48 Hours in Olympic National Park | Maybe the MOST Diverse National Park in the Country

We spend the weekend in Olympic National Park which has to be one of the most diverse national parks in the country. It stretches over nearly a million acres on Washington’s west coast and encompasses beaches, rugged coastlines, dense rainforest, and mountains.

Day 1

We get started in the northern part of the peninsula with a hike up to Mt Storm King. This is a very popular out and back day hike in the park and it is around 5 miles round trip with 2,000 feet of elevation gain.

The trail starts at the Storm King Ranger station and is flat for around 10 minutes before it turns off on the Storm King Trail. This is where the incline begins… we make our way up switchback after switchback through the trees for around an hour or so before reaching the “End of maintained trail” sign.

From here there is a bit of trail that’s along a ledge and very narrow and shortly after, we reach the infamous fixed ropes section. I was pretty nervous for this section with steep cliffs and slippery ground underfoot but we take it slow and make our way up the 3 sections of ropes.

After the ropes there is a short rock scramble to the top. If I am being honest, I thought this part was worse than the ropes because it is very exposed on both sides, but luckily it is quick and at the top we are rewarded with an awesome view of Lake Cresent. It is pretty cloudy and very windy but we have a double rainbow over the lake which makes up for the lack of visibility.

We don’t hang around long because of the wind.. we make our way back across the rock scramble and down the ropes before continuing the rest of the way down the trail. We take the quick detour to Marymere Falls which adds about 1 mile round trip and is definitely worth the extra effort!

From Lake Cresent we head about 30 minutes to Sol Duc Falls. This is an easy 1.6 mile trail that leads through a green, mossy forest. The views of the falls are beautiful, tumbling beneath a wooden footbridge.

We end the day at Ruby Beach which is famous for its sea stacks, tide pools and driftwood. It is very cloudy and misty but we walk on the beach for a couple hours before the sun goes down, admiring all the sea life in the tide pools.

Day 2

We start day 2 at Rialto Beach and hike to the Hole In The Wall. This is a 3.8 mile round trip hike along the beach and as the name implies, there is an opening in a rock formation that is only passable at low tide.

We get started at sunrise and take the nice stroll along the beach until we reach the Hole In The Wall which we pass through to reach the northern side of the beach. We explore the area for a couple hours enjoying the sea stacks and tide pools.

We make our way back through as the tide is coming in and start heading back down the beach. It makes for quite the adventure since the tide is coming in quick!

From Rialto Beach we head to the Hoh Rainforest. This is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the US and is absolutely magical! We hike along the Hoh River Trail which is around 30 miles in total so we plan to hike for 3-4 miles and then turn around.

The trees are covered in this bright green moss and the trail runs along the river. It really is so beautiful and serene and peaceful. This is quite the different feel then our normal hikes when we have a distinct destination in mind but it is really nice to take things slow and enjoy all the small details of the forrest.

We end our day at Kalaloch Beach for sunset. It is pretty cloudy so we don’t get much of a sunset but this beach is really cool because there is something called “Tree of Life” here. This old sitka spruce hangs precariously over a creek on the beach front. All of the dirt has eroded away beneath it but somehow the tree is still alive and standing strong!

We walk along the beach for a bit and while the sun never makes an official debut, the sky puts on a show and turns colors of bright pink and orange. It really is the perfect way to end our time in Olympic National Park!

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