The Rainforests of Olympic National Park: All Four, Not Just the Hoh
There are four, all on the wet western side: the Hoh, the Quinault, the Queets and the Bogachiel. The Hoh is the busiest and easiest to reach. The Quinault is a similar forest with far fewer people and the way in to the Enchanted Valley. The Queets needs a river ford and the Bogachiel sees almost nobody.
There are four, not one
Almost every article about the Olympic rainforest means the Hoh. The peninsula actually holds four temperate rainforest valleys on its western side, each fed by the same weather coming off the Pacific and each with a different amount of company.
| Rainforest | Where you enter | How busy |
|---|---|---|
| Hoh | Visitor centre 18 miles up a spur off US-101 near Forks | The busiest by a distance |
| Quinault | Lake Quinault, on the south west corner | Steady, but spread out |
| Queets | A rough gravel road, and a river ford to reach the trail | Almost nobody |
| Bogachiel | A short drive south of Forks | Almost nobody |
The Hoh, and the two walks everyone does
The Hall of Mosses is the trail people come for: a 0.8-mile loop with about 100 feet of gain, which is 30 to 45 minutes at an easy pace and longer if you are taking photographs. The Spruce Nature Trail from the same visitor centre is 1.2 miles. Both are short enough that the drive is the commitment, not the walking. The full Hoh trail rundown covers the longer options from the same trailhead.
Quinault, the one worth choosing instead
Lake Quinault sits on the south west corner and gets a fraction of the Hoh's traffic for a very similar forest. It is also the way into the back country: the Enchanted Valley trail runs up the East Fork Quinault about thirteen miles to a chalet built in 1931, through a valley with so many seasonal waterfalls it is called the Valley of a Thousand Waterfalls.
Queets and Bogachiel, if you want it to yourself
These two are the reason to know there are four. The Queets is reached by a rough gravel road and then a river ford, which is exactly why it is empty, and the ford is not always passable. The Bogachiel is a short drive from Forks and sees very little traffic. Neither has a visitor centre, paved parking or a boardwalk. Go to them for solitude, not for convenience.
When to go
It is a rainforest, so the rain is the point rather than the problem, and the moss is at its best when everything is wet. Summer is the driest stretch and also the busiest. If you want the Hoh without the crowd, be at the visitor centre early or come outside high season, and see our three-day Olympic loop for fitting the rainforest, the coast and Hurricane Ridge into one trip.
The Rainforests of Olympic National Park: All Four, Not Just the Hoh FAQs
Four: the Hoh, the Quinault, the Queets and the Bogachiel. All sit on the western side of the peninsula, fed by weather coming straight off the Pacific. Nearly every article about "the Olympic rainforest" means the Hoh, which is the busiest and the easiest to reach.
The Hoh if you have one day and want the classic walk, since the Hall of Mosses is a 0.8-mile loop with about 100 feet of gain, 30 to 45 minutes at an easy pace. The Quinault if you would rather have a very similar forest with a fraction of the traffic, and it is also the way in to the Enchanted Valley back country.
Mostly how many people are in it. Both are temperate rainforest with the same moss-hung maples and big conifers. The Hoh has a visitor centre, paved parking and the best-known short loops, and the traffic that comes with them. The Quinault is spread around a lake, sees steadier but lighter use, and opens on to long back-country trails.
Yes, but plan for it. The Queets is reached by a rough gravel road and then a ford of the river to reach the trail, and the ford is not always passable depending on flow. There is no visitor centre and no boardwalk. That inaccessibility is exactly why it is empty.
Short and easy. It is a 0.8-mile loop with about 100 feet of gain, packed dirt with a few stairs, so 30 to 45 minutes at an easy pace and longer if you stop for photographs. It leaves from the Hoh visitor centre, 18 miles up a spur road off US-101 near Forks. The Spruce Nature Trail from the same place is 1.2 miles.
The moss looks best wet, so rain is the point rather than the problem. Summer is the driest and the busiest. For the Hoh without the crowd, arrive at the visitor centre early or go outside high season, and consider the Quinault instead, which never fills the way the Hoh does.
