Despite our trip being short, we have lots to share on this one :)
First off, I'd like to mention that there are 4 YouTube videos connected to this post: one travel diary, one site specific guide, and two vlogs. They are linked throughout the post on this page as well as posted on our YouTube channel.
For the #vanlifers out there a quick shoutout to the main Walmart in Port Angeles. We felt very safe and comfortable in this parking lot for a couple nights. There were a handful of other vans and RV's and the side lot felt fairly private and road noise was not a huge issue. That being said, we did have some RV-ers feel the need to run loud generators.....but it wasn't too disruptive.
On another note, out list of stops seems pretty short--especially, considering that we spent a whole weekend in the area. We just wanted to bring this up because things are pretty spread apart and you do a lot of driving. Also, it's worth noting that if you're traveling from Seattle we feel like the most scenic and worth it route is just back the way you came. No need to spend extra time driving around the full park.
Our Stops:
Hoh Rainforest
Okay, this one was on me. I'd heard that you need to get to the rainforest early if you don't want to wait....but I didn't follow through...
So, we drove through the rainforest, but didn't really get to experience it other than that. Needless to say, we're severely disappointed and beg you to learn from our mistakes. GO EARLY. There is extremely limited parking and it's not a site that is just around the corner. It's a long drive to find out that the wait is over an hour long....(but it is a beautiful drive)...
We'll definitely have to come back to visit again and then we'll have a real blog post!
A Big Cedar Tree
If this stop seems a little silly and random....well, it was. As mentioned at the beginning of the post we did a lot of driving and so we did what we could to make the best of it. After driving and driving we found some signs for a Big Cedar Tree. That was it, just a small wood sign for a Big Cedar. We pulled off the highway and followed signs to a small little parking turnaround. We found a spot, walked 10 seconds....lo and behold: a BIG CEDAR.
There's a gravel trail that you can hike/walk and I don't believe it's too long. We didn't go too far, just enough to admire the big tree. To be honest, I wasn't particularly impressed, I've been to the redwoods in California and we've both grown up in forested areas. Yes, this tree is much larger than just in the neighborhood--and
it was a fun stop--but for us it's not worth it to be it's own destination.
This tree is supposedly around 1000 yers old and it does have some damage (as you can see in the picture). Other plants/life is already starting to grow on this tree and it will eventually become a full on nurse log for lots of wildlife. So again, if you pass by and aren't in a rush then go for a quick stop, we just don't recommend this being a main destination.
Tree of Life
Right on the beach is the fabled "Tree of Life". This is a fun little cultural mark that has been around for ages. The soil from the roots of the tree have eroded away, yet the tree still continues to live and grow. It is also called the "Tree Root Cave" which is a great visual for what to expect.
Now, there are a lot of different beaches in this area including the famous Ruby Beach, but this is a fun stop as it's a little lesser known and less crowded. Ruby beach get crowded, but is lovely, so it's really your choice.
The Kalaloch beaches have multiple parking lots, some campgrounds, and are a quick watch to the beach.
We actually had a hard time finding the tree, we got down to the beach and couldn't tell which way the tree was. We walked one way and then the other to find the tree. It has no plaque, no sign, no indication of what it is--but if you're looking for it, you'll know it when you see it. The real mystery to me is how it has survived all the winds from the coast. It's a fun stop to make as you enjoy the beach. As with any Washington beach, be sure to check the weather and be prepared with some layers as you never know when it might change.
Hurricane Ridge
Hurricane Ridge was our little surprise gem of this trip. We had heard lots of people saying it's "kinda cool" or "just okay".....we loved it. I've been lucky to have traveled, been on top of lots of tall buildings, gone on a fair amount of PNW hikes....and this was one of my favorite views. Hurricane Ridge is also THE spot to go if you want to see wildlife. I don't know what it is, but it seems like you cannot go and not see some up-close critters! We saw deer, marmots, quail and more!
This does require a National Park Pass, we had a line at the ranger station but thankfully it moved pretty
quickly for us and we were on our way.
The drive to the top is a bit windy so be sure to have your motion sick friends at the front and have whatever it that makes them feel personally more comfortable. There are a few pullout along the way to the top that have nice views and little trails to viewpoints. If it's not busy, it can be worth a quick stop before heading straight to the top.
Real fast, I also want to mention they do have a live webcam. This is nice to check in on before you head of there in case it's a particularly cloudy day.
Now, to the top of Hurricane Ridge. The parking lot is decently sized, on a busy day it does get full. We were able to get a spot pretty easily, but felt like there probably weren't many other options. The visitors center is a good sized for the lack of stuff they have in there, but I imagine it's a more enjoyable spot sans covid. Make sure to check if the visitor's center is open on the day you plan on going, with covid it's really hit or miss on visitor centers being open. The lower level of the visitors center has bathrooms, a couple soda vending machines, a gift shop, and a little "cafe". Don't plan on getting lunch there. They have a small amount of pre-made wraps + sandwiches, and some random bagged ships and such. It is very underwhelming and very low in supply. It seems like there would be more food based on the food counter setup (and maybe there is during the busy season and sans covid), but there isn't and we heard several people confused and disappointed by this. We had packed our own sandwiches and were very happy we did. The upper level has a little display, a nice lounge and then access to the viewing deck.
The viewpoint from the visitor's center is absolutely magnificent; it shows the layers of the mountains so beautifully. The deck is large and so you'll be able to shift around and see all the different perspectives, there is little shade and on a clear day you'll want sunglasses and a UV-blocking windbreaker. Hurricane Ridge got its name for all the strong winds it experiences. We were lucky to have just amazing weather and loved the view. For the little effort required this view is incredible and probably my favorite view of what we experienced while on site.
There are different hikes on the other side of the parking lot as well as a smaller viewing deck. They occasionally have rangers out doing some demonstrations and answering questions. Be sure to stay on the paths as there is so much wildlife around. We got very up close and personal with some quail and it was a fun memory. The trails can be confusing as not every path start has a map, be sure to find a map before you head out as you might (like us) end up just walking a loop straight back to the parking lot. We did a short little hike called "sunrise hill", it's worth it to watch our travel guide to get a feel for the length/difficulty/fear factor of this hike. It was easy enough for us to do in casual sneakers and jeans, and didn't take too long. The view is nice and at the top you can see Canada (and our phone service notified us we were now in Canada). I imagine it's a great place to watch the sunrise. That being said, if I was on a family trip; with grandparents and kids...I don't know if it would really be a "worth it" view. There is one little narrow area, and then at the top it's a very exposed small hilltop. The more extended version of the hike has some steeper rocky points and when you get up to the exposed parts and a gust of wind comes...it is cold and dusty. The picture above is from just before the last bit of the hike and in my opinion was the better view.
Overall, we really loved Hurricane Ridge and would definitely recommend spending an afternoon exploring or just an hour stop with the family to take in the main views. Just be sure to bring your own food and stay on the trails.
Downtown Port Angeles
To be clear, we only spent one evening downtown....and we were starving...so just know that.
Downtown Port Angeles has a very specific sort of nightlife with lots of little pubs and bars, some quirky shops for tourists and the overall atmosphere of a PNW port town: mostly young adults working for coastguard, naval positions, and shipping stops. Nighttime the pubs get busy, and while there are some grab and go sort of places it's really the open window bars that people obviously love.
We walked around and realized we weren't going to find a place to eat with a short wait, and one time when we went to get in line people just blatantly cut in front of us and we decided to eat elsewhere. We did quickly wander into a game store for a few minutes before heading a few minutes out of downtown for a bite. The game store had a decent variety of games to rent is worth noting if maybe your family is renting a place to stay and looking for some homey entertainment.
We ended up eating at this diner we had driven by a few times earlier. It was a unique sort of hexagonal blue building and it intrigued us. It had 4.4 stars on Google and we were hungry, it didn't seem too busy and it was not too far from our Walmart lot for the night....The Fairmont Restaurant....big no thanks from us. Unfortunately, it was the most overpriced-not-good-meal we've had in a long time. The best thing on our plates was the piece of garlic toast.
Our salads were wilted, our drinks seemingly watered down, our meals completely freezer burnt, etc. All of it so unfortunately bad. We weren't the only ones not having the best meals of our lives. There seemed to be plenty of staff, but they weren't paying attention to any of us. The tables near us continually got the wrong orders and drinks were missed or brought out way too late. If I remember correctly, we never got something that we ordered and just made sure we didn't get charged for it. We left so disappointed that we had wasted our "restaurant night" on this place and took a picture because it was so bad and we wanted to make sure we remembered it. To end on a nice note, their bathrooms smelled quite lovely.
Sequim
Growing up in the PNW it's easy to forget how difficult the names of our cities are to pronounce. We
always laugh at navigations best attempts....Sequim (think between "skwim" "skwem") is known for their lavender. Even though it wasn't the busy season we were able to still experience fields and fields of lavender. On our way home to Seattle we figured we'd make a stop--why not? It was a little later in the day, but we found a farm that was still open for a few more hours. We visited B&B Family Farm and had a short, but nice visit.
B&B Family Farm has been family owned and operated by B&B (and the family) since 2012. Most of their lavender is bought commercially
and the rest they sell u-pick and use to make their own goods. We picked a bundle of lavender for $5 (which I later dried and made into my own DIY lavender goods), shared a refreshing sparkling lavender lemonade for $5 and chatted with one of the family members and their child about the farm.
The store has live plants, candles, laundry supplies, dried lavender, lotions, postcards, essential oils of different lavender types, teas, sugars, cookbooks, and much more. I had no clue how many different lavender varieties there are and the differences between them. I can also appreciate the coffee beans they have to help clean out your nasal palette between all your sniffing.
While we didn't have time to stay, there is a quick little 15 minute tour that shows you a bit of the process of lavender production, product production, and more about the farm. When we politely declined the tour to get on the road they told us to feel free to take a peek of the barn on our way out anyways, how sweet!
There are many lavender farms in Sequim, and I'm sure lavender festival days are much more exciting--but we sure loved our quick little intimate stop at B&B Family Farms and highly recommend checking them out. Here is a link to their online shop: https://www.bbfamilyfarm.com/shop/
it is a great place to bring back a little treat for yourself or friend!
Honorable Mentions
Some brief honorable mentions, aka places on our list we didn't quite make it too:
Lake Crescent- wow, what a gorgeous lake! I imagine renting a place on the lake would be an amazing vacation. We drove a bit around the lake and thought about finding a public place to go for a swim, unfortunately, we never quite found a place and the weather wasn't always quite in our favor
Hotsprings- we tried to hike to some hotsprings (as you see in our vlog).....but then found out that the drive was blocked off so a 2 mile hike to hotsprings became a 20 mile roundtrip hike and we were not up to the that. There is a hot springs resort that you can pay about $14 (I believe) for a pass to use their hot springs, I imagine reservations are necessary so do your research.
Olympic Game Farm- also in Sequim is the Olympic Game farm. Imagine a zoo that you drive your car through and have animals come up and lick your car and eat bread from your hand through the window. You have to purchase the bread through them only and know that it can be a little pricey to bring the whole family. To be fair, this might be a great rainy-day backup plan to have if your visit on the peninsula goes south.
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