Taking up most of the Olympic Peninsula, Olympic National Park is an enormous national park in the Pacific northwest. It is majestic world of rugged coastlines, fabled temperate rainforests, subalpine forest covered in winter snows, and magical lowland forests.
You can hike amid aging giant trees, discover colorful anemones in tide pools, walk along driftwood-strewn beaches, hike to hidden waterfalls and splash in beautiful lakes.
The national park is divided into roughly four different areas – Hurricane Hill and Crescent Lake, Hoh Rainforest, the Pacific beaches, and the Quinault Rainforest and Lake Quinault.
Olympic National Park Travel Guide
Olympic National Park at a glance
- State: Washington
- Main attractions: Rainforests, beaches, tidepools, lakes, waterfalls, mountains
- Best time to go: Summer
- Hotels/ Airbnbs: Lodges and vacation rentals in the park and gateway towns including Port Angeles and Forks
- Campgrounds: Inside the park and nearby
- Dining: Gateway towns and lodges
- Shuttle: No
Olympic National Park Guide
Navigate this Olympic National Park guide by clicking on the articles below to read in-depth information about each aspect of Olympic National Park.
Best Tours of Olympic National Park
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About the Author
James Ian has traveled to 82 countries and all 7 continents. He has visited all of the main national parks in the United States, as well as many national monuments and state parks.
He has rafted through the Grand Canyon; rappelled down slot canyons near Zion and Arches; hiked among the hoodoos in Bryce and the enormous trees in Sequoia; admired the waterfalls in Yosemite and the colored hot springs in Yellowstone; seen moose in Grand Tetons and seals in the Channel Islands, and much more.
