The Perfect 3 Day Olympic National Park Itinerary With Kids
Three days in Olympic National Park is a great amount of time to explore the mountains, the rainforest, AND the beautiful coastal beaches. This 3 day Olympic National Park itinerary will help you explore all three of the distinct ecosystems in the park! Since the park is nearly 1 million acres, we’ll organize your trip in a way that helps you spend less time in the car and more time adventuring with your kids.
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This three day itinerary for Olympic National Park is based on starting your trip in Port Angeles. It’s a great jumping off point to start your trip (also check out Poulsbo – a bit farther away). If you’re driving into Olympic National Park from Seattle, keep in mind that it will take some time to hop on the ferry and drive over.
AND… this itinerary is based on visiting in seasons other than winter. Some of these areas get snow in the chillier seasons, especially Hurricane Ridge. The busiest time of year will definitely be summer, but visiting in the fall is a great way to escape the crowds.
If you want more information on the best time to visit Olympic National Park, how to get there, and all the information you need to plan your trip – check out our FULL GUIDE!
Where to Stay for 3 Days in Olympic National Park
Our favorite way to explore this park is to rent a campervan! We had a blast in our roadsurfer van and were able to camp in so many incredible spots throughout the park.
Where to Stay for Camping:
If you want to camp in one spot for the three nights – Fairholme Campground is located on Lake Crescent and is fairly central to the activities in this itinerary. However, you will end up doing some extra driving back and forth if you stay in one spot.
If you’re okay moving campsites – you can move between these campgrounds depending on which area you’d like to spend the most time in. The campgrounds in Olympic National Park are really some of the most beautiful campgrounds we’ve ever stayed in.
- Fairholme Campground
- Sol Duc Campground
- Kalaloch Campground
- Mora Campground
Best Hotels for Olympic National Park
If you would rather stay in a hotel, there are a few options for you. Port Angeles has a lot of options and Forks is another place that has some hotels. There are less hotels in the middle, but you can find a lot of vacation rentals near Lake Crescent and near Forks.
Hotels Near Port Angeles
- Emerald Valley Inn – Perfect location right between Lake Crescent and the Olympic National Park visitor center
- Red Lion Port Angeles Harbor – beautiful views (and has a pool!)
- Super 8 Port Angeles – affordable with good reviews
- Poulsbo is a nearby town that is super cute – the “Little Norway of Washington” it’ll add drive time but it’s very charming!
Hotels Near Forks
- The Forks Motel
- The Woodland Inns
- Quiluete Oceanside Resort – stunning views!
- Lake Quinault Lodge – historic and beautiful, our choice if budget wasn’t a factor
3 Day Itinerary for Olympic National Park With Kids
If you have 3 days to see Olympic National Park, you will be able to see so many awesome spots. This three day itinerary has mountains, rainforest, and ocean – three of the incredible ecosystems in the park. If you have less time, we also have a 1 day itinerary and a 2 day itinerary for you! This itinerary will take you day by day through a wonderful 3 day adventure in Olympic National Park!
Day 1 Overview:
- Drive up to Hurricane Ridge
- Hike the Cirque Rim Nature Trail
- Visit the Port Angeles Olympic National Park Visitor Center
- Drive to Lake Crescent – make sure to stop at Granny’s Cafe
- Explore the historic Lake Crescent Lodge
- Play in Lake Crescent – swim or kayak
- Hike the Moments in Time Trail
Hurricane Ridge:
You’ll start your day at Hurricane Ridge. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from Port Angeles and the drive up is absolutely beautiful. There are several pullouts on the way up, but I would highly recommend getting to the top (to beat the crowds) and then stopping at any pullouts on the way down if you’re looking for some more viewpoints.
Truly the best views are from the parking lot so make sure you take some time to walk around and enjoy the view.
NOTE: The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center burned down in 2023. There are still several bathrooms up top, but you won’t be able to stamp your passport or shop for souvenirs at the top.
ANOTHER NOTE: This area is not dog friendly, and most of the places in the park aren’t. Here are some dog friendly trails in Olympic National Park.
The Cirque Rim Loop
This family friendly ONP hike is only 0.8 miles, stroller friendly, and has EPIC views of the mountains. After spending some time in the car on the way up, it was so nice to stretch our legs and get to explore the area a little more. We loved this trail and even saw some cool wildlife along the way.
NOTE: One of the most important things to know before visiting Olympic is about wildlife safety! There have been cougars in this area, so read about the wildlife before you go to keep your family safe.
Granny’s Cafe
Head back down the mountain and on your way to Lake Crescent. Granny’s Cafe is a super fun ice cream stop/vintage diner that’s just off the road on the way to Lake Crescent. They have burgers and chicken strips (always a win for our kids) and soft serve ice cream. But the real surprise is when you head out behind the restaurant!
Walk out the back door, you can even bring your ice cream! They have a great little farm that has goats, chickens, and my favorite the emus. You can see one of the biggest birds in the entire world while you enjoy your treats. This was truly one of the most unique ice cream places I’ve ever been and it was so much fun for both adults and kids.
Lake Crescent:
Lake Crescent is a must do for your Olympic National Park trip. It’s one of the best beaches in Olympic National Park for kids and it’s really beautiful. While you’re here you can swim in the bright blue water, rent kayaks, and explore the Lake Crescent Lodge.
We visited multiple beaches around Crescent Lake and our favorite was the beach at the Lake Crescent Lodge – some of the other beaches we visited weren’t nearly as clean or nice!
The Moments in Time Trail
Straight from the Lake Crescent Lodge beach area, you can access the Moments in Time trail. This short (0.8 miles) and flat family friendly trail has informational signs that will tell you all about the history of the area and facts about the trees. It’s a beautiful and lush forest and you can access a few more secluded beaches around Lake Crescent from the trail as well.
Day 2 Overview:
Day two of this itinerary is all about the RAINFOREST! Sol Duc is a magical old growth temperate rainforest and it’s one of our favorite places in the whole park. You don’t have to drive all the way to the Hoh Rainforest, this area of Olympic will be enough for you to get your rainforest experience.
Sol Duc Falls:
Start your day by hiking to Sol Duc Falls. It’s one of our favorite Olympic National Park hikes and it’s totally family friendly. The trail is 1.8 miles with 262 feet of elevation gain. There is so much to see along the way from unique fungi to slugs to interesting trees so the trail will feel even shorter than it is! At the end you will get to see a beautiful double waterfall.
I recommend starting your day on this trail early because it can be a very popular spot, especially on a summer weekend.
Sol Duc Hot Springs
Sol Duc Hot Springs is the perfect way to relax after a hike! So make your way there after seeing Sol Duc Galls. The hot springs were a highlight of the trip for us, and you don’t even need a reservation to go. The springs are first come first served and the time slots are in two hour increments. They did tell me they never sell out, but I would show up slightly early before the time slot just in case!
They have 3 mineral soaking pools and one freshwater pool. The temperatures vary between the pools at 99, 104, 101 and the freshwater pool ranges from 50-85 degrees depending on the season.
NOTE: Children under 4 are not allowed in the two hotter pools for safety reasons.
Salmon Cascades and Madison Falls
A few optional and lesser known stops near Sol Duc are the Salmon Cascades and Madison Falls. They are less exciting than some of the other spots on this itinerary but they are still fun and a great way to stretch your legs on the way.
Salmon Cascades is just off the road near Sol Duc and is a very short walk to a viewing platform. Depending on the season, you may be able to see salmon jumping upstream! You are most likely to see them between March – May and September – October.
Madison Falls is a very short walk (0.1 miles) to a tall waterfall in the forest. The trailhead is less than 10 minutes off the main road and starts right next to the beautiful Elwha River. Because this a less popular trail, I was lucky enough to have this place to myself, which made it that much more fun.
Forks:
After experiencing the Sol Duc area, head out towards Forks to start experiencing the rugged ocean coastlines. The drive from Sol Duc to Forks is about 1 hour. There aren’t a whole lot of highlights on the way there so I would recommend just driving straight through so you can have time to enjoy the beach!
If you’re a Twilight fan, you may want to stop and enjoy the town of Forks for a while because it’s where the movie was filmed! Some of the highlights of Forks include:
- Native to Twilight Gift Shop
- Fill up on gas – there aren’t many gas stations in the area once you leave town
- The Visitor Information Center to see character cutouts and Bella’s red truck
There isn’t too much for food after you get out of Forks towards your next destination. We ate at the Longhouse Cafe and had Indian tacos. If you’ve never had Indian Tacos, this is a great opportunity to try them – we liked the Birria beef tacos. There are lots of other Native American cuisine items on the menu.
Through town, you can find fun Twilight themed coffee drinks or menu items at most of the places.
Rialto Beach
End your day by watching a sunset at Washington’s black sand beach, Rialto Beach. This beach absolutely blew us away with how stunning it was! The beach has beautiful black rocks contrasted with some of the most colorful rocks I’ve ever seen.
Rialto Beach is where you can find the “Hole in the Wall” trail. However, this trail was WAY too long for us with our kids since you have to walk along the beach it feels twice as far as it is.
NOTE: Please be careful at this beach, there are sneaker waves here and they can be very dangerous, especially for small children. And never, ever play on logs that are close to the water – they can roll on top of you and they are extremely heavy.
ANOTHER NOTE: Ruby Beach is another really cool family friendly beach you could choose to explore instead of Rialto. It’s mostly just made up of driftwood (which is really cool!) both options are great.
Day 3 Overview:
Day three is ALL about the beach and includes one of our favorite hikes we’ve ever done! This area of Olympic National Park is full of moody landscapes, rugged coastlines, and all the sea life. Our kids totally thrived in this beach area and we truly could have stayed here for an entire week!
Second Beach:
You may need to adjust the timing of this stop slightly depending on the timing of low tide. I would recommend trying to time your hike with arriving to the beach around low tide so you can enjoy exploring some sea life.
This beautiful hike will take you through a forest with some unique trees along the way, and plenty of slugs! It’s about 1.4 miles roundtrip, but because you’ll probably spend quite a bit of time here it’ll feel even shorter. The trail eventually leads you to the ocean where you can watch surfers, explore tide pools (at low tide) and really just enjoy the view!
Cedar Tree Trail:
The Cedar Tree Trail has one of the most impressive and crazy trees I’ve ever seen in my entire life. This trail is a short drive off the main road (a bumpy gravel road – you’ll have to drive slow!) the trail is very short and stroller friendly and leads you straight to the tree. It’s definitely worth checking out if you have a little bit of extra time in your day. 
Kalaloch:
Our kids absolutely loved this beach and it was a great spot to spend sunset. This beach is really wide open with a ton of room to play in the sand look for jellyfish, sand dollars., and shells! Kalaloch is a lot more kid friendly than some of the other beaches, especially during low tide.
Another highlight of this beach is the tree of life. It’s likely to be gone soon so if you have a chance to go, it’s well worth seeing the unique tree that seems to be hanging on by a thread!
I hope you enjoy this three day family friendly Olympic national Park itinerary! It’s truly one of the best national parks with so many family, friendly hikes, stunning beaches, beautiful wildlife, and things to do! It’s one of the only parks in the United States where you can experience so many different ecosystems in one area. Such a fantastic learning opportunity for the kids!
And if you’re visiting for less time, you can also use our one day itinerary or two day itinerary and still see a ton of the park without spending too much time in the park.
