After our first week in Washington we continued on our quest to visit all three of Washington’s national parks. We had enjoyed our time at North Cascades National Park, but needed to move south and west to be closer to our next destination of Olympic National Park. The abundant fresh fruits were a highlight in northern Washington, as was the Korean food we sampled. The traffic around the busy towns of Seattle and Tacoma, however, we could do without.
We made our base camp in the cute little town of Poulsbo. We walked along the harbor and browsed the many shops, as well as the visitor center/maritime museum which detailed the town’s history. Lucky for us, our Air Force friends Pam and Roger lived only about an hour away on Fox Island. We spent a delightful day with them having lunch, relaxing on their boat, and then eating dinner at a local marina. We were stationed together in England 30 years ago and enjoyed catching up.
Olympic National Park:
One of the things we have noticed about most national parks we have been to is that they have either a loop-type road inside the park or a road that bisects the park. On our visit to Olympic National Park, we discovered this park had neither of those. Rather, it had a huge 7-hour loop outside the whole park with spokes that went in to each area but didn’t connect to anything else. Because of that, we didn’t see an easy way to go back and forth on different days without a ton of driving. So we decided to stay overnight at a hotel in the tiny town of Forks, Washington, on the western side of the park.
So like at North Cascases, due to the driving distances we decided to spend just 2 long days in the park. (I guess we should look at staying closer to some of these parks, but with our big rig that can be harder than it sounds). On the first day, we drove about 1.5 hours to get to the Visitor Center. From there, a long winding road takes you up to Hurricane Ridge, which is one of the most popular areas of the park. We hiked the steep Hurricane Hill trail to the top and were rewarded with spectacular views out over the Pacific Ocean.
Next we continued west and made a short stop at Lake Crescent. An easy 2-mile hike through a wooded area leads to beautiful Marymere Falls. As dinnertime approached, we drove farther west to the tiny town of Forks and checked into our hotel.
That evening we made the short drive out to Rialto Beach to see the amazing rock structures Hole in the Wall and Split Rock. You can’t walk all the way out to see the structures during high tide so timing was important.
The beaches in Washington are cold and windy, with smooth pebbles instead of sand (even in late July). These beaches were so different than the southern US beaches that we are familiar with and we thought the rock formations were so cool. Mike enjoyed checking out the tide pools full of sea anemones, clownfish, and tiny mussels.
The next day we continued on the outer ring another hour from the hotel to the Hoh Rain Forest area of the park. Having never seen a rain forest, we were excited to visit this hugely popular area. It was good that we arrived early because when we drove out that afternoon, cars were lined up waiting over an hour to get in.
We hiked 7 miles out and then 7 miles back on the Hoh River Trail. The whole trail is 17 miles long and leads up to the glaciers. We didn’t have time for the whole trip, which requires a wilderness permit, but we saw several groups returning and one pack of llamas carting equipment up the trail. The hike through the lush forest of tall trees and ferns was peaceful and at times paralleled the Hoh River.
Mount Rainier National Park:
For our next stop we left Poulsbo and traveled about 3 hours southeast to Harmony Lakeside RV Park near the Mount Rainier area. Mike competed in his 4th and last Vacation Races half-marathon for this trip. His time for the race was a personal best on this challenging course and he won 2nd place in his age group. Yay Mike!
After Mike’s race we entered Mount Rainier National Park and stopped at the visitor center. When we arrived the peak was obscured by clouds, but luckily during our hike the sun appeared. At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier has the most glaciers of any peak in the United States.
Of course we chose the difficult Skyline Loop trail via the High Skyline trail. It was surprising that so many people, including some kids, were on this steep trail. The 6-mile round trip goes up 1700 feet to Panorama Point and then farther up to the ridgeline. The view of Mount Rainier was spectacular once the clouds moved. It was interesting to see ice climbers practicing up the steep, snow-covered slopes of the mountain.
Once you reach the top, the views over the entire mountain range are amazing in all directions. Mount Rainier is the centerpiece of the nation’s 5th national park. We could see many glaciers among the mountains and into the valleys below.
The alpine meadows were filled with flowers as we descended. A lot of the trail was through snow and slush, but the colorful wildflowers were popping out everywhere.
Over several weeks we were successful in our quest to see all three of Washington’s national parks. From the American Alps of the North Cascades to the diverse ecosystems of Olympic National Park to the glaciated peaks of Mount Rainier, we enjoyed them all. Next we head to Oregon and then the California redwoods!
OMG ! This is my favorite post so far. Mount Rainier is my absolute favorite of them all. I never got that close to it, but I have seen it in person. It is beyond spectacular and your pictures are stunning. I have heard of Forks, Rialto Beach and that Rain Forrest from the Twilight books and movies. That is so cool to see! Such great hiking trails and congrats to Mike for his personal best time. I really LOVED this post, thanks for sharing 🙂
So glad you liked the Mount Rainier post–it truly was a beautiful park. The wildflowers were just amazing and made it one of my favorites too. I have never read the Twilight books, but maybe now I will. The beach scenery was so cool there I couldn’t stop taking pictures!
Another awesome post. We really enjoy following your travels and seeing the beautiful pictures. Almost like being there. We are looking forward to your next adventure. Take care
Thanks for the continued support! We hope y’all are doing well and look forward to being back in Texas for awhile in the fall.
Fantastic pictures of some gorgeous places! We missed out on Olympic because we figured the whole area would be worth spending several weeks and we just didn’t have the time last summer. I didn’t even realize the thing about the 7 hour road. That would make it even more difficult, especially because, as you pointed out, nearby campground options for big rigs are limited. It sounds like you made the most of it though by staying at a hotel. I’m glad you guys enjoyed the parks. They really are spectacular! Stay well.
Hi Laura,
You are right about being able to spend several weeks in many of the parks. We just didn’t know when we would be out in the northwest again and were afraid to totally pass it up. We did the whole 7 hour thing on the way home–I would suggest backtracking as it would still be shorter than doing the whole loop! We definitely lucked out on the hotel–got the last room on the spur of the moment decision. Hope your travels are going well too–hard to believe summer is almost over!
I would love to go hiking on Mount Rainier. The views and the vibrancy of the flowers look amazing.
Thanks Michelle. Mount Rainier was definitely one of my favorite spots for wildflowers. We must have timed it just right because everything was blooming! I hope you can visit someday and enjoy the magnificent beauty there.
This place looks amazing! I love that you are RVing…will have to follow your future journeys!
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Hi Ceci, thanks for checking out my travel blog. We have certainly been lucky to have visited many amazing places on our journey. We would love for you to follow our travel adventures and hope that they give you inspiration for doing some traveling too!
These pictures are gorgeous! We need to add these parks to our list!
Thank you! We have certainly seen some gorgeous places on our recent trips. It was our first visit to the Northwest and was definitely worth the trip. I hope you can enjoy visiting them too– another great thing is that they were less crowded than some of the more-visited parks!
I definitely need to add Mount Rainer and Olympic National Parks to our go see list! We have been exploring a lot of the national parks in the SW United States. I’ll need to add the hike to Marymere Falls as something to do while we are there. Go Air Force!
Hi, thanks for checking out my travel blog! We were amazed at the parks on our first visit to the Northwest–definitely worth adding to your list. Yes…Go Air Force!😁
Probably one of the most beautiful areas in the entire country. And the Korean food at the beginning looked so good!
Hi Nick, thanks for checking out my blog. We definitely enjoyed our first visit to the Northwest with its beautiful national parks. We lived in Korea for two years and I can say that the Korean food we had in Mount Vernon was excellent!
In the next couple of years we are hoping to do a west coast road trip. So having some great tips on which national parks to visit is awesome. Its going to be a tough decision! You photos make them look soooo amazing! Pinning for later!
Hi Marianne, thanks for checking out my travel blog. We really enjoyed our first visit to the Northwest with its beautiful national parks. Hopefully my photos are giving you some inspiration and you can travel soon!
Hey, Robin and Mike. I love your trip details. I want to see hole in the wall! I bet you’re loving Colorado right now. Keep writing!
Hi Pam! We were really blown away by the beaches on the Pacific Ocean in Washington. They were so different from beaches we were used to. The Hole in the Wall was definitely a highlight. We are enjoying Colorado right now and being able to visit with all my family. Caitlyn’s wedding is on Sept 25th here so the excitement is building! Thanks for your continued support.😊
Congratulations on having a fabulous wedding in the family. Caitlyn was always special to me. Please give her my best regards.
I did, Pam–thank you. We were so blessed to have a perfect Colorado day for the wedding and all went fabulously!
I am so happy for you all. God bless.