Olympic Peninsula Loop: 3 Days in Olympic National Park

Day 1 of 3

Seattle → Port Angeles & Hurricane Ridge

Start early. Take the Edmonds-Kingston ferry (30 min on the water, views of Puget Sound) rather than driving around via the Hood Canal Bridge, it saves time and sets the mood. From Kingston, Highway 101 curves west through small towns into Port Angeles, your base for the night.

6 stopsDay one

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⠿Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.

1. ⠿↑↓1
   Drive from where are you driving from?~2.5 hr · ferry + US-101 · Drive

   Start early. Take the Edmonds-Kingston ferry (30-minute crossing, hourly) instead of routing around via the Hood Canal Bridge. From Kingston, US-101 curves west across the peninsula into Port Angeles.

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   Edmonds-Kingston Ferry30-min crossing · Puget Sound · Viewpoint

   A 30-minute Puget Sound crossing that drops you on the Kitsap Peninsula. Park on the car deck, walk up to the bow for Mount Baker on a clear day and harbor seals year-round.

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   Hurricane Hill Trail3.2 mi RT · 700 ft gain · Hike

   The classic Hurricane Ridge summit. 1.6 miles of switchbacks up to a 5,757-ft pinnacle with panoramic views over the Olympic interior and (clear days) Vancouver Island. Wildflower-dense July-August.

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   Big Meadow LoopEasy 0.5 mi loop · wildflowers · Viewpoint

   The accessible alternative to Hurricane Hill, a paved, mostly flat half-mile loop right behind the visitor center. Lupine, paintbrush, and avalanche lily peak in July.

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   Sol Duc Mineral Hot Springs PoolMineral soak · ~40 min detour · activity

   A worthwhile detour off US-101 west of Port Angeles: three mineral hot-springs soaking pools (98 to 104 degrees F) plus a freshwater pool, ringed by old-growth forest. Perfect to unwind after Hurricane Hill before checking in for the night.

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   Stay in Port AngelesOlympic Lodge · base for Day 2 · lodge

   Olympic Lodge or any waterfront motel, Port Angeles is the natural overnight before tomorrow's 90-minute push to the Hoh. Pick a place with breakfast included; you'll want an early start.

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Day 2 of 3

Hoh Rain Forest & Ruby Beach

The drive from Port Angeles to the Hoh Rain Forest is 1.5 hours of pure Pacific Northwest. When you arrive, the Hoh feels like another planet, towering Sitka spruce and western hemlock wrapped in club moss, the forest so dense that rainfall doesn't reach the ground for minutes.

5 stopsDay two

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⠿Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.

1. ⠿↑↓1
   Drive Port Angeles → Hoh~1.5 hr · US-101 south · Drive

   US-101 south through Forks (gas + supplies) then east on the Upper Hoh Road for the final 18 miles into the rain forest. Cell service ends near Forks, download maps before leaving Port Angeles.

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   Hall of Mosses Trail0.8 mi loop · ancient Sitka spruce · Hike

   The signature Hoh experience. A 0.8-mile flat loop through one of the only temperate rain forests in North America, 300-ft Sitka spruces draped in club moss, ferns underfoot, total silence broken only by water dripping.

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   Hoh River Trail to Five Mile Island10.2 mi RT · old-growth corridor · Hike

   For the adventurous: the first 5 miles of the 17-mile Hoh River Trail are flat and follow the river through old-growth corridors where Roosevelt elk are routine sightings. Turn around at 5 Mile Island for a 10-mile day.

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   Ruby Beach0.2 mi to shore · sea stacks at sunset · Viewpoint

   A 40-minute drive north of the Hoh, a 2-minute walk down to one of the most photographed beaches on the West Coast, sea stacks, giant driftwood, tide pools, full Pacific exposure. Time it for sunset.

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   Stay at Kalaloch LodgeOceanside bluff · book 6+ months ahead · lodge

   Oceanside cabins on a bluff above the Pacific. The lodge restaurant is the only sit-down for 30 miles. Books out 6+ months ahead in summer, Forks motels are the fallback.

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Day 3 of 3

Lake Quinault & Return to Seattle

Lake Quinault is the quiet ending this trip deserves. The old-growth forest here is some of the most impressive on the peninsula, ancient trees so large that four people couldn't reach around them. The Quinault Loop Trail is easy and flat, 4 miles of silence except for the river and birds.

5 stopsDay three

▾

⠿Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.

1. ⠿↑↓1
   Drive Kalaloch → Lake Quinault~45 min · US-101 south · Drive

   US-101 hugs the coast then turns inland into the Quinault rain forest. Stop at the Big Cedar Tree pullout before the lake, quick 0.1-mile walk to a 1,000-year-old western red cedar.

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   Quinault Loop Trail4 mi · easy old-growth · Hike

   A near-silent 4-mile loop through Douglas fir and western red cedar, the most impressive old-growth forest on the peninsula. Flat, well-marked, and almost always empty on weekday mornings.

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   World's Largest Sitka Spruce0.2 mi walk · 191 ft tall · Viewpoint

   A 0.2-mile gravel path off South Shore Road delivers you to the largest Sitka spruce on Earth, 191 ft tall, 58-ft circumference, 1,000+ years old. Hard to photograph; impossible to forget.

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   Lake Quinault Lodge Breakfast1926 historic lodge · lakeside dining · food

   The 1926 lodge that gave the lake its identity. Lakeside windows, big stone fireplace, classic Pacific NW breakfast (sourdough French toast, smoked salmon hash). Linger before the drive home.

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   Return to Seattle via Aberdeen~3 hr · US-101 to I-5 north · Drive

   US-101 south through Aberdeen, then east on US-12 to I-5 north. About 3 hours back to Seattle. Stop at Aberdeen for fuel and a final fish-and-chips at Billy's Bar before the freeway.

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