~Carmen
If you have been reading the blog, you know that we have been chronicling our epic road trip around the Olympic National Park in Washington State. If you want to see a variety of biomes and landforms, this road trip is for you! From rainforests to mountain ridges, this national park road trip has it all. In just 3 days, you can see and experience the highlights of this million-acre park. In this post, I will give you an overall summary of how all three days would look all together. Click on the highlighted links to get details about each leg of the road trip and the itinerary. Combine this road trip with San Juan Island Road Trip and/ or Cascade Mountain Loop for an epic Washington State adventure!
Olympic National National Park: 3 Days-372 Miles
Olympic National Park Road Trip: 3 Days-372 Miles
Day 1- Hurricane Ridge (177 miles)
See detailed itinerary and photographs here.
The first leg of the road trip starts in Olympia, Washington. From there you travel past lavender farms, up to Hurricane Ridge, and end the day at the pristine Lake Crescent. This leg of the trip is packed full of photo opportunities! If you like our blogs pics, we love for you to check out and follow our Instagram feed!
Day 1 of Olympic National Park Road Trip (177 miles)
- Lavender Farms at Sequim, Washington
- Hurricane Ridge
- Marymere Falls
- Lake Crescent
Day 1- Hurricane Ridge
Day 2- Wild Coastline (77 miles)
See detailed itinerary and photographs here.
Day two starts out with a short hike to some of the most lush old-growth forests that seem almost magical. With waterfalls and cool, quiet hikes, you can’t help but feel like fairies are around every corner! After a brief stop in Forks, Washington (for Twilight fans), you’ll end the day in La Push, Washington where sunsets along Washington’s rugged Pacific coastline are a photographer’s paradise!
Day 2 of Olympic National Park Road Trip (77 miles)
- Sol Duc Falls
- Forks, Washington
- Third, Second, & First Beach (La Push, Washington)
Day 2- Wild Coastline
Day 3- Hoh Rain Forest (120 miles)
See detailed itinerary and photographs here.
The last leg inside beautiful Olympic National Park starts and ends in temperate rainforests. In between is the famous Ruby Beach. Camping is available in the rain forests and near the beach!
Day 3 of Olympic National Park Road Trip (120 miles)
- Hoh Rain Forest
- Ruby Beach
- Quinalt Rain Forest
Day 3- Hoh Rain Forest
To finish off the road trip, you can drive to the sea harbor town of Aberdeen, Washington for a supper of fresh seafood and a well deserved long night’s sleep in one of the many bed and breakfast inns. Or maybe you want a few more moments of beach time. Ocean Shores, Washington is less than two hours away! However you decide to end a road trip through Olympic National Park, you can’t go wrong.
So have you been to Washington or want to visit? Please share by commenting below!
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~ Carmen
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Cali
March 5, 2017 2:58 pmThis looks like a great roadtrip and the perfect length for a long weekend! Despite being American, I have never made it to the West Coast. I love National Parks but I haven’t been to sooo many of them. Awesome pics!
Pack Your Baguios
March 5, 2017 4:26 pmOur national parks are a true American treasure! We want to plan more road trips to take advantage of our natural beauty.
Kallsy
March 5, 2017 3:58 pmThank you for this AWESOME information. We’ve been wanting to take a road trip here and Yellowstone (separately) but it’s quite the daunting task to figure out the best route. Thanks for doing the hard part of planning for us. Will let you know how it goes if we make it this summer or the next. 🙂
Pack Your Baguios
March 5, 2017 4:27 pmWe’d love to hear what you think and see pictures! Yellowstone is in the plans for us, too.
Cheryl
March 6, 2017 6:18 pmI used to visit Washington a lot more before the Canadian dollar took a nosedive. It’s been a long time since I’ve done the Olympic Park. I’ve been thinking about heading down there one of these days. I’ve been thinking about making it a really long trip. Visiting relatives in Victoria and then catching the ferry to Port Angeles and then doing the park. Thanks for the itinerary.
Pack Your Baguios
March 8, 2017 10:27 amThat would make a great trip! I’ve actually done the opposite. We’ve driven to Port Angeles and then took the ferry to Victoria. We stayer there a day then took another ferry over to Vancouver.
Stephanie Frias
March 6, 2017 9:28 pmI’m looking at these photos and wondering why in the world I have not been to Washington! I have always heard wonderful things about nature in the state, but this really looks incredible. I guess we are not done with the Western USA yet! Going to have to make a point to visit this national park!
Pack Your Baguios
March 8, 2017 10:29 amThere are so many gorgeous national parks in the United States! We want to hit the ones in the southwest next.
Josie
March 7, 2017 2:07 amI am just learning to like road trips again now that I no longer have children tagging along. When I get to the US I plan to go to the North West area – and this scenery does nothing to dissuade me. It looks absolutely stunning! Thank You.
Ada
March 7, 2017 7:40 amThat looks absolutely fantastic ! I went to road trip in America but unfortunelty I’ve skipped Washington state, which is a shame !After looking for photos like that I really hope I can visit this beautiful state one day!
Adrenaline Romance
March 8, 2017 6:42 amThe waterfalls are truly amazing! We would definitely love to hike and camp in Olympic National Park. But what stuck us most is that there is a rainforest in there. Most rainforests are found in equatorial areas, but the state of Washington is way up in the Northern Hemisphere. A wonder of nature indeed!
Leiha
March 9, 2017 7:02 pmI really want to go to Hoh Rain Forest. I live in WA but never been. Thanks for reminding me that I need to take a couple of days to explore home.
Pack Your Baguios
March 10, 2017 7:56 amI did that last summer. I have lived in Memphis for 15 years but had never really “toured” the city. So I took 3 days and planned them like I was a tourist. It gave me a new appreciation for where I live!
Mike Clegg - Travel and Destinations
March 12, 2017 3:37 amGreat summary post and really brings everything together. I think I would like to do the Hurricane Ridge leg the most as the Lavender farms, views and the waterfall all look fantastic. It would be great to do all 3 parts of course! Thanks for sharing this! Hopefully one day I’ll have an opportunity to do this!
Pack Your Baguios
March 14, 2017 6:23 pmThat was my favorite part of the road trip too. Hurricane Ridge is an amazing sight!
Sheri
March 12, 2017 9:36 amNice road trips plus the planning is great. I love to fly but with road trips you get to see and experience so much more. There is so much opportunity here.
Pack Your Baguios
March 14, 2017 6:23 pmThat’s what I love about road trips too. Having the ability to stop anytime you see something interesting make the extra time worth it to me!
Lydia@LifeUntraveled
March 12, 2017 5:21 pmWow I can’t believe how diverse Olympic National Park is! I love road trips and this looks like something I would enjoy!
Pack Your Baguios
March 14, 2017 6:25 pmFor only a 3-day trip, you’ll see more than you can imagine!
Marija
March 22, 2017 7:53 amThis is a great article! It is so elaborate and love the photos!
Pack Your Baguios
March 25, 2017 6:06 amThank you so much! It is easy to have gorgeous photos when the landscape is as beautiful as the Olympic National Park.
Carmen
June 6, 2017 4:50 pmI’m interested in any suggestions for places to camp along the way with two small kids?
Pack Your Baguios
June 30, 2017 6:35 amIt’s a national park, so there were several campgrounds along the route. The best place to start is the Olympic National Park Visitor’s Center at the entrance to Hurricane Ridge.
Christie M.
June 15, 2017 7:29 pmCan you recommend places to stay along this 3 day adventure?
Pack Your Baguios
June 30, 2017 9:06 amIf you click on each day’s itinerary, you’ll see where we stayed on each leg of the road trip. Besides where we stayed, the National Park has lodging. Also the cities of Port Angeles, Forks, and Aberdeen, Washington had plenty of hotels.
Megan King
September 24, 2018 8:42 pmWhat time of year/month do you suggest?
Pack Your Baguios
September 26, 2018 6:54 amHurricane Ridge is closed from late fall to early spring, so avoid those times if you want to do that portion of the road trip.
nadine
January 2, 2019 5:31 amdoes anyone have tips and info how to visit the park with public transport, we plan to visit the park in april when we travel to Seattle (neither of us can drive) we plan to spend several nights at Port Angeles to get some easy acces to the Olympic National Park, we surely want to see the Hoh rainforest and the beaches, any tips are welcome 🙂
Pack Your Baguios
January 9, 2019 2:09 pmClallam Transit System runs a bus line in and around Clallam County servicing Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks as well as popular Olympic National Park destinations along the northern section of Hwy 101.