Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park
-We toured this national park on a Wednesday in August. However, this day permitted us to see only a portion of the park, a few highlights. One could easily plan to spend 3 to 5 days in the park because there is so much to see. And, there are great distances within the park, which require time to get from one part of the park to another
-Quinault Rain Forest, our first stop, is an excellent example of a temperate rainforest; we enjoyed the half-mile trail. Also, the small visitor center there had two knowledgeable attendants who were able to answer all of our questions.
-The next stops were Beach 1 and Beach 2 along the Pacific Ocean, which at the time—just before noon—were foggy. We walked the beach between these two sites and saw the rotting carcass of a whale that had been beached the previous July 4th, about 6 weeks prior to our visit
-We ate lunch in our van (area could use more picnic facilities) at Ruby Beach—further up the Pacific Coast—and then walked the beach, which is famous for its sea stacks. Although it was somewhat foggy, we were able to take good pictures
-Lake Crescent, a beautiful glacially created water body, was our next stop. The water was a very clear blue, with beautiful mountain back drops, and several road stops providing excellent photo opportunities
-Elwha Falls are beautiful small waterfalls accessible via a short trail
-We drove the challenging mountainous road to Hurricane Ridge. Hurricane Ridge, at over 6,000 feet above sea level, offers beautiful mountainous scenery, some mountains being glaciated. Some of us took a short less than 1-mile scenic trail. The Strait of Juan de Fuca, Mount Baker, Mount Ranier, and other landmarks are visible from Hurricane Ridge on a clear day.
-We ate a late picnic dinner just west of Hurricane Ridge, probably taking a greater risk than we should have given the possibility of bears in the area.
-The quick one-day visit to Olympic National Park was very satisfying in terms of the sheer variety and beauty of the various park attractions.
-The Olympic National Park map/brochure provided by the National Park Service, does a good job of explaining the various ecosystems that exist in the park
Olympic National Park ratings (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the best)
-Upkeep = 4 (roads, trails, interpretive centers, etc., were all in generally good shape; the only disappointment was the lengthy road construction delay in Quinault Rain Forest)
-Beauty = 5 (the variety of ecosystems—ocean, rainforest, glacier, lakes, mountains—all were beautiful; it’s amazing to find such a range of beautiful variety within a short distance)
-Peaceful = 4 (given that it was a very nice Wednesday in August, we were surprised that most areas were not crowded; it is probably much more crowded on a weekend)
-Informative = 5 (from the national park system brochure to all the markers at the various stops, all provided excellent information on the points of interest)
Review Quality
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