Day 6: Olympic National Park

This was a really long day!  It is very easy to forget how large the western states are and how many miles there are between cities and attractions.  This was one of those days that we probably miscalculated the length of the road trip!

Road to Olympic National Park

There a couple ways to get to Olympic National Park from Seattle....one is to take the Ferry and the other is to drive.  We opted for the driving method since we were heading through the park and then on down to Springfield, Oregon for that evening so we would be close to Crater Lake the following day.  Now if you look on a map it doesn't seem like that the park is all that far from Seattle, especially the southern part of Seattle where we stayed.  Well.....it took us about 2.5 hours to get there! Add to that the drive time from Seattle to Springfield, Oregon of a little over 6 hours and the time to drive around the park itself and you get a long day of driving!

We weren't sure how many gas stations/places to eat that we would encounter on our venture around the park so we made sure to fuel up and grab a sandwich and snacks to take along with us.  There are a few more places to stop along the way than most National Parks but it certainly didn't hurt to have stopped ahead of time and stocked up!  

Olympic National Park is nearly 1 million acres but there are relatively few roadways through the park. It is unique because it has three distinct ecosystems, Coast, Forests and Mountains.  Our approach was from Rt. 101 from Seattle so we started on the East side of the park and made the loop to the west and then back south again.  Our first stop was at the Visitors's Center.  We made a quick stop to look around and use the restrooms.  A ranger advised us to head up Hurricane Ridge early as the weather was expected to disintegrate as the day progressed.  So we headed up the roadway and took the road to Hurricane Ridge.

Hurricane Ridge

View from Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge is in the Mountain section of the park and was the most beautiful of the areas that we saw.  The road to get there is insane! It is a winding road and the increase in elevation is amazing.  The views are equally amazing!  This is a definite must see area!!  The mountains were beautiful and the valleys so green.  It made you almost feel like you were ready to burst into music from the Sound of Music!  

When you get to the end of the drive, there is a nice gift shop and restrooms.  We went through the gift shop and stepped outside to take some pictures of the area.

Views from Hurricane Ridge

Views from Hurricane Ridge

As we were leaving this area to head back down to the main route, we were treated to the sight of some of the black-tailed deer that are in this area.  They were so gentle and very unafraid of the people and vehicles around!

Black-Tailed Deer at Hurricane Ridge

The deer were unfazed by people!

Black-tailed deer by the side of the parking lot

This was not a long stop but a very beautiful one!  We headed back down the roadway back to the Vistor's Center and then continued on Rt. 101 around the park.

Lake Crescent

We drove quite awhile before seeing anything to stop and check out further.  The road goes through some small towns and there were some small local restaurants if you were looking for a bite to eat.  However, there were several parts of this drive that really weren't all that scenic.  Again, just different than most National Parks.  Finally we passed a beautiful lake....Lake Crescent.  We stopped long enough to take a few pictures along the way.

View from the shores of Lake Crescent

Lake Crescent

Lake Crescent

Forest

We drove awhile again and entered the Forest area....this is a rain forest ecosystem and believe me it didn't disappoint....it rained the whole way through!  Not a whole lot to see here as it was so rainy and unless you drive down a side road and head to the Visitor's Center in the Hoh Rain Forest, you really don't see much along the highway.  The highlight of this area was that we passed through Forks, WA which was the inspiration for the Twilight movies and some of the filming was done there.  Since I haven't seen the Twilight movies it didn't mean as much to me as it might a fan of the series but it was interesting nonetheless.  The other interesting thing was that we were stopped on the roadway for awhile and all of a sudden a truck came by with a sign flashing to follow it:

Interesting development in the rain forest!

Never know what you might see....

You can tell that we were in the rain forest by the large raindrops on our windshield!!  We thought the road was under construction or they were taking us on a detour.  Nope....just a truck on the side of the road trimming some tree branches!  A little anti-climatic...but interesting!

Coast

Ok...if the rain forest was disappointing the coast was even more so.  By this time it had begun to rain pretty hard so we decided to skip the addition drive out to Mora (maybe that would have been nicer) and elected to stop at the upcoming beach areas labeled....Beach 4, Beach 3, Beach 2 and Beach 1.  Really?  They couldn't come up with a name???  We stopped to take a quick picture of one of the beach areas.

Coastal area of Olympic National Park

Final Thoughts

This was an interesting National Park.  I have to admit it does not rank in my favorites.  The Hurrican Ridge Area was beautiful as was Lake Crescent but the drive around was very long (took about 5 hours or so) and the scenery didn't change much in several of the areas.  The rain (and it is common...it is the Pacific Northwest after all) really didn't help the look of things.  I must say that the trees and grass were very green but most of the scenery once you passed the mountain area really wasn't that impressive!  

If I were to go again, I would limit the trip to the Hurricane Ridge area.  I'm sure there are people who love this park and maybe if we were more interested in hiking and had more time, it may have been a different experience.  

Happy we went and saw it....no real desire to make a return trip.

Driving to Oregon

So by this time we had driven to the park, 2.5 hours, around the park..5 hours and still had a 6 hour drive ahead of us to get to our hotel in Springfield, Oregon!  Hubby did all the driving and I don't know how he ever did it!  It was a very long drive and probably NOT the best way to see anything.  However, we really wanted to get to Crater Lake on this trip and it was the only way to make that happen.  I would not suggest that anyone take this route to Oregon!!

Hilton Garden Inn, Springfield, Oregon

Our stop for the evening was the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield, Oregon.  Keeping with our Olympic theme for the day...the Olympic Trials were being held for the US Track and Field team in nearby Eugene, Oregon and many of the potential olympians were staying at our hotel as well as all the area hotels.  This was pretty exciting!  We were so tired by the time we arrived at the hotel we ran out quickly to grab something to eat at a local Outback and then were done for the night.  

This hotel was very nice.  Our room was fantastic (especially after our experience the evening before).  Everyone was friendly and the place was very clean.  They had a pool and business center and small restaurant in the hotel.  We didn't get to experience this because of our late arrival and early departure the next day but they looked very nice!

The quality of the Hilton Garden Inns is always very consistent and you just can't beat their beds for comfort!!

Hilton Garden Inn Springfield, Oregon

Hilton Garden Inn, Springfield, Oregon

We got a great night's sleep and were really looking forward to the next day at Crater Lake!

Coming Next:  Crater Lake...An Absolute Gem

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