Olympic Peninsula, WA May 2024

Gerry and I spent a wonderful week visiting the Olympic Peninsula from May 20 to May 27!

Dear friends of ours, Craig and MaryJane, moved from LA to Port Angeles in November 2020 and we wanted to visit them. They love it up there, and I can see why...

We flew into Sea-Tac on Monday evening, May 20, and stayed overnight at Coast Gateway, a decent hotel conveniently located close to the airport.

Tuesday, May 21, was a rainy day. Our original plan was to stop off along the way from Tacoma to Port Angeles and do some hiking. That didn't happen, but we did make a few stops including Bremerton, where we had lunch an Noah's Ark, a restaurant that's been around for more than 50 years.  The rain stopped briefly and we took a brief detour to Kitsap Memorial State Park. 

Gerry at a viewpoint at Kitsap

We arrived in Port Angeles around 3:30pm. Craig and MaryJane have a lovely house on the west end of town.  It was so nice to see them and talk, laugh, and enjoy one another's company.

The sun doesn't set until quite late up here. Around 5:30 pm we hopped into the car and took a short drive to the Elwha River.  It was lovely.

At the Elwah River, 3 miles from MJ and Craig's

  Then we drove a bit further and walked for a few miles along a beach which MJ called Places Beach. It was very rugged with lots of washed up rocks and trees.

At Places Beach w MJ and Craig

This uprooted tree on Places Beach caught my eye

Gerry took a picture of me at Places Beach

Enjoying this evening walk!

It was after 9:00 pm when we arrived back at MJ and Craig's house. Craig prepared a "loaded" veggie pizza for dinner. He added a ton of mushrooms, onions, garlic, artichokes, red bell peppers and cheese. It took a while to bake. Earlier in the day Craig had baked a rhubarb pie. Yum Yum!

Chef Craig, busy at work!

Gerry ready to chow down on delicious pizza and rhubarb pie

Wednesday morning, May 22, was a bright and sunny day. Our first walk was at 10:30 am, with MaryJane and Craig in their neighborhood. It is very peaceful and quiet where they live. Within a mile we were at a scenic overlook of the Strait of Juan de Fuca,  a narrow passage, 11–17 miles (18–27 km) in width, of the eastern North Pacific Ocean, between the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

MaryJane, Craig and Gerry at the overlook

We returned to their house, loaded our backpacks and gear and drove to Salt Creek campground. There were several scenic overlooks and places to walk down stairs to the rocky turbulent beaches.

At one of the overlooks in Salt Creek campground

Another fantastic viewpoint

I could have stayed here all day!

Next stop was a 30 minute drive to Lake Crescent, in Olympic National Park. It's a beautiful lake with a nice lodge.

Lake Crescent

Craig, Gerry and MaryJane on the boardwalk near the Crescent Lodge.

We drove a few miles to the Spruce Railroad Trail on the north shore of Lake Crescent. (The old railroad trail was built in 1918 to transport spruce trees cut for the war effort.) The 8-mile round trip trail follows the lake for most of its length, which winds through forests filled with Sitka trees and others.  It was a scenic hike, but we only did two miles round trip, because the mosquitos were bothering Gerry.

Craig, along the Spruce Railroad Trail

We returned to MJ and Craig's and ordered delicious Thai food take-out from Sabai Thai, and then we drove downtown for a fabulous walking tour of Port Angeles. First stop was Ediz Hook, overlooking the Port Angeles harbor and the US Coast Guard Station.

Craig on the Ediz Hook in the evening

Onward then to downtown Port Angeles. Very quiet in the evening. We loved the mural of the MV Kalahala, painted in 1995-1996. It's amusing, and three-dimensional-like with children and a dog. Gerry and Craig posed in front of the mural.

Craig and Gerry with the dog and children

Final stop of the evening was Welly's Real Fruit Ice Cream 

Craig, Mary and MaryJane outside of Welly's slurping on our Fruit Ice Cream

Thursday morning, May 23rd, we ate the breakfast of champions, rhubarb pie, along with coffee. Then we piled into the car at 9:30am and drove to the Olympic National Park, Hurricane Road entrance, only a 20 minute drive from MJ and Craig's house.  Conditions at Hurricane Ridge were excellent! We spent nearly an hour there and took plenty of photos, and walked along the ridge.

 A photo from one of the turnoffs on the way

My favorite photo of the snow-capped mountains at Hurricane Ridge

It was a spectacular experience to see Hurricane Ridge with MJ and Craig! We drove back to their house, packed our bags and said "goodbye" and "thank you". 

On to our next stop on Thursday afternoon, Sol Duc Springs Resort and Sol Duc Falls. We embarked on a 6 mile hike from the Sol Duc Springs Resort to Sol Duc Falls and back, stopping many times to take photos.

Us at a viewpoint, Sol Duc Falls

Sol Duc Falls, love the rainbow toward the right

Onward to the sleepy, quiet town of Forks, on the western side of Olympic National Park. We had reservations at the Pacific Inn, Thursday night.  Nothing fancy, but very comfortable and ideal.  And a five-minute walk to Pacific Pizza, where we ate gourmet pizza, "Basil Pesto Special - pesto, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, chicken, fresh garlic, marinated artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and onions". Delicious!

Mary eyes tomorrow's lunch.

Friday, May 24th, was our 38th wedding anniversary!  We celebrated big-time with several short hikes in Olympic National Park.

First hike was at Rialto Beach, a 30-minute drive to the west from the Pacific Inn. The Rialto Beach hike was a walk along the beach to the "Hole in the Wall", a giant monolith at the mouth of the Hoh river, with a cave-like hole.

We stop along the beach walk for photos

When we reach the Hole-In-The-Wall we are truly amazed.

Mary and Gerry at the Hole

And the sea anemones we viewed as we looked below, were also amazing.

Sea anemones near the hole

It was quite the epic 3.6 mile walk; we even saw some sea otters bobbing up and down. I tried to get a few photos of them, but wasn't very successful.

Next stop, the infamous Hoh Rain Forest! It was lovely, and not rainy. We donned our rain ponchos, but only experienced light drizzle as we walked part of the Hoh River Trail , and also the Hall of Mosses Trail, a total of about 3 miles.

In the Hoh Rain Forest

Surprisingly, it wasn't very rainy, though this IS a rain forest, and it was very green with beautiful foliage and muddy paths.

Gerry, meandering through the forest

Then it was onward to Lake Quinault, a 45 minute drive heading south, but
still in Olympic National Park.

Lake Quinault is the main attraction of the south-western section of Olympic National Park. The Lake Quinault Lodge was built in 1926 ---in 53 days!  It has earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places (and rightly so). We walked inside, and the interior was elegant and elaborate. 

Very much an exquisite lodge on Lake Quinalt.

We hiked a mile or so on the Quinault Rain Forest Interpretive Trail and the Quinault Loop.  Wished we had more time to hike and explore this park of the park at Lake Quinalt, but it was  late afternoon / evening and we still had an hour drive to Ocean Shores, where we would  be spending the night.

A view of Lake Quinault from our short hike

The BayVue Hotel where we stayed on Friday night, May 24th, was on the Ocean Shores peninsula. It was a very laid-back casual atmosphere, and conveniently located to Bennett's Fish Shack, an 8-minute walk from the hotel. We enjoyed our dinner there - an appetizer of fried calamari, then a Caesar salad and scrumptious fish and chips.  The cod was some of the best we've ever had.

 Saturday, Sept 25 we drove 20 minutes to the southern tip of Ocean Shores to walk along the beach at Damon Point. We hiked 3.2  miles, a loop trail overlooking the Armstrong Bay and the Chevalis River. It was a bit chilly at 51 degrees with a head wind on the return, but still a nice hike.

Gerry on the windy Damon Point walk

We left Ocean Shores and drove south through the towns of Hoquiam and Aberdeen, to the town of Montesano. Just north of Montesano is Lake Sylvia State Park, which we visited in the afternoon for our second 3.2 mile hike of the day. It was a scenic, moderate hike along the Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail. It was very green, with plenty of ferns and pretty flowers. Definitely worth the visit!

A view of Lake Sylvia before we head onto the Forestry Trail

Very peaceful, green and lush

The flowers are stunning !

We exited the park and drove east toward Olympia, taking the scenic route, avoiding the 101 freeway, and stopped briefly north of Shelton to do the "Huff and Puff Park Loops", a misnomer - a very easy walk a little more than a mile, with no huffing and puffing whatsoever. 

We arrived late afternoon at our hotel in Lacey, just outside of Olympia. We drove to downtown Olympia for dinner at the Olympia Oyster House, the historic restaurant overlooking the West Bay.  The restaurant was established in 1924 - 100 years of serving the community with delicious seafood!  

The state capitol building in Olympia

The Olympia Oyster House restaurant

Ready to eat the fried seafood, after finishing a bowl of delicious clam chowder

Sunday, May 26th was our final day of vacation. We did two hikes in the Olympia area. The first hike was nearby in Squaxin Park, a scenic 1.8 mile loop and walk through a quiet, wooded are with plenty of ferns. 

On the trail in Squaxin Park

Then we headed to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1974 to protect the Nisqually River Delta from development for the benefit of fish, wildlife, plants, and especially the migratory birds. Gerry used his Merlin App to identify a variety of different birds as we walked the Estuary Boardwalk and Twin Barns Trail.

Walking in the Nisqually wildlife refuge

 

along the estuary boardwalk

The old twin barns along the return trail

We stayed at the Coast Gateway Hotel again on Sunday evening.  We had a 7:00 am flight out of Sea-Tac on Monday morning, Memorial Day, and were advised to get to the airport two hours ahead of time, at 5:00 am.  Ugh.  We enjoyed an early dinner at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel, Sharps Roast House (pulled pork salad for Mary and a gourmet burger for Gerry. 

Final meal of the trip!

We set our alarms for 4:15 am and caught the 4:40 am shuttle to the airport. Everything went smoothly and our flight was on time.  

Very glad we did this trip. Quite memorable. Would definitely like to do it again sometime...