacking: If you really want to get intimate with Olympic National Park, backpacking is the way to do it. There are hundreds of miles of trails that cross through the park’s wilderness, offering weeks’ worth of opportunity.
⛺ Camping: Olympic National Park offers a large number of campgrounds, and you’d be remiss not to take advantage of them. They provide unparalleled opportunity to spend quality time in untouched nature.
🦐 Exploring Tidepools: Tidepools are common along the Pacific coastline in Olympic National Park. The NPS recommends Kalaloch’s Beach 4 and the Hole-in-the-Wall mentioned above for the best tidepools.

🏙️ Forks: Are you a Twilight fan? I definitely am not, but Forks is still a good spot to grab some local grub. The Twilight series is set in the small Washington town, so – naturally – it began supporting tourism related to the fantasy series after the books became popular.
🏙️ Seattle: Washington’s most populous city sits a few hours east of Olympic, and is a common jump-off point for those visiting the park. The city offers lots to do for visitors, including the MoPOP, Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Pike Place Market, and various sporting events.

📅 When to Visit: Olympic National Park sees the best weather and its most visitors in July and August. It’s still possible to visit and enjoy the national park during other months, but – if you do so – plan some flexibility into your visit.
⌚ How Long to Visit: In order to see and appreciate only the highlights of the park, plan to visit for 2-3 days. If you want a full, intimate experience, plan to visit the park for a full week.
🚗 How to Visit: Olympic is accessible by car from Seattle. Depending on your route, there is a good chance you will need to purchase ferry tickets to cross Puget Sound. The Seattle-Bainbridge Ferry and Edmonds-Kingston Ferry are good candidates to cross the water.
🛏️ Where to Stay: Within the park, there are plentiful options for camping. The following campgrounds offer reservations: Fairholme, Kalaloch, Mora, Hoh Rainforest, and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. There are several more first-come, first-serve campgrounds in the park – see the map below. The park also offers a number of lodging opportunities, including Kalaloch Lodge, Lake Crescent Lodge, Log Cabin Resort, and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. Otherwise, you can find hotels or Airbnbs in Port Angeles, Forks, and other towns.
🧳 What to Bring: Pack your usual hiking and camping gear, with an emphasis on waterproof hiking boots, a rain jacket, and waterproof tent. If backpacking or summiting mountains, see the links at the bottom of the page.

✅ DO prepare for unpredictable weather by packing rain gear and layers.
✅ DO be wary of changing tides when exploring the coast, since water levels could potentially block your return from a hike. Tide charts are available at park visitor centers.
❌ DON’T approach or feed wildlife. This is true literally everywhere, but begs repeating in Olympic due to the presence of bears and mountain lions.