7 Best Things to Do in Port Angeles Wa
1. Olympic National Park →
3002 Mt Angeles Rd, Port Angeles, WA 98362, card
Olympic National Park is a diverse national park with the moody PNW coast, rainforests, lakes and mountains. It gives you access to the outdoors all year round and takes you to another world. Before I visited, I had no idea rainforests existed in the US.
Olympic Walking Co picked us up from our hotel (we were staying at the Red Lion Hotel) and adjusted our itinerary. Our guide, Betsy, was so knowledgeable about birds, animal tracks and plants that it gave us a fun, new perspective on the park. Should we become birdwatchers now?
- Visitor center – I always like to pick up a Junior Ranger book and get my national park passport stamped.
- Hoh rainforest (Hall of Moss) – If this is your first trip, don’t miss the Hoh Rainforest. There is nothing like it in the US. The moss covers everything in a saturated green and looks otherworldly. Be aware that there will be a line in summer if you don’t go early enough.
- Sol Duc Waterfalls – Easy hike of 3.5 km round trip to a beautiful 15 meter high waterfall. It’s one of the most photogenic waterfalls we’ve seen in the Pacific Northwest (we’ve chased a lot of waterfalls). If you’re a photographer, you want to photograph it. We extended our walk to Lovers Lane, which is much quieter.
- Crescent Lake – A remnant of the last ice age and Washington’s second largest lake. We had a picnic lunch at Lake Crescent Lodge. Olympic Hiking Co packed lunches for us from Country Aire Market, and the sourdough bread was so delicious. If you have a National Park Passport, you can also get a stamp at the Lodge.
- Salt Creek Recreation Area – We love the rocky PNW coast, and tide pooling was a fun way to slow down and appreciate nature. We saw crabs, anenomena, sea urchins and more. Occasionally you can spot nudibranchs, but this time we didn’t see any.
- Hurricane Ridge – A scenic drive that takes you to an altitude of 1600 meters with panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains. Unfortunately it was closed again due to rubble, but maybe the third time is the charm? Fingers crossed for our next visit.
Pro tip: Grab one lightweight raincoat even if you don’t see rain in the weather forecast. As you would expect from a rainforest, it tends to rain a lot. We love this Patagonia one that fits very small in his pocket. This is one cheaper alternative.
See more: 15 things to do in Olympic National Park
