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Most visitors to the Olympic Peninsula arrive from Seattle.\u00a0 To get there, take a ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island or Bremerton or from Edmonds to Kingston.\u00a0 Once you get off the ferry, follow signs to the Hood Canal Bridge.\u00a0 The distance to the Bridge from the Bainbridge Island and Bremerton ferry terminals is the same distance, although the ferry ride from Seattle to Bremerton is 30 minutes longer than to Bainbridge Island.\u00a0 Travel time to the Bridge from the Kingston ferry terminal is shorter, but the drive from Seattle to Edmonds can be long, depending on traffic, and the ferry lines in Edmonds are usually longer.<\/p>\n
Once you get to the Bridge, you are approximately 30 minutes from Port Townsend, 45 minutes from Sequim, and a little over an hour from Port Angeles.<\/p>\n
Port Angeles is located 30 minutes west of Sequim and is home to the jewel of the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic Peninsula National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n Port Angeles is a working-class town that traditionally relied on timber and fishing.\u00a0 It is also the county seat.\u00a0 You can easily find whatever services you need here.\u00a0 This is also the best home base for exploring the Olympic National Park.<\/p>\n For groceries or a snack, be sure to stop by Country Aire Natural Foods<\/a> downtown.\u00a0 This is a large-scale health food store with a seafood counter, espresso bar and deli, and extensive produce section.\u00a0 They also have several prepared foods that are perfect for a quick supper or picnic.\u00a0 If you are in Port Angeles on a Saturday morning, stop by the Port Angeles Farmers Market<\/a> downtown for a freshly made pastry from Pane D\u2019Amore bakery or buy some seasonal vegetables from Johnston Farms.\u00a0 You can also find flowers, smoked salmon, arts and crafts, and a variety of produce, depending on the season.<\/p>\n If you need hiking or back country gear, be sure to stop by Brown\u2019s Outdoor<\/a>.\u00a0 They\u2019ll have what you need.\u00a0 If you need camping equipment or other types of gear, check out Swain\u2019s General Store<\/a> on First Street, just east of downtown.\u00a0 Swain\u2019s has everything<\/em>, not just what you need, but also what you didn\u2019t know you needed.<\/p>\n One of the great luxuries of a National Park vacation is the chance to unwind, sit for a spell, and enjoy a good book.\u00a0 Fortunately, Port Angeles has a truly exceptional independent bookstore.\u00a0 Be sure to stop by Port Book and News<\/a> on First Street, right next door to the fountain. \u00a0We love this place!\u00a0 They have an extensive collection of magazines, as well as new and used books, local books, maps, and guides, and games, cards, and gifts.\u00a0 Truly independent, local bookstores are a dying breed, please be sure to stop at Port Book and News and check it out.<\/p>\n The Olympic National Park headquarters are located on Race Street, just south of downtown.\u00a0 At the Visitors\u2019 Center, can pick up maps, guide books, back country passes, and get more information about the Park.\u00a0 If you travel 17 miles south of the Visitors\u2019 Center, you will arrive at Hurricane Ridge, which is at 1 mile elevation.\u00a0 There are several scenic overlooks along the way that are worth the stop.\u00a0 From them, and at the top, you can see the Sequim Valley, Port Angeles, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands, Mount Baker, Victoria, and beyond.\u00a0 On a clear day, you may even see Seattle.\u00a0 The Visitors\u2019 Center at the top of Hurricane Ridge has a short movie, maps, information, and guided ranger hikes, as well as bathrooms, a gift shop, and a small coffee shop.\u00a0 There are numerous trails of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty that leave from the top of Hurricane Ridge.<\/p>\n Hurricane Ridge<\/a> is especially magical in the winter.\u00a0 The road is only open on select weekends and always depends on the weather conditions.\u00a0 Be sure to check the Park\u2019s Twitter feed for current weather conditions<\/a> and be sure to arrive early because the parking lot usually fills up in the first hour or two and access to the mountain is discontinued until a sufficient number of cars have departed.\u00a0 You will also need to have tire chains in your car.\u00a0 You will very likely need to put them on your car at the beginning of the winter season before the road has frozen and hardened.\u00a0 At the top of the mountain, you can downhill ski, snowboard, cross country ski, tube, and snowshoe.\u00a0 The Visitors\u2019 Center rents snowshoes and poles, as well as some ski equipment.\u00a0 We especially enjoy snowshoeing it is beautiful and is a great workout if you go any distance and\/or climb up some steep peaks.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve never snowshoed, sign up for a free ranger-led snowshoe hike.\u00a0 The Park is stunning in the winter with evergreens loaded down with snow and bright, blue clear skies.\u00a0 There are few places on the Ridge where you can stand in the snow and see the Strait of Juan de Fuca and downtown Victoria, BC in the distance.\u00a0 It is just stunning.<\/p>\n If you have the time, I recommend traveling west from Port Angeles out to La Push on the Pacific Ocean.\u00a0 It will take you about 1.5 hours to get there.\u00a0 Once there, you can walk along the beach or camp overnight.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have that much time, consider a visit to Lake Crescent, which is just 30-45 minutes west of Port Angeles.<\/p>\n Lake Crescent is a beautiful, deep alpine lake where heavily wooded foothills plunge into the crystal clear, cold waters of the lake.\u00a0 US Highway 101 hugs the southern shore of the lake.\u00a0 A short, primitive road goes along the east shore and a small section of the west and north shore, but there is no road around the lake.\u00a0 A visit to the Lake Crescent Lodge<\/a> is a must.\u00a0 Check the website to make sure it is open, it generally closes in the winter, after New Year\u2019s. \u00a0You can stay or dine at the Lodge.\u00a0 You can also swim, rent boats, and picnic.\u00a0 In addition, the Marymere Falls trail starts at the Lodge.\u00a0 This is an easy, but highly rewarding, hike to a stunning waterfall.\u00a0 It will take you about 45 minutes to get to the waterfall.\u00a0 There are several trails the split off this one.\u00a0 If you have the time, I recommend driving along East Beach Road and parking at the Spruce Railroad Trail<\/a> trailhead on the opposite side of the lake.\u00a0 From here, you can walk or mountain bike to the Devil\u2019s Punchbowl bridge.\u00a0 There is also a bike trail on this side of the lake that is partly paved.\u00a0 Be sure to check the website for the latest updates on construction of this trail.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Snowshoeing.jpg\")
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See more about the Olympic Peninsula in Deborah\u2019s full post about the region.<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[435,436,439,440,16],"class_list":["post-2616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-olympic-peninsula","tag-pacific-northwest","tag-visiting-port-angeles","tag-visiting-the-olympic-peninsula","tag-washington-state"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n