First Impressions of Olympic National Park

Not far from my former apartment in the Alki Beach neighborhood of Seattle, I used to walk along the shoreline and stare in awe across Puget Sound. On a clear day, the majesty of the Olympic Mountain range would sparkle and beckon me westward. Even when my schedule would forbid me from hiking her trails or camping on her vast beaches, the call to visit remained steadfast.

I don’t recall my first visit to Olympic National Park. It was either a hike near Lake Crescent, or it might have been a hike down to Shi Shi Beach. For our purposes here, I will combine the two destinations. I think you will get a better sense of what makes Washington’s peninsula so special.

From downtown Seattle, you can take the ferry to either Bainbridge Island or Bremerton. If a ferry isn’t enticing, you can drive to Tacoma and take the bridge to Gig Harbor. This choice will make the southern part of the park more easily accessible.

Lake Crescent is 17 miles from Port Angeles. Shi Shi Beach is near the most northwest point of the peninsula. Driving the winding roads to both locations, you will be fully engulfed in an endless sea of trees, as waves of every shade of green fill every vista within your reach. Every so often, there is a break in the greenery, and you can catch a glimpse of water. These rare openings offer an opportunity to appreciate…