Things to do nearOlympic National Park

Olympic National Park was established in 1938 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, recognized for its extraordinary range of ecosystems existing in close proximity. The park protects nearly a million acres across the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, encompassing three distinct environments that feel almost like separate worlds.

In the west, temperate rainforests such as the Hoh and Quinault receive enormous annual rainfall, sustaining old-growth trees of immense girth and a layered understory of ferns, mosses, and oxalis that carpets the forest floor in deep green. Moving inland, the Olympic Mountains form a rugged interior wilderness where glaciers cling to high ridges and subalpine meadows bloom briefly each summer. The park's third zone stretches along roughly 73 miles of wild Pacific coastline, where sea stacks rise from the surf, tide pools teem with intertidal life, and stretches of beach remain accessible only on foot.

Elk are a constant presence throughout the park, particularly the Roosevelt elk, a subspecies that has shaped the vegetation of the rainforest valleys for centuries. Hikers can choose from short interpretive walks near the Hoh Visitor Center to multi-day routes along the coast or into the high country. The town of Port Angeles serves as the primary gateway, offering lodging, supplies, and access to the park's northern entrance. Olympic National Park stands apart for the sheer improbability of its contrasts, making it one of the most ecologically rich destinations in North America.