MGal Moves

Visit(s): August 2025

Related Trips:

• 11-Day Washington State & British Columbia Itinerary – August 2025

I was most impressed by Olympic National Park’s diverse landscapes, ranging from glacier-capped mountains, temperate rain forest, and coastline. Sean, Leti, and I explored something like a sampler platter. I was proud for covering so much ground, but wish that we had more time to have a lazy afternoon on the lake. Consider the content below as a quick guide as to what 2 days in a million acres park entails.

We got around by car (rented from Seattle), entering in the morning from the Port Angeles entrance, driving through Sol Duc State Park on the way to Cape Flattery, sleeping in Forks, re-entering through the Hoh Entrance Station the following morning and exiting by the Quinault Rain Forest Ranger Station.

Completed Hiking/Activities

• Hurricane Hill
  • We started our first day with this one, getting to the trailhead sometime around 8am. This did a great job setting the tone for the trip, especially when we were doing the Skyline Loop in Mt. Rainier a couple days afterward. It was a challenging but doable introduction to the parks. It’s a consistent moderate slope upwards for the entire trek. You don’t get much of a break on those calves, and you need to make a steep push to top the hill at the end. What you get is a great view of the glaciers. It was the only view we had of them while in the park.
  • AllTrails info: 3.5mi, 803 ft elevation, 120-150 minutes, out & back, moderate
• Marymere Falls
  • After Hurricane Hill, we wanted something fairly easy. Frankly, this was an underwhelming hike. It’s flat in the beginning with big inclines to see the falls. I am a waterfall un-appreciator. In hindsight, I wish I spent more time by Lake Crescent, either on the water or just picnicking. Afterwards, we went to Cape Flattery, so this concluded Day 1 of programming in the park.
  • AllTrails info: 1.8mi, 318 ft elevation, 30-60 minutes, out & back, easy
• Hall of Mosses
  • We started Day 2 of the park here with coffee in hand. We wanted an easy, early start. This is full of massive trees in big spacious clearings. The moss hangings are surreal and unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else.
  • AllTrails info – 1.1mi, 82 ft elevation, 30-60 minutes, loop, easy
• Spruce Nature Trail
  • This connects to the Hall of Mosses Trail. This feels like a small forest with an opening along the Hoh River at one point. The signage/educational signs here were spectacular, with my biggest takeaway being nurse logs. These are fallen and decaying trees that serve as “ecological incubators” for other organisms. Dying trees are still full of nutrients and water, allowing new seedlings to grow. This can result in trees growing perpendicular to and on top of a nurse log. This effect most commonly happens with Sitka spruces, hemlocks, and Douglas-firs, which are all common in the PNW.
  • AllTrails info – 1.3mi, 16 ft elevation, 30-60 minutes, loop, easy
• Ruby Beach
  • This doesn’t count much for a hike – the milage comes from descending some stairs to the beach from the parking lot, and then walking along the sand. It was very foggy and full of decaying wood (no nurse logs though). Coming from New Jersey, I have a limited view of what a beach is – crowds, boardwalks, waves, sun, lifeguards – it’s a very different concept in this instance. It’s not necessarily good or bad, but I find myself needing to expand my definition. This is a nature beach, not a people beach. I’m glad I saw it, but next time I go to Olympic, I’ll skip the beaches.
  • AllTrails info: 1mi, 52 ft elevation, 30-60 minutes, out & back, easy
• Kalaloch Beach
  • It was nearly empty when we went in the afternoon. It has rock formations and tide pools full of small sea organisms. If we’re now using the category of nature beaches, this one was better for it. The hike was walking down a few sets of stairs. You go down them, so the harder part is coming back up.
  • AllTrails info: .2mi, 6 ft elevation, under 30 minutes, out & back, easy
• Quinault Loop
  • Leti repeatedly brings this one up as her favorite hike of the trip, minus a 5 minute chase from a bee that could only be deterred by blasting Women’s World by Katy Perry. We started at the Quinault Lodge, went through rainforest, and then were spit out to walk alongside Quinault Lake. I would come back here, to stay at the lodge, or just hike in that area. Once again, I found myself yearning for lake time. After lots of moving around that day, the hike was easy, just long. We drove to Aberdeen and then Ashford afterwards.
  • AllTrails info: 3.9mi, 365 ft elevation, 90-120 minutes, loop, easy

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Extension to Cape Flattery

• This is northwesternmost point of the contiguous US. Visiting requires purchasing a recreation pass from the Makah Indian Reservation. We were able to do this day-of at a convenience store/gas station on the way to the cape on Neah Bay. Most of the time, you’re walking on the boardwalk. If you have lots of time, it’s worth the trip. We only had 2 days in Olympic, and if I did the trip again, I would’ve traded the 3-4 hour detour to see more of Olympic.
• AllTrails info: 1.2 mi, 229 ft elevation, 30-60 minutes, out & back, easy

Accommodations

• Super 8 by Wyndham Port Angeles at Olympic National Park – recommend if you just need something clean and basic
• Town Motel in Forks – I don’t recommend staying in Forks overall. It was both the most convenient for our route, and I wanted to see the Twilight town, but there’s really nothing to do there. We went to La Push (baby), which was underwhelming for me. I’d consider camping next time to stay in a different town by the park.

Food

• Pacific Pizza in Forks – skippable
• Hard Rain Cafe outside Hoh Rainforest – worthwhile, and where I found out Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were engaged