On our last day in Washington, we went to Olympic National Park. It was a long 2 1/2 hour drive from our RV park, so we headed out early and arrived just before noon.
We parked at the main visitor center and ate a quick lunch in the van. Then we headed to talk to a ranger about recommended hikes and sites to see. We were given suggestions and were excited about the day ahead.
The first thing we chose to do was drive to the Storm King Ranger Station to park. From there we walked down to the beautiful Lake Crescent. The water was such a pretty blue.
Most of our kids skipped stones as Bravely collected rocks and sticks. That is one of her favorite things to do.
From there we chose to hike the Marymere Falls Trail.
It was a really pretty trail leading us through a mossy green forest.
There were some very large trees, similar to the size we saw at Sequoia National Park in California.
I was totally enamored by this tree bridge. Every time we see a bridge, one of our kids asks, “You want a picture of us on the bridge?” They know me. Haha.
At the end of the trail, we arrived at the beautiful Marymere Falls.
Looking at and listening to a waterfall never gets old.
After seeing the waterfall, we made our way back down the trail and to our van. Then, we made the hour drive to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center.
I definitely recommend filling up with gas before visiting any national park, and count on using quite a bit of time driving once you are in a park.
When we first arrived at Olympic National Park, we were told the Hurricane Ridge parking was full and there was a line to get there. A ranger recommended going around 4 or 5PM, so that is what we did. It required some extra driving, but it was worth it.
From the Hurricane Ridge parking area, we climbed a trail up a mountain and looked out on breathtaking mountain views.
This day was truly picture-perfect, but it wasn’t quite like most of our amazing national park experiences.
Ryan and I got into an argument on the way to the park, another during our time there and then another on the way home. Ugh! Do you ever have one of those days that you just aren’t in a good groove? It was one of those days for us! Thankfully, we’ve worked through our frustrations and can still look back on the good memories we did make on this day!