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Most of the park's attractions are found either off U.S. 101 or down trails that require hikes of 15 minutes or longer. The west-coast beaches are linked to the highway by downhill tracks; the number of cars parked alongside the road at the start of the paths indicates how crowded the beach will be.
From the Hoh Visitor Center, this rain-forest jaunt takes you into the Hoh Valley, wending its way for 17½ miles alongside the river, through moss-draped maple and alder trees and past open meadows where elk roam in winter. Families can choose to hike part of this long trail. Moderate.
The 1½-mile gravel path off Sol Duc Road winds through thick Douglas fir forests toward the thundering, three-chute Sol Duc Falls. Just off the road, below a wooden platform over the Sol Duc River, you'll come across the 70-foot Salmon Cascades. In late summer and autumn, thousands of salmon negotiate 50 miles or more of treacherous waters to reach the cascades and the tamer pools near Sol Duc Hot Springs. The popular 6-mile Lovers Lane Loop Trail links the Sol Duc falls with the hot springs. You can continue up from the falls 5 miles to the Appleton Pass Trail, at 3,100 feet. From there you can hike on to the 8½-mile mark, where views at the High Divide are from 5,050 feet. Moderate.
A ¼-mile alpine loop, most of it wheelchair accessible, leads through wildflower meadows overlooking numerous vistas of the interior Olympic peaks to the south and a panorama of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north. Easy.
Eventually, 140 miles of nonmotorized trail will lead from Port Townsend west to the Pacific Coast. As of this writing, 90 miles of the paved trail are complete and available for use by hikers, bikers, equestrians, and disabled users. The trail has been conceived as the northern portion of a route that will eventually encircle the entire Olympic Peninsula.
