Olympic National Park is Full of Life

Olympic National Park is home to six different ecosystems: coastal, lowlands, rain forest, montane, subalpine, and alpine. On our Washington Coast to Cascades tour, we experience all six, but especially enjoy exploring the coastal, rain forest and alpine regions of the park.

At the coastal areas of Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach, we’ve spotted many colorful star fish and sea urchins while tide pooling among the rocks and unique formations called sea stacks. We’ve also spotted bald eagles and aucklets.

Hiking the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature trails of the Hoh Rainforest we find to be a humbling experience! The giant sitka spruce, western hemlocks and red cedars tower high above and the moss forming a primordial canopy so that everywhere you look it is green! Beware of the Roosevelt Elk that make the rainforest their home. They are majestic animals, but also aggressively protect their home!

The views from alpine Hurricane Ridge are awe-inspiring! Hiking the Kalahhane Ridge Trail takes us through wildflower meadows with sweeping views of the Olympic Mountains and the Straits of Juan de Fuca. We’ve shared the trail with friendly mountain goats on a few occasions! You may also come across one of the five mammals found no where else in the world but at Olympic National Park: the Olympic marmot, yellow-pine chipmunk, snow mole, masama pocket gopher, and the ermine!