Hello,

I will be visiting the Seattle area from June 26th to July 3 and need quite a bit of help narrowing down my choices from the good old Moon Guide.

The itinerary so far:

Day 1 - Arrive in the evening and stay at Sea Tac (cheap room via Priceline)
Day 2 - Get up early and drive to Mt. Rainier and then drive to West side of Olympic Peninsula.
Day 3-5 Olympic Peninsula
Day 6-8 Seattle

Question 1 - What are the must do hikes for Mt. Rainier that can be accomplished in the limited time I have.
Question 2 - Which are the preferred beaches to visit on the Peninsula? Ruby, First, Second, Third, Rialto, etc.
Question 3 - Has anyone taken or heard anything about one of the Hoh River rafting trips? If so what were your thoughts about it?
Question 4 - Which hikes are your favorites in the Olympic National Park? Hurricane Ridge, Quinault Area, Hoh Rainforest Area, Deer Park, Sol Duc, Lake Crescent, etc.
Question 5 - Should I plan to visit Neah Bay or can that be skipped?

I haven't booked any rooms other than the first night so everything is still pretty fluid.

About us. We are in our 30's. In okay shape, though not ready to run any marathons or 5k's at this point. More interested in scenery and photography.

Thanks for your help.

I can't contribute much other than saying Neah Bay isn't much of anything besides out of the way. It has a marina, little cafe, little bait-type shop. I hear there's a native American museum there, but it was closed when we were there. You might be able to see the cedar hand-made canoes the tribe (Makah) use in the controversial whaling, if they happen to be tied up to the dock. I'd skip it unless I had oodles of time.

Hurricane Ridge has great hiking, by the way. I'd ask a ranger on Mt. Rainier what they'd recommend, describing your interests. They can pick the trails based on time, difficulty, conditions. The ranger led hikes are interesting, too, as you learn a lot on them.

We spent two days at Olympic when we visited Washington, and I liked the hikes to Marymere Falls and Sol Duc Falls. They were not strenuous hikes. The short hike through the Hoh Rain Forest is also neat.

We didn't get a chance to do a lot of the beaches, but I'd recommend Second Beach. That beach was great. We had to all to ourselves at about 10am.

Karen

We're doing almost the exact trip in July except in reverse order....going from Seattle to Port Townsend/Port Angeles on the Olympic peninsula via Whidbey Island on the first leg (Mon-Thurs, with a day trip to Victoria), and ending up at Seattle (Fri)and Mt. Rainier (Sat/Sun)on the way back. Where are you staying near Rainier? There are some suggested hikes in the Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula.

Thanks for all of the information.

Philsbert1 - We aren't planning on staying near Rainier. We hope to make it to the coast that night and possibly stay in the Gray's Harbor/Ocean Shore area.

The best hiking would be either out of Paradise or Sunrise. The road to Sunrise is scheduled to open on June 25th. There are a bunch of trails that loop around. We like the Mt. Fremont trail, which climbs about 1000 ft to the ridge overlooking Sunrise and the surrounding region. Another fun thing to do is to drop down the steep trail into the White River Valley, ending up at the campground. This is great if you have someone else to drive your car down to meet you. Alternatively, park near the turnoff to the White River Campground, then hitchhike up to Sunrise, then walk back down.

Try the Bench & Snow Lakes Trail, near Paradise. Part of it may still be snow-covered, but it is a nice 2-3 hour walk. Early July is usually the time that the wildflowers bloom, so you might get lucky.

The Olympic Beaches are all kind of nice. I like Ruby and Rialto. One hike you might want to consider is to go from Lake Ozette out to the coast, walk down the coast, then return to the lake, via Sand Point. About 9 miles, but mostly level.

Hurricane Ridge is fantastic, and not to be missed. There are several short walks that loop around near the top. Again, if someone is willing to drive your car, a really nice one-day walk is to go from Hurricane Ridge to Deer Park (or vice-versa).

We have not gone on a raft down the Hoh River, but we have done it in a C-2 (covered canoe). The river is quite fast moving, with mild whitewater. Because of the current and a large number of snags and lumber piles, this is a hairy trip in a canoe. It should be a lot of fun in a raft, because the current moves right along.

Skip Neah Bay. As mentioned above, not much there of interest, compared to other places on the Peninsula.

Slug: I am just back from a similar trip (June 5-13). Originally I had planned to do a Mt. Rainier hike leaving out of Paradise. Coming from New Orleans and 90 degree heat I mistakenly believed the trails on the mountain would be open but found there was still lots of snow up at the Paradise lodge. The trail I was planning to take still had about 2 feet of snow coverage. It wasn't happening unless I had proper equipment. Headed down the mountain to the ranger station at Longmire. They recommended the Rampart Ridge Trail which starts just across the road from the National Park Inn and covers part of the Wonderland Trail. It was snow free and is about 5.2 miles long with an elevation gain of approx. 1500 feet. Very nice trail. Lots of deer and if the sky is clear there is a good view of the mountain. The drive from Rainier to the west side of the Olympic peninsula will be a long one, especially after a good hike, but doable. I actually stayed at the Lake Quinault lodge just outside of Olympic National Park. It was wonderful. Saw it recommended on this forum. There are hikes around the lake, the Lake Quinault Loop trail is about 5 miles and not strenous. There are also side hikes off the Loop if you want to do more than the five miles, including a rainforest hike which is very good. I preferred this lodge over the Klalaloch Lodge on the beach in the park. It was booked during my trip, but I passed by and drove through to see it. Still trying to figure out what everyone raves about. Coming from the heat and humidity of the south, the weather was fantastic. Highs in the 60's. The one disappointment was in driving Hwy 101 from Port Townsend to Lake Quinault and seeing areas of clear cut forest. Not to get into the politics of the timber industry, but it is just sad, very sad, to see gapping holes in the beautiful deep green blanket of trees (even if they are replanting). Also, try and eat at the Lake Quinault Lodge, its a wonderful restaurant. Not inexpensive, but the salmon was delicious as was the filet. I decided to splurge while staying there. Have fun.

I live in Seattle and IMO, I think you'd be better off staying at/or around Mt. Rainer rather than rushing to the Olympic Peninsula the 1st day because there are so many great hikes on Mt. Rainer and I think you're going to be rushing it this way. Among the other hikes already mentioned, I also like the Grove of the Patriachs.

We've stayed at Lake Quinalt Lodge and it's ok, but were very disappointed with the restaurant. I'd say that maybe things have changed (we haven't been there in a few years), but my daughter was there this Spring and she said the salmon was dry and the service wasn't good. However, I'm glad cajunboy had a better experience. (Plus, you don't have a lot of choices there and besides, the scenery is so awesome it will easily make up for the food, or lack of.)

I hope the great weather we've been having continues for you and you have a great trip.

P.S. I agree with ALF about Neah Bay. Skip it. (In fact, I find it a depressing example of how the Native American Indians have been treated, but we're not supposed to get political, so I won't go there...)

Neah Bay is the westernmost point of land in the lower 48, and that's about it.

Thanks for the input. I read a newspaper article about how wonderful Neah Bay was, but haven't seen anything else positive about it. Therefore, I have eliminated from my list of places to visit.

Thanks to all of you. I now have more time to focus on other things.

We just returned from the Olympics and did the Ozette 9 mile loop and loved it--strongly recomended. We saw some of the best campsites we have ever seen there. We also heard great things about Shi Shi Beach.

Hi. I posted a link to a Seattle Times article on hiking near Seattle, but I didn't get it onto the Washington board by accident. Check for it. Lots of good ideas for you for this season (before some of the higher trails open). Among the hikes at Rainier and on the OP: the Dungeness Spit near Squim, a beach walk on the longest natural sand spit in the world, with awesome views. (in the Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge).
Rampart Ridge on Mt. Rainier - a good early season hike, with a loop (Not as spectacular as higher hikes that could still be too snowy).
Hurricane Ridge (Olympic Natioanl Park), from the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Ctr.
Silver Falls Loop (Mt. Rainier - at Ohanapecosh). Beautiful Old Growth forests with 40 ft. falls.
The article also includes hikes closer to Seattle, in the nearby Cascades and Mt. Baker area.