Trip to Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula-Part 2

After our first night in Port Angeles we set out for Olympic National Park. Olympic is different then a lot of parks in that there are several trails that are designated dog-friendly, whereas many National Parks do not allow dogs outside of campgrounds and parking lots. That said, the first hike we wanted to do is extremely popular, and dogs are not allowed.

We headed out first thing for Hurricane Hill. This is a ~3.5 mile hike up to a beautiful vantage point of the points of Olympic National Park. There is a LOT of incline, and even in June there was still snow covering parts of the trail, but it is almost all paved. The weather was cool, so I was comfortable leaving the dogs in their crate in the car for this relatively short hike.

After Hurricane Hill, the rest of the day was for hiking with the dogs. Our next stop was the Spruce Railroad Trail. This trail is actually 11 miles round trip. It is a wide, paved trail that is popular for people, dogs, and bikes. It runs next to Lake Crescent which is an incredible shade of blue. The parking lot was full but in early afternoon we didn’t have to wait very long for someone to leave. There is a pit toilet at the trailhead as well.

We did not do the entire 11 mile hike–since it’s an out and back we just turned around when we were ready. In general it’s pretty steep and wooded from the edge of the trail down to Lake Crescent. We did find a couple of spots where we were able to get down to the lake and the dogs could wade in the water. One such spot is called the Devil’s Punchbowl, and is right before and after a dark tunnel — don’t miss it the first time through like we did LOL. Lake Crescent was a beautiful backdrop for pictures.

After Lake Crescent, we stopped at the Madison Falls trail. This is another trail in Olympic National Park that allows dogs, and is super short and easy–0.2 miles round trip paved. The parking lot is where the road is closed due to a wash out — as of June 2021 the remainder of the road is closed to vehicles. Another pit toilet is at this trailhead.

Across the road from the Madison Falls trail is the Elwha River. There is a rock beach Remedy and Vice enjoyed playing in at the end of a long day.

The next day we headed out of Port Angeles for another long day of driving with some stops along the way. First was the Hoh Rainforest, which I was really excited to see. While it is not dog-friendly, I was not missing the opportunity to experience a rainforest within the US. Watching the trees change as we drove deeper and deeper into the forest was surreal.

The most popular trail, the Hall of Mosses, was closed when we were there, so we again left the dogs in the cool car (BIG plus of Washington vs. Houston). We ventured onto the 1.2 mile Spruce Nature Trail. It was very green, and fairly muddy, but not too bad.

Next stop — Ruby Beach. Another dog-friendly spot within Olympic. Unfortunately, we got there between low and high tide, so I didn’t get to see any tidal pools. The trail itself is dirt and is moderately inclined. The pit toilet at the top wasn’t great.

It was a grey, windy day next to the Pacific, but still a really cool area to see. The ground is covered with smooth, round rocks, and then further away from the trail it becomes a dark sand beach. There were large pieces of driftwood along the beach — perfect for posing for pictures.

Last stop was Ocean Shores, the southwestern TIP of Washington state, where we were staying for the night. After checking into our room, we headed out to the dog-friendly beach for some off leash time. In Ocean Shores, between Butterclam and Taurus, dogs are allowed on the beach. We were there late afternoon (~4pm) on a Sunday, and we saw one person and no dogs. However, cars are also allowed on the beach, and there were treads where you could see people had been doing donuts. We saw one Jeep, and it was not driving slow, so you definitely want to be careful if you don’t trust your dog’s recall.

The next morning we woke up early for our last day of exploring Washington. We started by backtracking and heading to Lake Quinault, in Olympic National Forest. Since it’s the National Forest, dogs are allowed on all trails, and this was my favorite hike of the trip. There is dog-friendly lodging right along the lake (Lake Quinault Lodge), as well as campgrounds right on the lake. I hope to make it back to stay and visit longer one day.

The Quinault Loop Trail starts along Lake Quinault, but then ventures into the rainforest. This trail encapsulates everything I love in a hike — green and water everywhere, a feeling of isolation, yet still a changing environment. The trail is not quite 4 miles, and is a relatively easy dirt trail, with some mild inclines. There are also boardwalks across some of the low lying areas. The trail is narrow at times, and I was grateful that it wasn’t especially busy on a Monday morning. There were times when we would have to stop and wait for someone to pass so we could move on. I only saw one other dog, but that is definitely something to be aware of if you have a reactive dog, as it can be close quarters.

While here, we had to stop and see the World’s Largest Sitka Spruce! It is 191 feet tall and over 18 feet in diameter! This is another short and easy trail, but it was MUDDY.

After rinsing off that mud in the lake, it was time to head to Tacoma for the night, so we could be ready to fly out the next day. Unfortunately, that particular day of travel was far from perfect, but we eventually made it home to recover from our vacation.

So, that was our Washington trip. I definitely see the appeal of that part of the country. The weather was great — not too hot or cold. There were some rainy days and some sunny days, but the rain was never bad enough to stop us from doing what we had planned. And there is so much to see and do outside. I can’t wait to go back and explore even more–I would especially love to take our campervan up there to be closer to the parks and hiking.