With a destination as richly endowed with nature’s most phenomenal attractions as Olympics National Park, adventurers need not second guess their choice to visit. The park features unique ecosystems, biomes, and terrain, making it the perfect landing place for any recreational tourist.
From biking and hiking to simply strolling along Rialto Beach, here are 10 things to do in Washington’s Olympic National Park.
10 Camping
Camping provides time off the daily grind and presents a whole range of fun activities for friends and families. This park comes with a wide range of campsites to get every crew member busy. Visitors get to master the art of building, picnicking, boating, and fishing, all available at the five lowland lakes on the Olympic peninsula.
9 Photography
Natural elements provide the most eye-catching scenes and therapeutical textures. The Olympics National Park hosts iconic sites, spectacular mountains, rivers, lakes, and some of the oldest trees. It is easy to come up with an interwoven array of the park’s evolution story from behind the lenses. Sol Duc Valley provides the most picturesque trails, leading to waterfalls, hot springs, and a range of color palettes on river banks.
8 Wildlife tourism
The Olympic National Park is home to approximately 300 bird species. Rare aquatic animals like sea lions, whales, seals and colorful fish casually dominate the offshore of the Pacific Ocean. It is also home to numerous endangered animal species like the northern spotted owl.
What’s more captivating is that there are animal species uniquely adapted to this park and nowhere else, hence making the wildlife viewing experience special and unforgettable. The coast of the Olympic Peninsula is a major attraction for birders. Gulls, eagles, and rhinoceros auklets are easily spotted nesting or feeding along the Kalaloch and Ruby beaches.
7 Climbing
Visitors who treasure a good thrill should consider climbing the Olympic Mountains. This activity is termed dangerous due to fractured rocks, force winds, and unpredictable weather patterns. However, expert climbers suited in safety gear live to tell a tale of their most epic climbing experiences. Climbing Mt.Deception is a lot easier and safer, but it is extremely steep, so getting to the glacier peeks is a bit technical.
6 Skiing And Snowboarding
Skiers and snowboarders look very cool pulling up their signature stunts on The Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area. These are faster ways to access the vast wilderness of the park. Snowboarders also get a good view of Deer Park while at it. Some of the most beautiful winter stock photos of this park have skiers and snowboarders on them. There is a designated area for supervised snowshoeing, skiing, and snowboarding, but snow-sporters who prefer using the backcountry areas need to watch their safety.
5 Boating
Any explorer who meets the U.S. Coast Guard's Federal Boating Requirements gets a wild experience of the wonders of the Olympics Park by boat. Navigating whales and ocean tides are the most therapeutic adventures for advanced paddlers. The lakes and streams in this park provide a perfect showcase of the forested beaches. Better yet, the Hoh River offers a good fishing opportunity from a boat or a raft.
The boating experience is not exclusive to boaters since families can easily rent a motorized boat for a ride around Lake Crescent and Lake Ozette.
4 Afternoon At The Beach
With more than five sandy beaches to choose from, vacationers have plenty of beach activities to enjoy. Each beach has something unique to offer. Kalaloch Beach, home to the tree of life is the most accessible. Ruby Beach, which is less crowded than most beaches, has unique tidepools and iconic driftwood. On the other hand, Shi Shi beach is made unique by its location and the adventure gained in the effort to access it. From this beach, tourists have a close view of rare sea life and calming sunsets the park has to offer.
3 New Menu Try-Out
A visit to the Olympic National Park comes with an opportunity to try out a wide range of local cuisines. The restaurants in the park have varying menus, providing quality food and drinks for every guest’s taste and preference. Seafood, Thai food, Italian foods, Greek cuisines, and American food styles are all available in the cafes. Trying out a completely new cuisine is among the most exciting things to do in Olympic National Park.
2 History And Culture Appreciation
A walk or drive in the Olympic National Park depicts the evolution of the Park’s diversity through the different plants, animals, and human activities. The historic sites and years of documentation of human occupation show an interesting history of human exploration of the parkway before it was declared a recreational center. History buffs have a great opportunity to learn and appreciate the irreplaceable features of the park.
1 Scuba Diving
Scuba diving in Olympic National Park can be quite thrilling due to the nature of the surrounding waters. Although their waters are more rugged and dangerous, diving in the Olympics provides an opportunity to explore kelp forests, corals, sea life, and wrecked ships at a close range. Salt creek is the premier site for sea activities in summer as well as spring, so it’s an ideal spot for avid divers.