| Description: One of the greatest charms of the Olympic penninsula is that a visitor can travel from the beach into a deep, old-growth temperate rainforest, & up into a steep, glaciated mountain range... all without leaving your public lands! On the beach, explorers can peer into tidepools, wander the rocky coast, or take the boardwalk out to the edge of the world, on Cape Alava. Traveling inland up the Hoh or the Sol Duc Rivers, the vegetation deepens, & numerous trails wind through the rainforest, where ancient trees trail verdant mosses, waterfalls plunge past green banks, & ferns nod by the trailside. For those who choose to continue on foot or on horse, the snow-capped Olympic Mountains await, a vast, isolated region where today`s explorer can find solitude, & where nearly a dozen unique species have evolved, cut off from the rest of the world by the recent Ice Ages. Commonly-seen wildlife include Roosevelt elk, salmon & steelhead, seals & sea otters, raccoons, black bears, eagles, & waterbirds. Less commonly seen wildlife includes cougars, wolves, bobcats, mountain goats, spotted owls, minks, weasels, & ermine. In the ocean, visitors often see orcas & grey whales as they migrate along the coast.
Four visitor centers offer exhibits, information, & orientation to the area. 16 developed campgrounds contain a total of 910 sites for both tent & RV campers. The majority of the park ( 876,669 acres) is federally-designated wilderness, & accessible only by hiking, skiing, or riding horses in. Backcountry campers can stay in designated campsites while hiking or packing stock into the wilderness. River trips are offered by a concession.
Location: US 101 circumnavigates the park; from the Seattle/Tacoma area, you may reach US 101 by by crossing Puget Sound on one of the Washington State Ferries or by driving south around Puget Sound on I-5.
Season: year round; access limited in winter. |
Olympic National Park Campground Web Site
Driving Direction GPS Coordinates:
48.101658, -123.435172
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Campground: Olympic National Park in Port Angeles Washington *