Olympic National Park: Part 1 - Rainforests

 August 2, 2021

Olympic National Park is comprised of three distinct ecosystems--temperate rainforests, beaches, and mountains. This post will focus on the rainforests. As I mentioned in my last post, when we were staying in Copalis Beach, we spent a day hiking in the Quinault Rain Forest. We started with the .5 mile Rain Forest Nature Trail Loop. (See bottom right corner of the map below.) 

This trail takes you through an old growth forest with giant trees like this Douglas fir that is about 400 years old.

Then we made a larger loop, walking along the Quinault Lake Trail to the Cascade Falls and Cedar Bog and back to the start. (See map)

The forest was so dense and lush, and the trees were so tall and huge. Nothing like the forests back east. It was beautiful. Here are some scenes along the approximately 6-mile trail. 

When we left Copalis Beach, we drove north to the town of Forks, WA. Apparently, the place where the movie Twilight was filmed. There were lots of references to vampires around town. We stayed at the Forks 101 RV Park. From here it was 40 minutes south to the Hoh Rain Forest entrance. From the entrance, it's another 12 miles into the Visitor Center and trailheads. But the drive is gorgeous. You must get in early if you want to avoid a long line at the entrance to get in. When the parking lot is full, they only let more cars in as people leave. We got there at 10:30 and had to wait about 45 minutes.

The road as you enter Olympic National Park leading to the Hoh Rain Forest.

The Hoh Rain Forest is one of the best remaining examples of temperate rainforests in the United States. We started out with a couple of short loops from the Visitors Center--the Hall of Mosses Trail (.8 miles) and the Spruce Nature Trail (1.2 miles).

Canada Grey Jays were very common around the Visitor Center. They were the first wildlife we encountered.

The Hall of Mosses Trail was aptly named. In this area, maple trees in particular were completely moss-covered.

This Banana Slug was about 2.5 inches long and somewhat hidden by the ferns it was crawling on. It was pointed out to us otherwise we probably never would have seen it. They thrive in the moist climate of western Washington.

These trees on the Spruce Nature Trail grew and got nourishment from a nurse log (a log from a fallen tree). The roots formed around the nurse log, and the log eventually rotted away, which explains the raised position of the roots.

We stopped along the Hoh River to take a lunch break.

The roots of a fallen tree

There's still life at the very top of this very tall, very dead-looking tree.

Our last hike of the day was on the Hoh River Trail, the main trail in the Rain Forest. It's an out and back trail that goes for 18 miles. As a day hike you can turn around whenever you like. We chose to hike to Mineral Creek Falls for about a 6-mile hike roundtrip. Here are some scenes from this beautiful trail.

Olympic National Park Part 2: Beaches will be my next post.