Olympic National Park is absolutely incredible – perfect for the kids. With this guide you can plan exactly what to do with kids in Olympic National Park to create your best vacation yet.
This park has a variety of things to see and experience. From the sandy beach to the highest peak with an overlook of the mountain range to a rain forest, lakes and waterfalls. I loved the mixture of water, overlooks, and forest!
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How to get to Olympic National Park?
Olympic National Park, like many of our natural treasures, is a bit off the grid. However, it is worth the short trip from Seattle to see the wonder of Olympic.
We flew into the Seattle Airport (SEA) and took a ferry across the Puget sound. The ferry ride was one of my highlights of our trip. I highly recommend this. We started our day in Bremerton which was about an hour and a half from the first visitors center in Olypmic National Park.
From Seattle Airport, it is a 2-hour drive around the Puget Sound and into the National Park. If you take the Ferry it is slightly less time depending on how quickly your ferry leaves.
Find a cheap flight to Seattle and be sure to rent a car for your journey. If you prefer a guided tour of the Park, you can also find that!
Getting Around Olympic NP
The National Park has only one main highway circling the entire area. Most of the sights I describe here were a 15 mins to 45 min drive off the main road and back again. There were no loop roads besides the main large loop around the entire park.
Most of Olympic National Park is inaccessible except with a backpacking permit. You can drive the main road traveling 3 hours around the outside of the park, with a few out-and-back roads to drive into mountains, rainforest or to lakes.
Our family started from the north side of the park and worked our way all the way west and then south and returned to Seattle.
Where to Stay in Olympic National Park?
Stay inside Olympic National Park
There are three lodges located inside Olympic NP. Kalaloch Lodge, Lake Crescent Lodge and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort can all be booked from the National Park Reservation Website. Lodging at Olympic National Park is a great way to be immersed in nature during your trip.
Stay in Hotels outside Olympic National Park
The North Peninsula offers several towns with accommodations. Port Angeles is one of the best jumping off spots for visiting Olympic National Park. You will love this little port town and how close it is to the park. You can also look in Sequim and Port Townsend. We stayed in a Marriot in Bremerton for free using credit card points.
If you get the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card, you can earn 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3000 in 3 months. You could stay for 5 nights in Bremerton for free with that many points!
Since we love to meader around the area, staying in Forks was the perfect place to be close to the rainforest and beach. Not to mention the connection to the Twilight seriese books! It is a fun town. don’t miss the donuts in the Thriftway the grocery store – so good!
Although it wasn’t fancy, we loved the two bedroom apartment next to the grocery store at Town Motel.
Camping at Olympic National Park
Camping is a very popular way to experience Olympic National Park. You can camp in multiple campground all around Olympic. Try campgrounds along the coast (such as Kalaloch or South Beach Campground), Hoh rainforest or Sol Duc Park to be right in the middle of this gorgeous scenery. If camping isn’t your style the Kalaloch Lodge would be amazing!
How Long should I stay in Olympic National Park?
We spent two very full days in the park, starting and finishing near Seattle. Ideally, you could spend 3-5 days exploring the park slowly and taking more time for hiking or water activities. And If you have a whole week, you could definitely relax and enjoy the outdoor beauties in this area for that long!
Best Time to Go
The weather in olympic National Park can be rainy and cloudy much of the year. In the summer it is the perfect temperature!
We came from a hot and humid summer in Texas, so it was difficult to imagine anywhere being chilly in July, but we used our jackets every day so bring some warm clothes! Olympic National Park is rainy or cold for most of the year, so the best time to visit in is July and August when the rain lets up a bit and the weather is pleasant.
How Much Does it Cost?
Going to any National Park is relatively cheap for families! Getting into Olympic national park costs $30 per car.
Another option is to buy the America the Beautiful annual pass for $80 which gets you into all the National Parks. If you are visiting other national park the annual pass would be worth the money to get into all of these.
Within the Washington area, you will also find Mount Rainer National Park and North Cascades National Park. With an Annual pass you can also get entrance into nationl Monuments in the area such at Mount St. Helens, San Juan Islands and the Hanford Reach. All these parks will accept the America the Beautiful Pass.
If you have a 4th grade child, your whole family can get into the park for free. Learn Everything you need to know about National Park for other tips for getting in free and maximizing your time in the National Parks.
Essential Tips for Visiting Olympic National Park
Gas
In Olympic you can drive so many miles with civilization only on the outside rijm of the park. Be sure to gas up when you can. Do not run out of gas inside Olmpic National Park!
Cell Service and WiFi
Like most national parks, there is no Cell Service or WiFi inside the park. Have your maps downloaded well before you get to the Olympic Park area. Plan on not connecting to work or email or social media. You will be off the grid while visiting Olympic National Park.
Food and Water
You can find food options in the small towns outside Olympic National park, such as in Port Angeles and Forks. However, inside the park there are only a few options, you will not find any fast food, restaurants or other dining options. Be sure to bring meals and snacks for your drive inside the park.
Prepare some of these on-the-go meal ide as for your trip through Olympic National Park.
Car sickness
Because Olympic covers a large area, you will be driving quite a bit. The Hurricane Ridge Road is windy, so if you or your kids easily get sick in the car, bring some medication to help. We found the motion sickness armbands here did the trick for our little one. Chewable Dramamine for kids also helps, but will make your child drowsy and mostly likely will fall asleep -which might be exactly what you want for a long drive!
Visitors Centers in Olympic National Park
The first stop of every National Parks trips should be at a Visitors Center. Get up-to-date information on what is open, weather, and the perfect itinerary for your family. Don’t forget a Junior Ranger Program to work on completing the activities and earning a National Parks badge (all for free!).
Olympic National Park Visitors Center
3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles
Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center
17 miles south of Port Angeles
Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center
18113 Upper Hoh Rd (31 mi south of Forks)
Best Hikes for Kids in Olympic National Park
Hiking in Olympic National Park is one of the best ways to see the rugged nature of the place. Much of the park is inaccessible by car, so it is necesary to hike there. That being said, if you have young kids, you may not have time or energy for long hikes. There are still several places to get out and explore on shorter hikes.
With Young kids, find the perfect backpack for carrying them on hikes.
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Get the best hiking gear to making hiking with kids a success!
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Easy
Hoh Rainforest
The Walk through the Hoh rainforest was the most memorable hike for my family. the huge logs to walk in and on top of made it fun for the kids. the dark, density of the rainforest Yas unlike anything you can experience in America. This is a must hike area. It is even stroller-friendly for the youngest of hikers.
Hurricane Hill
Located just behind the Hurrican Ridge Visitors Center, you’ll find many trails leading to views of the ocean at Port Angeles and views of the many mountains inside Olympic National Park.
Rialto Beach
This coastal walk is perfect to soak in the ocean views and rugged terrain of the West Coast. 1.5 miles up the beach you can find the Hole-in-theWall Rock feature.
Ruby Beach
Just a short walk from the parking area to the smooth-stoned beach shore. you will love to explore thourhg the driftwood and massive boulders along the coast.
Quinault Rainforest Nature Trail
Start on boardwalks through this dense forest of moss-lined trees.
So Duc Fall Trails
Easy to access from the Sol Duc Hot Springs resort or Sol Duc campground, hike through a forest to the triple waterfalls of Sol Duc.
Marymere Falls
Follow this half mile paved trail and continue for another half mile through a forest to find the 90- foot Falls
What else to do around Area of Olympic National Park
Dungeness Spit
The Dungeness Spit is not an actual part of the national park, but was so interesting and beautiful. On the north side of the peninsula, and before you reach Port Angeles, you can explore the spit. Navigate to Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge to get started. There is a $3 fee per party to hike out to the Spit so have some cash.
We originally brought kites to fly but since this is a preserve, we were ere asked had to leave them behind. This place is a refuge for animals so no loud playing allowed. hThere are great beaches to use kites later on so hold on to them!
The hike was so beautiful. The trail split into two trails: One is paved, wide and easy sloping, the other trail is a natural hiking trail, narrow and through more brushes. The natural trail was longer in mileage, but still not very long. We sent our slower 3-year-old with Daddy and Mommy hiked faster with the older kids and the little girl still beat us. Once you get to the actual spit it extends 5 miles out into the ocean.
There is a great view from the end of the trail, along with binoculars to see the lighthouse near the end of the spit. You have to hike down a fairly steep dirt hill to get to the spit. Some people were walking further out, but we just got to the sandbar and started playing with the smooth stones, the driftwood, and the sand. It was really windy and cold, but there were places of refuge where we played with the kids and hid in driftwood ‘forts’. It was quite a bit wider than I thought it would be, so it’s not like you could touch or see both sides of the ocean at the same time.
Our kids imagined and created with the rocks and driftwood for nearly an hour, while daddy skipped rocks into the ocean and I soaked in the relaxing sounds of the ocean and delightful giggles of my children.
Seattle
You can’t come to Olympic National Park without spending at least a day in the city of Seattle with the family. Plan budget-friendly activities to do in the city that kids of all ages will love!
What to do in Olympic National Park?
Hurricane Ridge
The day we drove up Hurricane Ridge it was so foggy and it began raining. Apparently, this is fairly common in the area. I wondered if we were wasting our time driving, but my little one was napping so I tried to be ok with driving through fog just for the sake of driving despite missing out on any of the sights. The older kids listened to an audiobook – car sanity saver!
As we continued to climb and climb up Hurricane Ridge, we emerged on top of the fog. We found a spectacular view of many, many mountains and valleys and glaciers. I was so happy that our 45- min drive was worth it.
The Hurricane Ridge visitor center offers a short video about the area that the kids were into. We also enjoyed the topographical map showing us the different mountains we could see. The view from the lodge was spectacular. Behind the Visitor’s center, we hiked to up a small hill (felt like a giant mountain with the lack of oxygen at this altitude).
My children wondered aloud if we would possibly see a deer just as we turned a corner to see a deer within feet of us crossing the path.
This would not be the last deer (or elk) we saw and the kids were elated. We reached the top of the ‘hill’ a bit out of breath but in awe of the perspective and grandeur of it all.
Apparently, on clear days you can see the ocean, but our views were somewhat diminished by the lower fog. We encountered a marmot (thank you visitor-center-movie for teaching us what a marmot is) on our path and saw several more deer, squirrels, and birds. As we drove down the ridge, I thought surely the fog had lifted since we had such great views. But the fog was still waiting for us as we dropped down in elevation.
Lake Crescent
Lake Cresent is right along the main loop road. You can easily stop along the path to jump out of the car, dip your toes in and take in the views. You will love traveling right along the shore for the many amazing views of Lake Cresent.
Sol Duc Waterfalls
Sol duc area offers hot tubs for soaking, lodges for staying and a waterfall hike.
For our family, it was getting late as we arrived to Sol Duc, so we opted to hike to the falls and not to soak in the water at the little resort. The cost for the hot tubs was $14 ($10 for kids) to swim. They also offer Twilight Swim for $10 for 2 hours. This is out in the middle of a wilderness, so don’t expect resort quality pools, but it is a nice repreive from a day of exploring and hiking.
Despite being late and tired, our kids did great on the hike to Sol duc Waterfalls. The hike an easy 1mile through an old-growth forest. Our kids loved the rocks, tree branches, and dirt trails to explore. The falls were pretty, the fall sideways to the trail so you get to hike right over the stream. If you continue on this trail you can hike to Mink lake in a 5.2 miles round trip.
This trail gave our family the magic of kids enjoying themselves in the wild outdoors.
City of Forks
Made famous by the vampire series, Twilight, the little sleepy town of Forks is eerything you imagined! Just as it is described in the book, you will love the small town feel of this town.
If you are lucky you can stay in this two-bedroom Town motel with 6 beds! Our kids immediately went into the second room, closed the door and got some alone time without mom and dad. The kitchenette is perfect to make your own dinner rfrom the grocery store next door. Don’t miss the donuts from the Thriftway in Forks!
Hoh Rainforest
The Hoh rainforest is a must-see on your trip through Olympic. As the only Rainforest in the contiguous US, this is a wonder you don’t want to miss. Hoh rainforest is even more densely covered than Sol Duc.
We’ve visited to the other rainforests (Hawaii) but this was so different and interesting. Be sure to hike the short, paved the Hall of Mosses. You will love the dense, quiet peace you find. The sun is almost completely hidden in this green lush location. The huge trees create many logs to crawl into or on top of. The kids loved this hike. It is so interesting and different. Definitely go on this one! The trailhead starts just out the back door of the Hoh Visitors center. Its a flat and super simple hike, even for a stroller.
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach isn’t exactly inside Olympic National Park, but driving all along the coast of Washington, you’d be missing out if you don’t stop to experience a West Coast Beach.
Consider a picnic on the beach as you fly kites, dig in the sand and skip the smooth, round stones you’ll find in abundance here. The views of waves crashing upon the the large boulders the sea create incredible views. Bring a jacket, even in the summer, the ocean breeze can be chilly.
Lake Quinault & Quinault Rainforest
Lake Quinault is a fun place to play on and in the water. You can also hike through the rainforest next to the lake.
Check your map to follow a trail through these forests. The map was a little hard to decipher and I’m still not exactly sure where we hiked, but it was beautiful and enjoyable. Spend afew moments soaking in the crystal blue waters with the giant mountains surrounding.
What to Pack for Olympic National Park
Pack good hiking shoes, lightweight clothing, and water for getting out. Don’t miss these essential tips for Hiking with Kids.
| Hiking Pants/shorts | Hiking Pants/Shorts | Hiking Shoes | Water Backpack |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | |
| Buy Boys Hiking Pants | Buy Girls Hiking Pants | Buy Hiking Shoes | Buy Water Backpack |
If you are hiking with little kids or babies, find the perfect backpack carrier here.
| K'tan Wrap for Baby | Front or Back Carrier for Babies | Backpack for Toddlers | Piggyback Rider for Preschoolers |
| | | |
| $49.95 | $44.95 | $169.00 | $114.00 |
| Buy K'tan Wrap | Buy Baby Carrier | Buy Backpack Carrier | Buy PIggyback Rider |
Don’t forget the sunscreen and bug spray!
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Olympic National Park Itinerary
One Day in Olympic NP
If you only have one day in Olympic, expect a lot of driving time. You won’t have much time for hiking or relaxing, but its definitely possible to see a lot.
- Stop at the Visitors Center and get a Junior Ranger program
- If the weather is favorable, drive up to Hurricane Ridge.
- Hike to Sol Duc Waterfalls
- Hike in the Hoh Rainforest
This will take most of your day, as you also need to plan several hours for driving around
Two Days in Olympic National Park
- Hike out to dungeness spit.
- Stop at the Visitors Center and get a Junior Ranger Program
- Drive to Hurricane Ridge. Hike the hill to get the mountain views
- Spend time in Sol Duc Hot Springs
- Hike to Sol Duc waterfalls
Stay the night in Forks
- Hike in Hoh Rainforest
- Picnic Lunch on Ruby Beach
- Lake Quinault water activities and Hike through the rainforest
Three Days in Olympic
Spend each day in a different section of the Park
- Day 1: Port Angeles, Dungeness spit, Hurricane Ridge
- Day 2: Sol Duc hot Springs & Waterfalls, Marymere falls and Lake Crescent
- Day 3: Hoh Rainforest, Ruby Beach, and Lake Quinault
Four or more Days in Olympic National Park
Add longer hikes, more time on the beaches and more time relaxing or exploring around your hotels or campsite. You will not get tired of the lush beauty in Olympic National Park .
Map of Olympic National Park
The thing that stood out to me in Olympic National park was its variety. Every stop was something new and different and we never got ‘bored’ with too much of the same sights. Olympic National Park is worth getting to!
If you are near Seattle, you must make a stop, even if it’s just for a day! One Day in Seattle with kids.
If you love national Parks, check out my other guides here
- Glacier National Park,
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Big Bend National Park
- Joshua Tree NP
- Arches NP
- Sequoia NP
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