Olympic National Park Hiking with Backroads

Previous: San Juan Islands with Backroads

July 14

Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls

After a delicious breakfast on our balcony at the Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island we all got into one of the Backroads vans to be shuttled to the ferry at Keystone.  On to Olympic National Park.

The area around the ferry terminal was interesting.  It’s along the Keystone Spit and the ferry inlet is surrounded by rustic fishing and camping tourism.  Campers, RV’s boat launches, and one restaurant that looks like a place Quint from Jaws would likely frequent.

We took the short ferry ride to Port Townsend, which is located in the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

Once in Port Townsend and off the ferry, we got back in the shuttle vans to head to gorgeous Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park.  A major benefit of travelling with Backroads is that we get into great hotels that would normally be impossible to get reservations at….Lake Crescent Lodge in the middle of July is a perfect example of this.

We stopped to eat a Backroads-packed lunch in a park, then arrived at Lake Crescent Lodge at around 2:30 p.m. Before checking into the hotel we got our first taste of Olympic National Park hiking and embarked on a hike up to Marymere Falls.  The trailhead is right off the lodge parking lot. This is a 2-mile out and back trail to the falls. A beautifully lush green, heavily trafficked forest trail led us to a beautiful waterfall.

 

After the hike we walked to the Lake Crescent Lodge parking lot where the Backroads leaders who stayed behind to deal with hotel check-in greeted us with our cabin keys.  The rustic cabins, beautiful lake-side grounds, mountain views, swimming area, location, and gorgeous turn-of-the-century lodge with fantastic restaurant make these accommodations awesome. Of course, the lake itself is a truly spectacular sight on its own…the magnificent cobalt blue color of the water reminded us of Crater Lake.

Before dinner I decided to brave the cool water of Lake Crescent.

After the swim we had dinner at the restaurant in the lodge.  For a rustic resort, the restaurant food is rather elegant.  The options were limited as was the service due to COVID, but the chef took our order and brought us our food with enthusiasm and pride.  It was excellent.

After dinner we hung out a bit with people then hit the sack…it was a long, eventful day.

July 15

Olympic National Park Hiking: Sol Duc Trail

We got a great night’s sleep in the cabin.  We packed our lunches in the parking lot with Backroads-supplied items and then headed out in the vans for more Olympic National Park hiking.  Emilie and I opted for the longer hike to Sol Duc Falls and Deer Lake, about 8 miles roundtrip.  The hike was not difficult at all, and the scenery was full of mossy greens and timber, and of course, the requisite waterfall and a lake.

We got to Deer Lake and had lunch at the shore.

After this great hike we headed back to Lake Crescent Lodge for our farewell reception with our Backroads group, since this is our last night together.  Then a final evening of relaxation on the shores of the lake before our final day with Backroads.

Off to bed.

July 16

Hurricane Ridge and Seattle

After breakfast we headed to the Backroads shuttle vans and headed to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, about an hour away. Hurricane Ridge is one of the most visited spots in the park because it is easy to get to by car, and the large visitors center provides spectacular 360 degree views of the Olympic Mountains.  From the visitors center there are several trailheads.

The key, however, is to have clear skies, which is never a guarantee in the pacific northwest.  On this particular day we got partial clearing for some decent views, but not stellar. Many of the peaks of the range were under cloud cover for most of the time (Fortunately, Emilie and I returned to Hurricane Ridge, and did more Olympic National Park hiking a few days later and got much clearer panoramas, go HERE for that.) Regardless of some cloud cover, this is a must-see when in Olympic National Park, it’s still pretty amazing.

We hiked some of the short hikes around the visitors center. We also saw deer and marmots scattered about.

This is not the clearest pic but the scale shows off the vastness of the area. That’s Ann and John walking in the parking lot of the visitors center.

Deer at Hurricane Ridge

Backroads supplied a great lunch for us that day.  We had a buffet set up on the back side of the visitors center where we ate with some pretty amazing views.

From Hurricane Ridge we were shuttled to Bainbridge Island about 2 hours away to catch the ferry to Seattle.  From here we were shuttled to the excellent Sheraton Grand Seattle which represents the end of our Backroads trip.  Our pals John, Ann, Charlie, and Luise (and just about everybody else from Backroads) were also staying at this unusually reasonably priced top-notch downtown hotel, so we hung out.  After check-in we grabbed a couple of Ubers and met up with John’s son and his wife who live in Seattle.  We met them at the funky SODO Urban Works in the Beacon Hill section of Seattle.  We got wine at Structure Cellars and pizza from Nine Pies Pizzeria next door.  Great pizza, great wine, and a great send-off with our great friends.

Next: Seattle to Forks