Full Guide to Olympic National Park with Kids

Highlights of Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is huge (almost 1 million acres!) and incredible, so the highlights really only scratch the surface. But here are a few of our favorite Olympic National Park spots that you can’t miss on your first trip there.

Lake Crescent

Lake Crescent is a beautiful and clean lake that is perfect for families to enjoy some time by the water. The beach at the Lake Crescent Lodge is really great for enjoying a nice view, swimming, taking a short hike, and even having dinner on the deck of the lodge. This is also a great place to rent kayaks.

Rialto & Ruby Beach

Rialto Beach and Ruby Beach are two iconic Olympic National Park beaches that are definitely worth a visit. Both of these beaches are probably not like any beaches you’ve visited before. They have a LOT of driftwood which is so much fun for the kids to play on. They are also both great spots for photo opportunities!

TIP: Just make sure to stay off of any driftwood that is near the water. It’s extremely dangerous! Check out our post on the 5 Best Olympic National Park beaches for families for more beach information.

Sol Duc Forest

Sol Duc is a pretty amazing place if you enjoy hiking, hot springs, spotting slugs, or just unique mossy trees. One of our favorite hikes in the park is to Sol Duc Falls, and you can soak in Sol Duc Hot Springs afterwards which makes for a nearly perfect day! The Hoh Rainforest is a lot farther to drive, but you can get a similar experience at Sol Duc if you want to save on driving time.

Up for more hiking? Here are 9 stunning hikes in Olympic National Park for kids!

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge is THE spot to go if you’re looking for endless mountain views. It’s a little bit of a drive up the mountain, but once you get to the top, you can walk around and enjoy the mountains. You can also take a short hike to enjoy the views even longer. Unfortunately, the visitor center did burn down recently, but hopefully that will be rebuilt for a future trip!

How to Get to Olympic National Park:

Flying Directions to Olympic National Park:

If you’re flying to Olympic National Park, the closest airport will be to fly into Seattle. There you will want to rent your car (or our favorite way to experience Olympic – a campervan!) To get to Port Angeles from Seattle it will take you about 2.5 to 3 hours.

If you fly into Portland, the drive to Port Angeles will take about 4 hours.

To get from Seattle to Olympic National Park, you can then go a few different ways. You can take the ferry (car or campervan and all) from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island. It’s a pretty easy process and will definitely save you some time in the car. If you want to skip the ferry, you can drive down and around through Tacoma but it will take longer.

Driving Directions to Olympic National Park:

Depending on where you are driving from, the directions will be different, but because the park is on a peninsula, you will most likely end up driving through Seattle. Take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island.

Next, I would highly recommend stopping in Poulsbo, WA on your way – it’s a cute little Scandinavian themed town with some really fun things to do! It would also be a great spot to stay if you’re looking to break up your drive a bit.

Then, to get to Port Angeles, you’ll drive another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Port Angeles is a great place to start your Olympic National Park trip because it’s closest. However, if you’re wanting to head straight to the coast, Forks, WA is about 2.5 hours in the car.

Best Time of Year for Visiting Olympic?

You can visit Olympic National Park all year round. However, if you’re visiting with kids – you’ll probably want to stick to Spring, Summer, and Fall unless you’re trying to enjoy the park covered in snow. Our last trip was in mid September and we had amazing weather. There were less people since it was after school started and it was a great time to visit.

The busiest time of year to visit will be the Summer, but Olympic is big enough that you can definitely find some solitude no matter when you visit! Especially if you get started early in the morning and visit during the weekdays.

How Many Days to Spend in Olympic National Park With Kids:

Because Olympic is such a big park, you could explore it for the whole Summer and not run out of things to do! But unfortunately, most of us don’t have several months to gallivant around the forest and mountains. Since it’s a bit of a trek to get to the Olympic Peninsula for most people, I would recommend trying to spend at least 4 days if you can.

However, if you don’t have that much time, I’ve got you covered with some shorter itineraries to help you still get the most out of the park with the best 1 day itinerary, 2 day, 3 day, 4 day, or even 5 day itineraries (coming soon)!

The Best Things to Do in Olympic National park For Families

We found Olympic National Park to be one of the most family friendly parks (other than the driving it takes to get there). Some of our favorite things to do in Olympic National Park for families are:

1. Take a Hike
2. Get Ice Cream at Granny’s Cafe
3. Beachcombing & Tidepooling
4. Soak in Sol Duc Hot Springs
5. See the Rainforest (and look for banana slugs!)
6. Explore Hurricane Ridge
7. Swim in Lake Crescent

Where to Stay in Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is VERY big and spread out, so choosing where to stay can be challenging – especially with little ones! I found this to be the toughest part of planning our trip to Olympic. In this park you can experience the forest, ocean, and mountains – so depending on how far you want to drive or which types of activities you want to do with your family, you will want to plan your trip accordingly!

Sections of Olympic National Park:

• Hoh Rainforest (Forest)
• Hurricane Ridge (Mountains)
• Sol Duc (Forest)
• Kalaloch Beach (Ocean)
• Lake Quinault (Forest)
• Lake Crescent (Forest)
• Mora (Ocean)

There are several other sections of the park, but those are the main ones that you’ll want to visit on your first trip to Olympic National Park. Our favorite sections to visit with our kids were Sol Duc, Lake Crescent, and Mora.

Whether you are camping or saying in a hotel, the spots I would recommend staying for seeing the highlights of the park are night 1 at Sol Duc, night 2 at Kalaloch, night 3 at Mora, and night 4 at Fairholme. We love to enjoy this park by campervan so it’s easy to pick up and drive to another spot.

But if you’re not wanting to move spots, Fairholme is fairly central to the Sol Duc and Hurricane Ridge Area and Mora/Kalaloch is perfect for enjoying the coast.

What Passes Do You Need for Olympic National Park:

To visit Olympic National Park, you will need a National Parks pass. You can buy the standard pass, or if you’re planning on visiting multiple National Parks this year, get the America the Beautiful pass. It always saves us on entrance fees.

Depending on where you are wanting to explore on your trip, you may also want to have a Discover Pass. This pass will give you access to state lands like state parks and other state managed land. So if you plan to visit any state parks on the way, or Cape Flattery (the furthest Northwest part of the contiguous USA!) – just grab your Discover Pass ahead of time.

Packing List for Olympic National Park

Packing for Olympic National Park will require a little bit of planning since you’ll likely be visiting multiple climate zones on one trip. For visiting in the Summer, early fall, or late Spring, you will need to plan for warm weather, swimming, and definitely a chance of rain.

Certain parts of the park (looking at you Hoh Rainforest!) have some of the highest rainfall in the United States because of the proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Packing for all types of weather is essential to enjoying your trip to the Olympic Peninsula!

Wildlife of Olympic National Park

The main thing to know about keeping safe in Olympic National Park from wildlife is to give them appropriate distance. Cougars have also been spotted in Olympic National Park so if you are hiking with little ones, keep them near you. Here are more safety tips on wildlife in Olympic National Park.

Leave No Trace

As always, when you visit any outdoor space, make sure to leave no trace. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the area (I’ll help you with that!)

Also minimize your trash, make sure to check campfire regulations, don’t take things home with you from the beach or forest, respect wildlife, and overall just take care of the area as best as you can! It’s important to protect the area so we can enjoy it for years to come.