How to Plan a Trip to Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park encompasses three distinct ecosystems. An old-growth rain forest, glacier-capped mountains and 60 miles of natural Pacific Ocean shoreline are all part of this park in northwestern Washington state. The park, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, features the third-largest glacier system in the contiguous United States. Since 96 percent of the park is designated as wilderness, visitors should carefully plan their trips to fully appreciate Olympic National Park’s wild beauty.
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Instructions
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Decide when you will visit. Winter temperatures in the lower parts of the park are usually in the 30s and 40s. Mountainous areas are colder and receive significant snowfall, sometimes as much as 10 feet in one storm. Summer temperatures are usually in the 60s and 70s; summer and fall are the most popular times to visit the park.
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Olympic National Park offers lodges, cabins and camp sites. The Log Cabin Resort, on the north shore of Lake Crescent, offers lodge rooms, lakeside chalets, camping log cabins, rustic cabins and full hook-up RV sites. The Lake Crescent Lodge, on the south shore of the lake, offers cabins, lodge rooms and motel rooms. The Kalaloch Lodge on the Pacific Coast offers cabins and motel and lodge rooms, while Sol Duc Hot Spring Resort offers cabins and an RV park.
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The park offers 16 campgrounds that can accommodate RVs and trailers up to 21 feet in length. Camp sites are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, except for Kalaloch Campground, which accepts reservations for the summer season only. Campgrounds offer water, toilets, picnic tables and fire pits, but do not offer hook-ups, laundry facilities or shower houses. For a complete listing of campgrounds, check the Olympic National Park website in the Resources section.
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Decide how active you would like your trip to be and pack accordingly. If staying in a cabin isn’t roughing it enough for you and you want to do some back-country hiking and camping, make sure you can carry a backpack filled with the appropriate supplies. If you plan on doing some glacier climbing, you’ll want to bring an ice axe, climbing rope, crampons and warm clothing that allows you to move easily.
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Decide which section of the park will be the starting point of your trip. If you are planning on visiting the hot springs, several of them can be found clustered around the Calawah fault zone. If hiking is the focus of your vacation, you may want to begin your trip at Quinault Rain Forest, home to giant western hemlocks and Sitka spruce trees, and then explore the high alpine country of Hurricane Ridge.
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Tips & Warnings
The only hot spring considered safe for public bathing is the Sol Duc Hot Springs. Sol Duc offers three mineral water pools, massages, cabins, a swimming pool, dining room and gift shop.
Skiers and snowshoers should be aware of the current avalanche conditions before venturing out and realize that conditions can change daily or hourly during avalanche season.
Resources
- Photo Credit Sam Lao
