I know this question has probably gets asked a ton, but I get tired of scrolling through pages and not finding anything.
I am looking to see what the best hike in Olympic NP. I know the "best" can be extremely subjective, so I'll start by saying that I have never been to the Pacific Northwest and plan on coming in August 2018 sometime. I don't have a set number of days yet, but it will have to be a shorter than a week, and definitely longer than an overnight. Like I said, I haven't found much online, other than people just saying do this, or do that.
So what am I looking for? A waterfall would be nice! Camp next to a backcountry lake always sounds like a great idea. See mountain goats is a plus! Basically, the best of the best with regard to views...nature...I just want to say WOW!
I have gotten the hint that HOH or Enchanted Valley is pretty awesome, but I don't think I could do both. And, I'd like to stay in the NP boundaries. I'm also indifferent to sub-alpine terrain (I just completed the Teton Crest Trail).
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
The Olympic National Park website, , unlike many of its ilk, has really good trail descriptions. The folks at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles, WA, will help you plan your trip (they are also the ones who issue the permits). You might want to read a good hiking guidebook to prepare. I like the ones put out by The Mountaineers. The research will find you a hike you enjoy, rather than just one suggested by someone who doesn't know your likes and dislikes.
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
I've hiked the length of the park south-to-north some years back, and as part of the Pacific NW Trail I more recently hiked it from west-to-east. That said, I'm not familiar with the (vast?) majority of this large park. To get a good answer to your question, you need someone that has hiked lots and lots of trails in the park AND whose response you can calibrate in the context of your personal abilities and desires for a "best" trail.
I've really enjoyed coastal hiking in the ONP. The reference in another response to the high divide/low divide --- I hiked the high divide in a lot of snow in hiking the PNT, and that Seven Lakes Basin area really is pretty neat (but also as I understand it, pretty popular).
It's a tough question to answer. One thing in the ONP that's on my personal bucket list was a route variant that had too much snow to be safe when I went through --- the Bailey Range Traverse. Looks somewhat aggressive, but in the narrow window that it's hike-able, just a stone hoot I think. Someday perhaps!
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