page_title: Olympic National Park
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Olympic National Park / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: English: Camping site on the shores of Lake Quinault, Olympic National Park.
context_page_description: Olympic National Park is an American national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. Within the park there are three distinct ecosystems which are subalpine forest and wildflower meadow, temperate forest, and the rugged Pacific coast.
  President Theodore Roosevelt originally designated Mount Olympus National Monument on 2 March 1909. The monument was redesignated as a national park by Congress and President Franklin Roosevelt on June 29, 1938. In 1976, Olympic National Park was designated by UNESCO as an International Biosphere Reserve, and in 1981 as a World Heritage Site. In 1988, Congress designated 95 percent of the park as the Olympic Wilderness.
context_section_description: There are several roads in the park, but none penetrate far into the interior. The park features a network of hiking trails, although the size and remoteness means that it will usually take more than a weekend to get to the high country in the interior. The sights of the rain forest, with plants run riot and dozens of hues of green, are well worth the possibility of rain sometime during the trip, although months of July, August and September frequently have long dry spells.
  An unusual feature of ONP is the opportunity for backpacking along the beach. The length of the coastline in the park is sufficient for multi-day trips, with the entire day spent walking along the beach. Although idyllic compared to toiling up a mountainside (Seven Lakes Basin is a notable example), one must be aware of the tide; at the narrowest parts of the beaches, high tide washes up to the cliffs behind, blocking passage. There are also several promontories that must be struggled over, using a combination of muddy steep trail and fixed ropes.
  During winter, the viewpoint known as Hurricane Ridge offers numerous winter sports activities. The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club operates Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area, a not for profit alpine ski area which offers ski lessons, rentals, and inexpensive lift tickets. The small alpine area is serviced by two rope tows and one poma lift.  A large amount of backcountry terrain is accessible for skiers, snowboarders, and other backcountry travelers when the Hurricane Ridge Road is open.  Winter access to the Hurricane Ridge Road is currently limited to Friday through Sunday weather permitting.  The Hurricane Ridge Winter Access Coalition is a community effort to restore seven-day-a-week access via the Hurricane Ridge Road (the only park road accessing alpine terrain in winter).
  Rafting is available on both the Elwha and Hoh Rivers. Boating is common on Ozette Lake, Lake Crescent, and Lake Quinault.
  Views of the Olympic National Park can be seen from the Hurricane Ridge viewpoint. The road leading west from the Hurricane Ridge visitor center has several picnic areas and trail heads. A paved trail called the Hurricane hill trail is about 1.6 miles long (one-way) with an elevation gain of about 700 feet. It is not uncommon to find snow on the trails even as late as July. Several other dirt trails of varying distances and difficulty levels branch off of the Hurricane hill trail. The picnic areas are open only in the summer, and have restrooms, water and paved access to picnic tables.
  The Hurricane Ridge visitor center has an information desk, gift shop, restrooms, and a snack bar. The exhibits in the visitor center are open daily.
caption: Camping site on the shores of Lake Quinault
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