Olympic National Park

25 May 2025

Olympic National Park was a surprise. It has flown under my radar of American National Parks. I enjoyed it much more than I had anticipated. The rainforest felt old and covered in ferns and moss – quintessential PNW.

Friday, May 24th, we drove from our home in Oregon to Puyallup, Washington, a trip of about two and a half hours. We stayed the night with my brother and his family before heading into Olympic National Park the next morning.

Día 1

Lake Quinault Rainforest
Merriman Falls
Kalaloch Beach
Hoh Rainforest

Lake Quinault Rainforest

The next morning, we drove roughly three hours from Puyallup to Lake Quinault Lodge and started with the Quinault Rainforest Trail. The hike was short but incredibly dense and green, with towering trees, thick ferns, and mushrooms scattered everywhere along the forest floor. There were very few people on the trail, which made it feel quiet and immersive. It ended up being one of our favorite walks of the entire trip.

Afterwards, we walked back to the lodge and hung out by the water for a while. I want to return to Lake Quinault! It’s majestic.

Merriman Falls

We took a short drive from Lake Quinault to Merriman Falls. It’s a small waterfall just off the side of the road. When we arrived, there was only one other car in the parking area. The setting was peaceful and photogenic. It was an easy and worthwhile stop.

Kalaloch Beach

Around midday, we headed north to Kalaloch Beach to see the famous Tree of Life. Recent storms had washed away much of the soil around its roots, leaving the massive tree suspended just above the ground. It seemed like it wouldn’t take long before it comes down.

Walking the beach was pleasant enough; quite a few people were enjoying the sun.

Hoh Rainforest

Later in the afternoon, we drove about an hour to the Hoh Rainforest and walked the Hall of Mosses Trail. The trail is aptly named. The trees were completely coated in thick, green moss. It’s a short walk and was pretty crowded, but I think it’s worth doing once.

That evening, we drove toward Forks and stayed at RW Services RV Park, which cost $35 for the night. We cooked New York steaks on our one-burner camping stove and settled in for our first night of camping on the trip. The campground wasn’t scenic, but it was clean, well-run, and quiet.

Día 2

Bella’s Truck
Sol Duc Falls
Lake Crescent Lodge
Moments in Time Trail

Indi woke up looking like this. It’s one of my favorite photos of her.

Bella's Truck

Indi is a super fan of the book and movie series Twilight. So naturally, we had to visit Forks. We stopped outside of the Forks Chamber of Commerce, where they have Bella’s Truck. One model is the one described in the book; the other is the one she drives in the movie.

The Twilight museum was closed, so we went to eat breakfast in a diner. I can’t remember if the diner, The In Place, makes an appearance in a movie, but the food was good.

Sol Duc Falls

We drove about an hour and a half to the Sol Duc Falls trailhead. The hike to the falls is roughly 1.6 miles round trip, and both the trail and the destination were more crowded than we expected.

The waterfall itself was nice enough, but the forest and river scenery along the way were just as memorable.

The heavy foot traffic on the trail and around the falls was unfortunate and really detracted from the experience.

Lake Crescent Lodge

Around midday, we drove about 30 minutes from Sol Duc to Lake Crescent Lodge. One thing that quickly became clear on this trip is how spread out everything is in Olympic National Park. We slowly made a clockwise loop around the park, starting at its southernmost point. We hung out around the lodge, then we took the short hike along the shore.

Moments in Time Trail

As we walked along the lake shore near the Lake Crescent Lodge, we found the trail kept going further than expected and branching off into different directions.

The trail led through the forest, passing massive, old Douglas fir trees.

We followed trail signs to Marymere Falls. Indi and I find waterfalls to often be anticlimactic, so we did not stay long. It really do be about the journey, not the destination.

One of the coolest things we saw was wild flowers blooming in a meadow area close to the lodge. I saw a doe bedded down in the flowers just off the trail.

That evening, we set up camp at Heart of the Hills Campground. It was my favorite campsite of the trip. It was right next to the park entrance, so we had to wait in line to get inside, which was a little annoying.

Día 3

Port Angeles & the Wharf

The next day, we started driving toward the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, but the weather wasn’t cooperating and the conditions didn’t look promising. Instead of pushing on, we turned around and changed plans.

Port Angeles & the Wharf

We spent the morning in Port Angeles, walking around the town and especially the waterfront and wharf area. We browsed the small shops, grabbed New Zealand-style ice cream by the water, and took our time exploring. I picked up a few things, including an art print of a shark.

Later that day, we made the long drive back to the Portland area, about five and a half hours in total. It was a quiet end to a packed few days of forests, waterfalls, beaches, and small towns.