Olympic Peninsula Hiking

Rivers, Lakes, Beaches, and Giant Moss-covered Trees

This tour explores on foot and water the rainforests, rivers, lakes, and beaches of the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. In the old-growth evergreen rainforest — the only such rainforest in the continental United States — the heavy winter rains of 25 inches per month nuture Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, and Western Red Cedar to heights of 250 feet with 8-foot diameter trunks. Mosses carpet the forest floor and hang from tree branches. An eerie light filters through this thick canopy. We’ve scheduled our trips here during the short window of summer sunshine, when the forest is at its most glorious.

Quinault Lodge Stepping Off Point

The tour starts on a Sunday morning with a complimentary pickup in Seattle and a shuttle to the Olympic National Park and Lake Quinault Lodge. This classic national park lodge resides by some of the best trailheads for hiking in Olympic National Park. A forest ranger will tell us about the unique trees and wildlife before we hike through the old-growth forest.

Canoe Lake Quinault, Hike Wild Beach

On Monday morning Bicycle Adventures rents canoes for a quiet paddle along the shore of beautiful Lake Quinault where we often see eagles. Afterward we shuttle through the woods to the coast, where we spend the next two nights at Kalaloch Lodge. Kalaloch’s log cabins are within the Olympic National Park on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The sandy beach is part of the park, which extends 20 miles in either direction. This makes for some dramatic hiking along one of the few wild beaches in the United States, with the crashing surf on one side, a forested bluff on the other, and the rich marine life of the intertidal zone at your feet.

A Magical Fairyland

Tuesday starts with an interpretive, ranger-led, tide pool walk, then we head inland to the Hoh Rain Forest. This portion of the Olympic National Park is well known for its huge virgin trees, abundant wildlife, and great hikes. As we enter the park you’ll be on a road that winds beside the Hoh River past enormous trees and meadows where herds of elk roam. We have lunch at the trailhead and go for a hike that captures the essence of the rain forest. A thick carpet of moss dotted with black and white mushrooms lies at your feet, while overhead loom huge cedar and fir trees whose thick canopy of branches and hanging moss blots out the sky. Water is everywhere — in spongy moss, crystal streams, bogs choked with lilies, and the Hoh River. You’ll feel you’ve entered a magical fairyland.

Hike Wild Rialto Beach, Soak in Soothing Natural Hot Springs

Wednesday we follow a side road that leads through the woods to Rialto Beach, another wild beach within the Olympic National Park. In contrast to the soft sands of Kalaloch, Rialto is a pebble beach adorned with sea stacks — small islands of hard rock left by the sea as it eroded softer sandstones around them. You’ll experience the drama as you walk along the shore, watching the surf pound these formations and explode in spray.

After our walk on the beach we van to a hot springs resort for a hike to a beautiful waterfall, followed by a soak in the soothing, natural hot springs. Then we head to an inn overlooking the Puget Sound, our home for the next two nights.

Sea Kayak on the Layover Day

Thursday is a layover day. We have hired a local outfitter to take us sea kayaking near the mouth of the Elwha River. Wildlife is abundant as we paddle next to the rocky coast; we often see river otters, harbor seals and a variety of waterfowl. In the afternoon you are free to do as you wish.

Hurricane Ridge Trip's High Point

Friday is the trip's high point — literally — hiking atop Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. The road to the top has many spots to stop and enjoy panoramic views of the snow-capped Olympic Mountains and the San Juan Islands. Our hiking trail on top of Hurricane Ridge has equally amazing vistas. After lunch at the Visitors Center, the tour concludes with a late afternoon van and ferry ride back to Seattle.

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