A Quick Olympic National Park Road Trip

I have been a bit lazy about blogging, I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since my mom and I did a two-day Olympic National Park road trip!  The weather out on the Olympic peninsula is fickle and it’s likely to rain, even in the summer, which was the case for us, so I would go back again one day.

I’m glad we were able to go during the week and avoid larger crowds on the weekend. Definitely remember to download the Google Maps in case you lose service and check the park website for road closures.

DAY 1: TUESDAY, AUGUST 29

We left Bellevue around 8:20 am and stopped for gas at Costco in Tumwater. For lunch, we went to a small bakery called Buena Luz Bakery in Port Angeles. They had pastries, but not a ton of food options available but we grabbed a sandwich and then ate outside at the picnic tables. Then, we went to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center.

One thing to know about Olympic National Park is that most of the things to see are an hour’s drive from each other, so expect to spend a lot of time in the car. Our first stop was Madison Falls, which was a quick 0.2 mile paved walk.

Then, we drove to Marymere Falls, which was an easy 1.8 mile hike round trip.

We continued on to Lake Crescent. There were little cabins and a lodge with a restaurant. I liked the sunroom with the windows overlooking the lake. The water was very blue and you could kayak on the lake.

Then, we headed to Sol Duc Falls, another quick 1.8 mile roundtrip hike.

We drove and checked into the Riviera Inn Motel in Port Angeles and called in an order at Westside Pizza to-go and drove to eat it at Ediz Hook by the water at sunset.  I don’t know if it was because we were hungry from being out all day, but this Hawaiian pizza was absolutely delicious!

DAY 2: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30

We got up early and left the motel at 7am to get to the Hoh Visitor Center and Hall of Mosses at 9:15am before the parking lot filled up.  We also did the 1.2 mile Spruce Nature Trail, but that wasn’t worth it in my opinion. Just stick with the Hall of Mosses.

Then, we drove to the beach to see the famous Tree of Life, which is somehow still standing.

After, we went to Bella’s truck in Forks and went into the touristy Twilight-themed gift shops. We stopped at Forks Outfitters, which was a big grocery store in town that also had some touristy items like stickers. It also had a coffee shop in it and I got a chai.

We went to the Makah Tribal Center to purchase a recreation permit for Cape Flattery since it’s on the Makah Indian Reservation. It costs $20 and is valid for a full year.

We got to Cape Flattery around 4pm and walked the trails and saw the water. It’s the most northwest point in the contiguous US!

Then, we drove back to Forks and got some dinner at Forks Outfitters. We ate in the car and headed to Rialto Beach. It was about 7:30pm by time we got there and it was overcast and sprinkling, but people were still surfing. Then, we went drove back to Port Angeles in the rain.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Ridge was closed and we didn’t get time to go to all the beaches in LaPush while we were there, but other than that, we saw everything we wanted!

Here’s a map of everywhere we went!

RECOMMENDED READING:
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A Day Trip to Mount St. Helens

Columbia River Gorge Waterfall Road Trip