Trails Illustrated Map2 - Olympic Nat'l Pk
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Trails Illustrated Map2 - Olympic Nat'l Pk
Olympic is also known for its biological diversity. Isolated for eons by glacial ice, the waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Peninsula has developed its own distict array of plants and animals. Eight kinds of plants and five kinds of animals are found on the peninsula and live nowhere else in the world.
Park Details
Location Information
Location:
Olympic National Park occupies the central portion of the Olympic Peninsula,
as well as a narrow 63-mile strip of land along the peninsula's Pacific
Coast. The Olympic Peninsula itself comprises the northwesternmost tip
of the lower 48 United States, lying west of the Seattle/Tacoma area and
Puget Sound.
Address:
Olympic National Park
600 East Park Avenue
Port Angeles, WA 98362-6798
Telephone:
(360) 452-4501 TDD (360) 452-0306
Directions:
All park destinations can be reached from U.S. Highway 101, which circumnavigates
the Olympic Peninsula.
From the Seattle/Tacoma area, travelers may reach U.S. 101 by several different routes, either by crossing the Sound on one of the Washington State Ferries or by driving south around Puget Sound. Travel time along any of these routes is approximately two-and-a-half to three hours from the Seattle/Tacoma area to Port Angeles, where the main park visitor center and park headquarters are located.
Transportation:
Bus Lines - Port Angeles is served daily from downtown Seattle
and SeaTac Airport by Olympic Bus Lines and Tours. Reservations are recommended:
call (360) 452-3858. The Clallam Transit System provides service within
Port Angeles and commuter services to locations around the northern Olympic
Peninsula. For more information, call (360) 452-4511.
Airlines - Horizon Air (an Alaska Airlines affiliate) provoides regularly scheduled flights to Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles from SeaTac Airport and from Victoria, British Columbia.
Rental Cars - All major rental companies serve the SeaTac Airport. Rental cars are also available on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Angeles, Sequim and Grays Harbor.
Ferry Service - Car and passenger ferry service is available throughout most of the year between Victoria, British Columbia and Port Angeles. Reservations are not available, but for more information, contact Black Ball Transport, Inc. at (360) 457-4491. Victoria Rapid Transit operates a summer passenger-only ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria. For reservations and information, call (360) 452-8088.
Operating Hours/Seasons
The park itself is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Most roads remain open year round, although several are subject to winter closure because of snow. Some campgrounds are open year round, while others close for the winter. Visitor center hours vary throughout the year.
Reservations/Permits/Fees
Fees:
The fee program at Olympic has recently changed in accordance with the Congressionally
authorized Recreation Fee Demonstration Program.
Entrance permits and passes are sold spring through fall at park entrance stations. The fee is $10.00 per vehicle ($5.00 per person for bicyclists and bus passengers) and is good for seven consecutive days at any park entrance. A $10.00 per vehicle fee is also collected at the Hurricane Ridge entrance on weekends during the winter. Season passes ($20.00; good for one calendar year) are also available. The Golden Eagle Pass, an annual pass good at all National Park Service areas, as well as other Federal Fee Areas is now $50. The lifetime Golden Age pass costs $10 for individuals who are 62 or older and the free Golden Access pass is available to individuals who can show written proof of permanent disability.
There are nightly fees (ranging from $8 to $12) for most park campgrounds.
Use of the park's RV sewage dump stations costs $3 per use.
There is a $1 daily parking fee at Ozette.
On May 23, Olympic National Park will begin charging fees for all overnight trips into the park’s wilderness backcountry. Proceeds from the wilderness fee program will go directly to fund projects that benefit park wilderness and wilderness users.
The Wilderness Fee program has two components -- a Permit Registration Fee and an Individual Nightly Fee.
The Permit Registration Fee is $5 for a single permit good for up to 14 days and a maximum of 12 people.
The Individual Nightly Fee is $2 per person per night for any overnight stay in the park backcountry. Persons 16 years old and younger are exempt from this fee.
A Frequent Hiker Pass will be available for $30 per person per year. This is an annual, non-transferable pass, good for twelve months from the date of issue. It covers all wilderness use fees for the pass holder. Additional Frequent Hiker Passes for members of the same household will cost $15.
Maximum fee amounts have been set at $50 for groups of one to six for up to 14 nights and $100 for groups of seven to twelve for up to 14 nights. (Without the fee cap, a 6-person group staying 14 nights would be charged $173.)
For more information, call the Wilderness Information Center at (360) 452-0330.
Reservations/Permits:
Wilderness use permits are required for all overnight stays in the backcountry.
During the period from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend,
some wilderness areas require reservations. Reservations may be made up
to 30 days in advance by calling the park's Wilderness Information Center
(WIC) at (360) 452-0300.
At other times of year and for areas which do not require reservations, wilderness use permits are available at all ranger stations and the WIC. The WIC is located just behind the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles.
Wilderness use fees will apply to all overnight trips into the Olympic National Park backcountry and will consist of both a permit registration fee and a per person nightly fee. Special rates apply for frequent users and for youth 16 and under. Details are outlined above, under the heading "Fees".
Climate, Recommended Clothing
Olympic has a moderate marine climate with pleasant summers and mild, wet winters. Summers are generally fair and warm, with high temperatures usually between 65 and 75 degrees F. Summer is the dryest season, with heavier precipitation during the rest of the year. Winters are mild, with temperatures at lower elevations in the 30's and 40's. At higher elevations, snowfall is generally heavy, with accumulations of up to 10 feet common. Closer to sea level, much of the precipitation comes as rain, with some infrequent snow fall.
At any time of year, visitors should come prepared for a variety of conditions. Rain gear and layered clothing are a must.
Facilities and Opportunities
Visitor Center/Exhibits:
Visitor Centers are located in Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge and the
Hoh Rain forest. Each of these provides exhibits and visitor information.
The Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles is open and staffed
year-round and serves as the park's primary information and orientation
center. The Hurricane Ridge and Hoh Visitor Centers are open throughout
the year (when road and weather conditions allow), but may be self-service
during the winter months.
Exhibits are also located at the following ranger stations: Staircase, Storm King (at Lake Crescent), Ozette and Kalaloch.
Trails, Roadways:
Nearly 600 miles of trails traverse the park, ranging from short, easy
loop trails to rigorous and primitive trails along high passes or rugged
ocean beaches. Topographic maps are a must for most hikes and are sold
at visitor centers, ranger stations and by mail order through the Northwest
Interpretive Association at (360) 452-0339 or 3002 Mount Angeles Road,
Port Angeles, WA 98362.
168 miles of roads (69 of which are gravel) provide vehicle access to various points around the park. All park roads are "spur roads" off U.S. Highway 101 -- no roads traverse the Olympic wilderness.
Programs, Activities:
A variety of ranger-guided programs and activities are offered throughout
the summer at a number of sites around the park. Current schedules are
printed in the park's free newspaper, available throughout the summer at
visitor centers and ranger stations.
Ranger-guided snowshoe walks are offered on weekends, weather permitting, from December through March at Hurricane Ridge.
Lodging and Camping Facilities:
Dining rooms are available at each lodging site. The Log Cabin Resort and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort also offer RV campsites with hook-ups. For more information about lodging and visitor facilities outside Olympic National Park, call the North Olympic Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau at 1-800-942-4042.
The National Park Service operates 16 campgrounds with a total of 910 sites. Camping fees at park campgrounds range from $8.00 to $12.00, depending on the services and amenities provided at each one. All are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Some remain open throughout the winter. Call 360-452-0330 for up-to-date campground information.
Food, Supplies:
Food and supplies are widely available in towns and cities around the
park. In addition, concession-operated grocery and camper supply stores
are located at the Fairholm General Store, Log Cabin Resort, Sol Duc Hot
Springs Resort and Kalaloch Lodge.
Olympic Park Institute:
Throughout the spring, summer and fall, Olympic Park Institute (OPI)
provides one to three-day-long field seminars for adults and families.
Topics are varied, ranging from natural history of the Olympics to nature
photography to kayak, canoe and backpacking outings.
OPI also offers residential field science programs for K-12 school groups and hosts elderhostels for people 55 years and older. For more information about any OPI program, call (360) 928-3720.
Accessibility
The Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles is fully accessible,
as is the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center. Other centers and ranger stations
provide varying levels of accessibility.
Wheelchair accessible restrooms are available at nine of the park's 16 campgrounds. Several campgrounds also offer paved campsites and picnic tables with extensions to accommodate wheelchair-users. Several nature trails are paved and wheelchair accessible. Others are gravel, but fairly level and may be accessible with some assistance.
Among the park lodging facilities, Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort has accessible hot spring pools and several accessible cabins. The main lodge building and one room are accessible at Lake Crescent Lodge. Kalaloch Lodge has one accessible cabin.
Recommended Activities/Park Use
Olympic is a wilderness park, with much of its interior accessible only by trail. A variety of spur roads lead to various destinations around the park. Scenic drives to Hurricane Ridge, along the Pacific Coast and through the forested valleys of the Sol Duc, Hoh and Quinault Rivers provide glimpses of Olympic's diversity.
The best way to see the park, however, is by getting out of your car. Short (one-quarter to one-half mile) nature trails are located at Hurricane Ridge (spring through fall only), Elwha, Sol Duc, the Hoh Rain Forest and Quinault. Some of these are wheelchair accessible. Longer trails provide access to other areas of the park, including the park's wilderness beaches and rugged mountainous interior.
Visitation
In recent years, approximately 4 million visits annually. Most visitors come to the park from July through September; December and January are the quietest months.
Basic Visit Recommendations:
With Olympic's nearly one million acres and three distinct ecosystems,
plan on spending at least one very full day to get a feeling for the park's
diversity. With this amount of time, visitors often drive to Hurricane
Ridge for a taste of the park's high country and mountain vistas. From
there, a three-hour drive to the west will bring you to the Hoh Rain Forest,
where over 12 feet of rain per year creates a stunning world of huge trees
and profuse greenery. Views of the Pacific Coast and Olympic's wilderness
beaches can be seen by an additional 30-40 minute drive to Rialto or Ruby
Beach.
Visitors interested in hiking or exploring some of the park's lesser- used areas should allow at least several days to see the park.
Basic orientation information, as well as exhibits and an introductory slide program are available at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles.
Visitor Impacts:
The high country, with its thin soils and easily-damaged vegetation,
is especially vulnerable to overuse. Please be careful to stay on established
trails in developed areas and to use existing campsites when hiking in
the wilderness.
Potentially hazardous wildlife interactions are often the result of well-meaning but uninformed visitors who feed or closely approach animals. Remember that all park wildlife, including deer and birds, are wild animals and should never be fed or approached. Deer that have been fed and are overly accustomed to people tend to linger near park roadways and are often hit and killed by passing vehicles. Sharp hooves and antlers, as well as disease-bearing ticks, present dangers to visitors who approach deer too closely.
Adjacent Visitor Attractions
A wide variety of visitor attractions is available around the park. These include the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, the Olympic National Forest, Native American tribal reservations and museums -- all on the Olympic Peninsula. The North Olympic Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau (phone 1-800-942-4042) can provide information about lodging, visitor facilities and attractions outside the park.
The nearby city of Victoria, British Columbia (18 miles north of Port Angeles by ferry) is also a popular destination, offering a variety of attractions.
Additional Information
Write Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362-6798 or call 360-452-4501.
The Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic Fund is the non-profit partner of Washington's national parks. The Fund works to create supportive partnerships with public and private entities in securing funding and volunteer support for specific projects within the parks.
Since full operations began in 1994, the Fund has raised $350,000 for projects in the parks. Projects funded in Olympic National Park include The Discovery Room, a hands-on learning center in the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, a poaching prevention program and a barrier-free nature trail at Lake Crescent.
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