On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
frosty
These two visits took us to the other two ecosystems in the park; rain forest and mountains.
There are two centers for exploring the rain forest: Quinalt and Hoh River. I picked Hoh River because it was a little more centrally located and it had a campground in Forks where we could get reservations. We were warned that there could be a 2-hour backup at the park entrance because the NPS is trying to keep visitation spread out to the park’s capacity. We went in the afternoon and other than hunting for a parking place, had no problem. Our main activity was a short walk on the Hall of Mosses trail through old growth forest near the Visitor Center. The first set of pictures are all of the forest, trees, moss and ferns along the trail.
The second set are from Hurricane Ridge. We moved on from Forks to a RV Park in Elwha close to Port Angeles to take this scenic drive to 5,500 feet elevation. It was billed as a curvy scary mountain road but honestly, it wasn’t bad; we’ve pulled our trailer on worse ones. The views of the Olympic Mountains at the top were definitely worth the drive.
Hoh River Rain Forest. Honestly, it was difficult to get good pictures. This is another place where a camera doesn’t do it justice.
Hoh River Rain Forest
Hoh River Rain Forest
Hoh River Rain Forest
View from Hurricane Ridge back to Port Angeles and Bellingham
Olympic Mountains
Black Tailed Deer
Olympic Mountains
View of a more difficult trail from the easy trail we took. There are people walking along the ridge, and ski lift towers in the foreground. It wasn’t clear if the lift was still in operation. There were no areas that looked like ski runs or trails, so probably not.
Baud
Gorgeous photos. You have a eye.
Winter Wren
Love the Hoh Rain Forest and the Olympic Peninsula! About 40 years ago, some of my brothers and I backpacked and camped overnight starting at the Hoh Rain Forest trailhead and then hiked to Blue Glacier to see our first glacier up close. About 20 years ago, we went again with our young kids, but only walked a little bit of the trails. Thanks for the pics, brings back memories.
Winter Wren
The deer in the meadow is a great capture!
No One of Consequence
Upvote for Hoh Rain Forest. Only rain forest in the lower 48 states. Perfect conditions in a unique spot in Washington State that enable its existence. Green life at every level of the forest. Floor, mid-growth, canopy, all of it — stunning. Trees 200-300 feet tall. One of the coolest places I have been in the US.
Thanks for posting! Brought back memories.
-NOoC
wenchacha
I want to see the Hoh rainforest! When we drove to Hurricane Ridge years ago, my husband experienced some altitude discomfort, which was unexpected.
oldster
Beautiful pics — thank you!
WaterGirl
Thanks for taking us on your trips, frosty!
CaseyL
This is timely: I’m going to the Peninsula next month, and the Hoh is my main objective.
During the early to mid 1990s, a gaggle of old friends from Florida used to come to Seattle to see me every summer for road trip adventures around the state. One year we did a big loop through the Peninsula – Lake Crescent, Lake Quinault – and had such a wonderful time. I’ve been wanting to go back ever since, and finally will.
HinTN
If you lose your balance in the tail, don’t grab The Devil’s Walking Stick!
That wildflower meadow is lovely.
beckya57
The Olympics are one of my favorite parts of WA (I get to live here, lucky me). I’m especially fond of the less well-known area on the east side of the peninsula (the Hoh is on the west), which has some great hiking trails and wonderful views of the Hood Canal. Thanks Frosty for the beautiful pictures!
MCat
Thank you so much for these great pictures. I had never heard of the Hoh Rain Forest. Magnificent. Great photos. Love the little deer.
Cowgirl in the Sandi
Wonderful images of a fabulous national park. Hurricane Ridge is one of my favorite places – we were there in the fall and were admiring the view when it started snowing – just flurries but made it even more awesome. There are so many cool places in ONP -like Lake Crescent and also the drive along the northwestern edge of the park to Kalalach, a small campground on the western edge of the park, and located directly on the Pacific Ocean. Thanks for the memories!
StringOnAStick
I got to go here last summer, but couldn’t hike much due to an Achilles injury; I’m definitely going back now that I’m better. The rainforest is just amazing, and it’s true that it is hard to capture in a photo.
I went to a nature center while our group did something steep, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon a driftwood art exhibition; so many amazing pieces and such gorgeous work. There was a fundraising display where you could buy raw driftwood for your own attempts, so I added yet another hobby to my too long list.
Bulgakov
Your pictures brought back recent fond memories (visited OP April 2024).
We really liked the little hike to Cape Flattery, the northwestern most ‘edge’ of the lower 48. The view from the edge is pretty spectacular. It’s on the Makah Reservation. The Makah Museum in Neah Bay is also interesting. We made this a 1 day excursion from where we were staying just west of Port Angeles.
frosty
Thanks everyone for all the comments and the encouragement!
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@No One of Consequence: Yes, I had never heard of Hoh until I visited in May a couple of years ago. It is awesome, in both senses of the word. Such old, huge, mossy trees. And we had a “Whiskey Jack” (Canadian Jay) fly by for a quick view. Whiskey Jack turns out to be an Englishized version of the native name for the bird. Amazing place. Thanks for the reminder!
Nix Besser
Frosty,
Thank you so much for the pictures. We are planning a trip in mid-to-late July to this very area (and Portland’s smoking ruins), and it will be a valuable resource for us.
way2blue
I visited the ONP a few years back to sample the hot spring. The Elwha dam was slowly being cut down—so the road was gated. A ranger let us through and we hiked to the spring from the trailhead. The spring luckily was devoid of backpackers. My understanding at the time was that salmon in the river were being carefully monitored to make sure their gills weren’t getting abraded by the increased sediment in the river. A procedure of staggered sediment release that had been meticulously modeled beforehand. Thanks for the memories…