Olympic National Park is a huge park covering almost a million acres. Highway 101 makes a loop around three sides of it. We drove the western half of the loop. There are very few towns along the way. After a two hour drive, our first stop was the Hoh Rainforest entrance. Even though we left early in the morning, by the time we got there, the parking lot was almost full.

Hoh Rainforest

After getting my National Park Passport book stamped, we toured the visitors’ center, listened to a ranger talk, and then ate our lunch. The rangers suggested we hike the “Hall of Mosses Trail” first. It’s an easy .8 mile loop that starts near the visitors’ center.

It rained while we were there, as you would expect in a rainforest, but the rain was sporadic. I thought a drop or two of rain on my camera lens in the photos was only appropriate.

This lush forest with huge ferns and moss covering the tree trunks gave the feeling of being in another world. This rainforest gets over 200 inches of rain a year. The Park Ranger, who is 6′ 4″, held a rake above his head to give us an idea of how much 200 inches really is.

The Ranger joked that perhaps the legend of Big Foot came about from someone seeing a tree in the shape of a man walking, with moss hanging down (as his fur). The mossy trees could certainly give off that kind of vibe.

The Ranger told us of a scientist who got permission to take all the moss off of a large tree. The scientist dried the moss and weighed it. It weighed about 2,000 pounds or about a ton. What was sad to learn, is that the tree died. It turns out that the moss protects the tree, and the tree provides an environment for the moss to grow and thrive.

Fallen logs thick with moss provide soil for seedlings to grow forming a “tree nursery.” The photo below shows trees growing out of a fallen log.

As the fallen log decays and rots away, the tree continues to grow forming a “cave” from the roots, like the one below.

This tree arch was of special interest to the tourists that day.

The thing that got everyone’s interest was this banana slug. Although I dislike slugs of any kind, this one was begging for attention.

The rainforest was fascinating, but it was early in the day and we were only 80 miles from Port Angeles where the road to Hurricane Ridge began. Instead of taking two long drives to see Olympic National Park, we decided to make it a really long day and see as much as we could all at once.

Crescent Lake

On our way to Port Angeles, the road winds around Crescent Lake. Surrounded by trees and mountains, this lake is really stunning. This lake is within the boundaries of the park.

Hurricane Ridge

After stopping in Port Angeles for a few groceries, we drove up the road to Hurricane Ridge. I was worried that it would be socked in with clouds at the top. We did, in fact, drive through some pretty thick fog on the way up before we came out into the sunshine at the top.

What we saw at the top of the mountain was like something out of The Sound of Music. It’s like being in the Swiss Alps of Washington. The mountain range in the distance is the Olympic Mountains, and one of the peaks is Mount Olympus.

In 2023, the Visitors’ Center at Hurricane Ridge burned down. The cause was never determined. Currently there are temporary facilities on tractor trailers.

Unlike other mountains in Washington, these were not formed from volcanoes. Rather, it is believed they are made out of sand and mud from the ocean floor that was piled up against the coastline of Washington from the submergence of the tectonic plate.

Mount Olympus is almost 8,000 feet high with 184 alpine glaciers.

We hiked a short ways from the parking lot to the top of the hill to see the other side. There were still patches of snow on the ground.

Crescent Lake

After driving back down into Port Angeles from Hurricane Ridge, we ate a delicious dinner at Kokopeli Grill. We drove back the way we came, which took us around Crescent Lake again.

Being so far north, the sky was light until 10:30 at night. We got home around 11:00 pm after a very long day. It was very worthwhile.

“O Lord my God, how great You are!” Psalm 104:1 “Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels You decreed.” Psalm 104:8 “The trees of the Lord are well cared for.” Psalm 104:16 “Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, You inspire shouts of joy. ” Psalm 65:8