Olympic National Park is one of my favorite places in Washington and one of the most varied national parks in the country. In a single trip, you can walk through old-growth rainforest, climb to alpine views, watch the sunset on a wild beach, and kayak on a glacier-fed lake. I’ve been here multiple times a year for over a decade, and I’m still finding new spots I want to explore.
This guide covers the 12 best things to do in Olympic National Park based on my own trips. Some are short and easy (great for families or a day trip from Seattle), and some are full-day adventures. I’ve also included tips on when to go, how to get here, and where to stay along the way.
For more trip planning, I have a full guide for one day in Olympic National Park, the best hikes in Olympic National Park, and the full Olympic Peninsula loop road trip if you want to extend your visit into a longer trip.
Tips for Visiting Olympic National Park
A few practical things to know before you head out.
Best Time to Visit Olympic National Park
You can visit Olympic National Park year-round, but the best window is May through October when most areas are accessible, and the weather is generally drier. June and September are my favorites because the wildflowers (June) or fall colors (September) are at their best, and the crowds are lighter than peak July and August.
Winter visits are great if you’re flexible. Lower-elevation areas like the Hoh Rainforest, Lake Crescent, and the coastal beaches remain accessible year-round, but Hurricane Ridge can be limited by snow, and the road sometimes closes. Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort is also closed from late October through late March, so plan around that if you want to soak.
For more park-specific timing, see my Washington state bucket list for general PNW seasonal travel tips.
How to Get to Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park sits on the Olympic Peninsula, separated from Seattle by Puget Sound. From Seattle, the fastest route is to drive to Edmonds, take the Washington ferry to Kingston, then drive west to Port Angeles. From Olympia or Portland, you can drive up Highway 101 instead. Once you’re in the area, you’ll need a car because there’s no public transportation between the park’s sections.
If you’d rather skip the driving, you can also visit on a guided day tour from Seattle:
- 1-Day Olympic National Park Tour from Seattle covers the main highlights of the park in a single day.
- Hoh Rain Forest and Pacific Coast Guided Tour focuses on the rainforest and beaches.
- Olympic National Park Day Tour from Seattle is another full-day option from downtown.
If you want to extend your visit and see more of the peninsula, the Olympic Peninsula loop road trip guide covers all the major stops on a 3-5 day drive.
Where to Stay Near Olympic National Park
If you’re spending more than one day, basing out of Port Angeles (for north-side trips) or Forks (for west-side trips) gives you the most flexibility. For a full breakdown, see my guide on where to stay in Olympic National Park.
Where to Stay Near Olympic National Park
- North side base (Port Angeles): Red Lion Hotel Port Angeles Harbor is right on the waterfront and walkable to downtown. It’s where I stayed on a fall trip.
- West side base (Forks): Private cabin on 27 acres near the Hoh Rainforest. Sleeps 6, full kitchen, pet-friendly. Where I’d book again.
- In-park option: Lake Crescent Lodge is the historic 1915 lodge right on the lake.
- Vacation rental: Browse Olympic Peninsula Vrbo rentals for cabins and homes.
- Browse all options: All Port Angeles hotels on Booking.com.
12 Best Things to Do in Olympic National Park
Here are some of my favorite things to do at the park.
1. Walk Through the Hoh Rainforest
The Hoh Rainforest is the spot most people picture when they hear “Olympic National Park,” and the reputation is earned. It’s one of the few temperate rainforests in the lower 48, and the scale of the moss-covered trees is something you can’t appreciate from pictures. The light filters through the canopy in a green you don’t see anywhere else.
What surprised me most was driving in. On the Upper Hoh Road, I came around a bend and found three elk grazing on the shoulder, totally unbothered by my car. I heard they’re really frequent in that area, but I’d never seen them so close (don’t worry, I stayed in my car).
If the visitor’s center is open, I recommend stopping there first before hitting the trails. Once you’re on the trails, it’s a different world: silent, dripping, mossy. The Hall of Mosses trail is the famous loop, but the Spruce Nature Trail, right next to it, is a different perspective along the Hoh River and is worth doing if you have an extra 45 minutes.
This is also a hike that works year-round since it’s low elevation. It’s one of the better spring hikes in Washington for when higher mountain trails are still buried in snow.
A practical heads-up: parking is brutal in summer. The entrance pay station can have 1-2 hour waits between 9 am and 5 pm. Get there before 9 or after 4 if you can.
2. Explore Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach is the most popular and most photographed beach in Olympic National Park. The parking lot sits up on a bluff, then a short trail drops down to the beach itself, which is wide, rocky, and littered with massive driftwood logs bleached white by the sun.
The sea stacks are the main draw, those dramatic rock formations rising out of the water that you’ll recognize from a thousand PNW Instagram photos, but what I keep coming back for is the tidepools. At low tide, the rocky shelves on the south end of the beach turn into little aquariums full of anemones, starfish, hermit crabs, and tiny fish. Bring waterproof shoes if you actually want to explore them. The rocks can be slippery, and the tide pools sneak up on you.
Time your visit around low tide if you can. The tide schedules are posted on the NPS Olympic tide chart.
3. Visit Kalaloch and See the Tree of Life
Just south of Ruby Beach is Kalaloch, home to the most-photographed tree in Washington. The Tree of Life is a Sitka spruce hanging from a bluff, its roots exposed in midair because erosion has pulled the soil out from underneath. Defying both gravity and the laws of botany, it just keeps holding on. I was only here for about 10 minutes, but it was still worth the stop.
Just south of the tree is Kalaloch Lodge, which sits right on a bluff over the Pacific. The bluff cabins go for premium prices in summer, but the restaurant is open to non-guests and has full ocean views, so it’s an easy lunch stop. If you’ve never seen the Olympic coast from above, the view from the lodge dining room alone makes the detour worth it.
4. Walk Rialto Beach
If Ruby Beach is the iconic beach, Rialto is the wild one. It sits up the coast near La Push and is exactly what people mean by “the rugged Pacific Northwest.” Driftwood the size of telephone poles, sea stacks dotting the horizon, and waves that crash hard enough you can feel them.
When I was there, I spotted a bald eagle on a piece of driftwood about 50 feet from where I was standing. It just sat there preening for a while before flying off down the beach. People come to Rialto for the Hole-in-the-Wall hike, which is about 4 miles round-trip on the sand to a sea arch you can walk through at low tide. I haven’t done that one yet, but it’s near the top of my list for the next coastal trip!
Important 2026 update: the Mora Road past the campground is closed for storm damage repairs from July through early fall. If you’re visiting during that window, you’ll need to skip Rialto and visit Second Beach or Third Beach (directly accessible from La Push) instead.
5. Kayak on Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent is the otherworldly blue-green lake on the north side of the park, and the best way to actually experience it is by paddling out into the middle. The lake is glacially formed, super deep, and crystal clear because there’s almost no organic matter in the water. From a kayak, you can see straight down into it.
I went on a guided kayak tour and loved how quiet it was once we got onto the water. No road noise, just the sound of paddles. Lake Crescent Lodge rents kayaks in summer if you’d rather go on your own, and there are a few other rental and tour options around the lake. Either way, the views from the water are way better than from shore.
If you’re combining this with hiking and overnight lodging, Lake Crescent makes a great anchor for a weekend trip from Seattle, since the lodge is one of the few in-park lodging options.
6. Hike Marymere Falls
The Marymere Falls trail is short, shaded, and gorgeous. The trailhead is at the Storm King Ranger Station right next to Lake Crescent Lodge, and the trail winds about a mile through old-growth forest before climbing a short stretch up to the 90-foot waterfall.
This was my kids’ first hike where they made it the whole way without bailing or being carried, which is a memory I keep replaying. I’ve now done it three times total: once with them, once on a guided tour, and once on my own when I was already in the area. It’s really perfect for any skill level or age.
It’s a great option for families and one of the better easy hikes in Washington. The falls look most dramatic in spring after the snow melts, but they’re worth seeing year-round.
7. Drive Hurricane Ridge Road for the Views
Even if you don’t hike, the drive up Hurricane Ridge Road is one of the best experiences in the park. The road climbs 17 miles of switchbacks from Port Angeles up to 5,242 feet, with viewpoint pullouts along the way. The closer you get to the top, the more panoramic the view becomes. From the upper stretch, you can see the whole Olympic mountain range in one direction and Vancouver Island in the other. I thought it was pretty fun to be staring at another country from the top!
I’ve made this drive in summer and fall, and both are stunning. Heads up: the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge burned down in 2023 and is still under reconstruction, so there are no services at the top right now (no food, gift shop, or gear rentals). Bring everything you need with you. There’s still a small staffed information station up there in summer if you have questions.
Hurricane Ridge Road starts in Port Angeles, so it pairs naturally with things to do in Port Angeles for a day or weekend.
9. See Sol Duc Falls from the Bridge
Sol Duc Falls is one of the most photographed waterfalls in Washington and one of the few where you stand on a wooden bridge that crosses directly over the top of the falls. Most waterfalls you view from the base. Here, you’re looking down into the gorge as water rushes underneath you. I will say the one downside is it takes a bit to get to from Highway 101, as it’s about a 30-minute drive to the trailhead.
I hiked it on a cold November day, and snow started falling lightly as we stood on the bridge. We were the only people on the trail, and the combination of the snow, the moss-draped forest, and the roar of the water made it an experience that doesn’t really translate to photos. The hike itself is only about 1.6 miles round-trip and easy enough for most ages.
If you collect waterfalls like I do, this is one of the best waterfall hikes near Seattle and worth the detour out the Sol Duc Road.
10. Backpack the Ozette Triangle
The Ozette Triangle is a 9.5-mile loop in the northwest corner of the park that takes you from a quiet lakeside ranger station, through old-growth forest on cedar boardwalks, out to the wild Pacific coast, then back. It covers two completely different ecosystems in one trip, which is part of what makes it special.
I backpacked this loop with a friend in June 2018, and we camped at Camp Alava right next to the ocean. The story I always tell about this trip happened on the way out: we came around a bend on the coastal section and saw a black bear with two cubs on the beach.
The tide was already coming in, and that section of beach floods at high tide. We waited about an hour at a safe distance until the family wandered off, then moved through quickly before the water cut us off.
You can do the whole loop as a long day hike if you start early, but I’d recommend the overnight version if you have the gear and the time. However, you do need a permit to camp here.
11. Walk Through Historic Lake Crescent Lodge
Lake Crescent Lodge is worth a stop, even if you’re not staying overnight. The original building was put up in 1915, and the great room still has the historic lodge feel: stone fireplace, creaky wood floors, antique furniture, and the smell of woodsmoke when there’s a fire going.
I love just walking through. You can grab coffee or order food at the lodge restaurant (open to non-guests), then take it out onto the wide lawn that slopes down to the lake. Sit there for half an hour, and you’re basically inside a postcard. The lodge sits at the southeast end of Lake Crescent and is also the trailhead for Marymere Falls, so you can pair the two.
12. See the World’s Largest Sitka Spruce at Lake Quinault
Lake Quinault is on the southwestern edge of the park, and the area around it is sometimes called the “Valley of the Rainforest Giants” because it’s home to five of the largest conifers in the world. The biggest of them is the world’s largest Sitka spruce, a roughly 1,000-year-old tree that stands 191 feet tall with a trunk circumference of nearly 59 feet. I almost skipped this, but curiosity got the best of me, so I added it to my short hike. The trail to it is under a quarter mile, totally flat, and tucked off South Shore Road past Lake Quinault Lodge.
I made the stop on a rainy November day after hiking around the Hoh, and I had the whole place to myself. There’s something about standing under a tree that’s been there since around the year 1000 that makes everything else feel small. If you’re already this far south, build it into a longer road trip from Seattle so you have time to take it slow.
Olympic National Park FAQ
Here are some common questions I get.
What is the most popular thing to do in Olympic National Park?
The most popular thing to do in Olympic National Park is walking through the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rainforest. It’s the most photographed spot in the park and a quick, accessible loop through old-growth temperate rainforest. Most first-time visitors prioritize this stop, along with Hurricane Ridge for alpine views and Ruby Beach for the coast.
How many days do you need at Olympic National Park?
Two to three days lets you see the highlights without rushing. Four to five days lets you actually explore. The park is huge (over 922,000 acres), and there’s no road that cuts through the middle, so getting between areas takes longer than you’d think.
What is Olympic National Park known for?
Olympic National Park is best known for its three distinct ecosystems within a single park: the temperate rainforest at Hoh, the alpine peaks at Hurricane Ridge, and the rugged Pacific coastline at Ruby Beach, Rialto Beach, and Kalaloch. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the world’s largest Sitka spruce.
What is there to do in Olympic National Park besides hiking?
There’s plenty to do in Olympic National Park beyond hiking. You can kayak on Lake Crescent, walk the beaches (Ruby, Rialto, and Kalaloch), drive Hurricane Ridge Road for alpine views, stop at Lake Crescent Lodge for coffee on the water, and see the world’s largest Sitka spruce at Lake Quinault. The park works well for non-hikers because so many attractions are accessible right from the road.
That’s my list of the 12 best things to do in Olympic National Park, based on years of trips here. Whether you’re after a quick day trip to Hurricane Hill or a multi-day adventure that covers the rainforest, the coast, and Lake Quinault, the park is one of the most varied destinations in the country.
Have a favorite stop I missed? Let me know in the comments.
