Tag: Olympic National Park

A stress-free guide to camping at Olympic National Park

Unwind and enjoy yourself.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably already well aware of how gorgeous Washington’s beloved Olympic National Park is. This destination has a lot to offer, from magical views of the Hoh Rain Forest to outstanding wildlife spotting opportunities. For adventurous travelers who enjoy the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant greenery and dramatic shores, this park is one of the most alluring spots for a weekend getaway. Start sorting out your trip to the park with this simple guide to Olympic National Park camping spots. Below, you’ll find info on three of the park’s most popular campgrounds, plus three hidden gems that provide visitors with a more relaxed experience.

A blue tent set up in an Olympic National Park camping area.
Photo by Jason Pratt

Olympic National Park camping options

Currently, Olympic National Park’s camping page features 15 campgrounds. Don’t worry, we’re not going to just list all of them here. Instead, we’ll focus on some of the park’s best campsites and what they have to offer guests. While securing a spot at these campgrounds can get competitive (especially in the summer), the incredible sights you’ll see there make them worth the struggle.

Three of the park’s best camping spots are: Kalaloch Campground, Hoh Rain Forest Campground, and Sol Duc Hot Springs RV Park & Campground. While the Kalaloch and Hoh Rain Forest campsites are open year-round, Sol Duc Hot Springs is only open from March to November this year. All three are popular for their gorgeous scenery, and snagging a reservation can be tricky. If you can’t manage to book a spot when planning your trip, keep an eye on the reservation website as your travel dates approach. Last-minute cancellations could be your ticket to scoring one of these coveted campsites.

Greenery surrounding a sign at Hoh Rain Forest Campground in Olympic National Park.
Photo by NPS

Willing to branch out and try some different camping spots? Try South Beach Campground, Fairholme Campground, or Graves Creek Campground. This year, South Beach Campground is open from May to October and operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Fairholme Campground is open from April to September, with reservations required from late May to September. Graves Creek Campground, within the Quinault Rain Forest, is open year-round on a first-come, first-served basis.

Except for Graves Creek Campground, all of the above Olympic National Park camping spots feature RV camping sites. All campgrounds also welcome leashed pets.

A developed area overlooking a river at Hoh Rain Forest Campground in Olympic National Park.
Photo by NPS

Olympic National Park’s Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge destroyed in recent fire

A tragic loss for the community.

Washington state’s Olympic National Park has lost its Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge in a fire. On Sunday, May 7, at 4:39 PM, Clallam County Fire District 2 responded to a dispatch reporting the blaze. Clallam County Fire District 3 and the Port Angeles Fire Department joined the fire rescue team to help control the scene. According to Clallam County Fire District 2, “the structure had already collapsed to the foundation” when help arrived.

No onsite injuries were reported, and no visitors were in the lodge during the fire. Due to an ongoing rehabilitation project, the lodge has been closed since March 27. While renovations were set to be finished in 2024, park officials now say that “the structure appears to be a complete loss.”

A firefighter hosing down rubble.
Photo via Jay Cline / Clallam County Fire District 2

As of May 8, the fire’s cause remains unknown. Olympic National Park’s acting Deputy Superintendent Roy Zipp told The Seattle Times that the park is “still developing the basic facts around the incident and trying to determine the origin of the cause.” The park will be handling further investigation into the fire, according to Clallam County Fire District 2.

Built in the 1950s, Day Lodge holds a special place in the hearts of many locals. For Heidi Walker of Discover Your Northwest, a Seattle-based nonprofit that supports the region’s public lands, the loss of this iconic structure has hit home.

“How can it be gone? It’s such a big part of the park, and it’s gone,” Walker told Seattle’s KIRO 7 News. “It’s almost like, almost like losing a friend even in my adulthood.”

In the comments of an Olympic National Park Facebook post announcing the fire, past visitors have begun sharing memories of the lodge. For many, the lodge was the backdrop for cherished moments within the park. Those who want to follow the topic as further details emerge can find official releases via the park’s news hub.

Man ‘played chicken’ with a cougar in Olympic National Park, and won

A fisherman returning from a lake in Olympic National Park encountered a cougar on the trail, and fortunately he had survival training.

Correction & clarification: A prior version of this story misidentified Bart Brown.

A fisherman returning from Lake Angeles in Olympic National Park in Washington encountered a mountain lion on the trail, and fortunately he had survival training for such an incident.

Bart Brown told KIRO 7 that “something just told me to look over my shoulder, and there was a cougar right there…on the edge of the trail.”

“She was about to attack me. I’m serious. I’m dead serious,” he told KIRO 7.

“It’s one of them life or death situations and I felt like I was going to die.

“Like I was prepared to die. I’m going to fight this cougar and I know I’m not going to win, you know. But I’m going to try.”

Jason Knight, owner of Alderleaf Wilderness College, told KIRO 7 that if a cougar isn’t running in the other direction to get away from you, “the appropriate response is to be aggressive towards it.”

Brown followed that advice.

Also on FTW Outdoors: ‘Idiot’ nearly takes fatal leap in Bryce Canyon National Park (video)

“It was going to be me or her, right?” Brown told KIRO 7. “And so I charged her. I charged the cougar.

“She gets down and she looks at me and I look at her, too…We’re in a death stare. I’m like, here we go. I muster the courage. I charged her again. We played chicken and I won. And she took off down the mountain.”

KIRO 7 has a short clip of the Aug. 20 encounter in its video report.

From the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Cougar attacks on humans are extremely rare. In Washington state, the first fatal cougar attack on a human was reported in 1924. Since then, state authorities have recorded 19 other cougar-human encounters that resulted in a documented injury, including a second fatal attack in 2018.

Generic image of a cougar courtesy of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.