Olympic National Park

When we were planning this trip, one of Greyson's "must dos" was Olympic National Park. Despite growing up in Washington, I'd never been either. Also, Greyson's parents went to Olympic National Park on their honeymoon and they gave us two nights at the Lake Quinault Lodge as a wedding gift. After four nights of camping, we were excited for the luxury.

Olympic National Park Visitor's Guide // tahoefabulous.com

The Lake Quinalt Lodge is a historic lodge, on the shores of Lake Quinault, just outside of the National Park. The building was beautiful, the rooms were really nice - we had a deck over looking the lake and a fireplace, which we didn't end up using. There is wifi, but it's pretty spotty and slow - not really a problem unless you are planning on doing some work. The property has it's own beach with boat rentals and there are lawn games you can borrow or just sit on one of the adirondack chairs and watch the sunset.

"There are some places so blissfully disconnected from the modern world that they seem to stand suspended in time. Lake Quinault Lodge is one such place - a grand and rustic lodge built in 1926 that welcomes guests with warmth, hospitality, and a sincere feeling of home-away-from-home comfort. Here you can unwind in front of our majestic fireplace, dine in the historic Roosevelt Dining Room, curl up with a good book by the lake, paddleboard or fish in the afternoon sun, or venture deep into the temperate rainforest and enjoy the cool shade of the giant trees."

Lake Quinault Lodge had great access to the park, and it was fun to inject a little luxury on the trip. We did eat dinner in the fancy Roosevelt Dining Room one night, but it was super expensive and not worth the prices. On night two, we ended up getting pizza and beer at the convenience store/restaurant across the street, which was a much better price and delicious.

We knew that we wanted to do a long-ish hike while we were in the park (and while we had a place to keep our bikes secure), and we decided on the Hoh River Trail. The trail parallels the Hoh River and is through the rainforest, which we really wanted to see. The trailhead was about an 1.5 hour drive from the Lake Quinault Lodge, but the route was scenic and took us by places we'd hoped to stop anyway.

Olympic National Park // tahoefabulous.com

On our way there, we stopped for some beach access. It was gray and cloudy in the morning, but we could tell the fog was already burning off. We also stopped to gape at trees. They're no coast redwoods or giant sequoias, but they're plenty big and strange.

After stopping in at the Hoh River Visitor's Center to confirm that the Hoh River Trail was really what we wanted to do, we were off. Lots of visitors use the Hoh River Trail to access the back country - we saw tons of backpackers and even a few groups with alpine climbing gear. It's also great for a day hike. It's an out an back that goes 17.5 miles out to Glacier Meadows, so for a day hike, just turn around where ever you want.

The trail is fairly flat and not technical, at least for the first five miles that we did. I've read that it gets steeper as you get closer to Glacier Meadows. Despite the very sunny day we had, it was cool and shaded along the trail. Since it's through the rainforest, you don't always have sweeping views. We did get some gorgeous mountain views in spots where the trail got close enough to the river that we could see up or down canyon.

Hoh River, Olympic National Park // tahoefabulous.com

We'd heard there was a waterfall along the trail, so we made that our unofficial goal. The sun had completely come out by noon and it was an absolutely gorgeous day, though Greyson kept joking that he felt cheated by a sunny day in the rainforest. At some point on our way out, we stopped on the side of the river and had a snack and basked in the sun. About 2. 5 miles after the Visitor's Center, we arrived at a little bridge and a verdant waterfall - Mineral Creek Falls.

Mineral Creek Falls // tahoefabulous.com

We decided to keep hiking for awhile longer to see where the trail took us. While still not steep, there were more up and downs for the next 2.5 miles, where we decided to turn around. Sometimes out and backs can seem boring, since you are seeing the same scenery twice, but the Hoh River Trail didn't feel that way to me. While the hike was relatively flat, my hiking muscles were not in shape. I was feeling it in my legs, especially at about mile 7. The faster I hiked, the better I felt, so I was seriously speed walking by the end.

We decided to break up the drive with a stop at the iconic Ruby Beach. It was a beautiful weekend day, and Ruby Beach was pretty crowded - there was even a culturally appropriative staged wedding photo shoot happening. We walked down to the beach and got a few pictures, but we decided that we'd leave a little earlier the next morning and stop by when it was less crowded (which is when the picture at the top of the post is from).

After the long hike and drive, a long shower back in our room felt amazing. While I love camping, and I don't mind getting dirty, I have to say that the luxury of Lake Quinault Lodge felt pretty nice!

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