Olympic National Park, Washington

We arrived at the Olympic National Park on a rainy gray afternoon. We spent a night at the Heart of the Hills Campground in the park, with hopes of a clear morning to make the 9 mi. trip up to Hurricane Ridge. The next morning was mixed, but dry and the drive and views were fantastic. We could see the Olympic Mountain Ridge and Mt. Olympus through breaks in the clouds.

View of Mt. Carrie through the clouds.

The view from Hurricane Ridge.

There is still plenty of snow at the top of Hurricane Ridge!

Juan de Fuca Straights between Olympic Penninsula and Vancouver Is.

The Olympic Peninsula boasts of a temperate rain forest along the western side of the park. It receives over 180 inches of rain a year. We spent a night at the campground with the kids enjoying exploration of the Hoh River banks. The next day we hiked along the Spruce Nature Trail in the sunshine! Peter and Rich also ran along the Hall of Mosses Trail.

Even the phone booth grows moss!!

The third section of the Olympic National Park is the Pacific Coast area. We drove from the rain forest out to the Kalaloch Beach on the Peninsula. It wasn't very sunny, but the tide pools were the richest we've ever seen. Lots of anemones, starfish, fish, and mussels- it was a fantastic spot to explore. The kelp made a great jump rope.

The kelp rope



The colors were fantastic!



More starfish.

Tide pool area.