Olympic National Park is a colossal park with very different scenery depending which entrance you enter. Hurricane Ridge is one of those entrances that provided the more mountainous activities of the park. The ridge is for everyone as you can drive straight up to the visitor center or spend your entire day hiking the trails. Spectacular views of Mt. Olympus and surrounding peaks await you once you reach the ridge. The visitor center is the perfect place to start and has flushing toilets. Buy lunch or a snack and then make your way to the back patio. You can enjoy your rest with views of the Olympic mountain range.
Hurridge Ridge Trails:
There are numerous trails to choose from. Some are very accessible with fully paves paths that are wheelchair accessible while the longest trail can be 8+ miles one way. The park ranger at the visitor center was very helpful in picking out hikes. She recommended the two below:
Big Meadow:
Directly behind the visitor center is are two wheelchair accessible trails. Big Meadow is one of the trails that is only .25 miles long. This quick walk provides open views of the Olympics while casually walking through a grassy meadow. You can stray off into the meadow and get lost in the wildflowers decorating your surroundings.
Hurricane Hill:
The second walk was recommended from a park ranger because of the scenic views of the Olympics, saltwater, and fields of wildflowers. This trail had all that plus deer running everywhere. The trail is a little over 3.2 miles round trip. The entire hike is relatively easy with is getting steep as you ascend the hill that overlooks the saltwater. The trail when we went had wildflowers growing up both sides of the trail with sage that smelled delicious. Talk about some fresh air! Upon ascending the hill, you realize what the state of Washington is all about. Rugged mountain ranges clashing with the sea. From each viewpoint is a different angle of the Olympic Mountains or Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Luckily for us, the trail had just reopened. They close it down often due to relocating mountain goats that can be spotted hiking. We went and parked our car at the end of the trail and started making the journey. The beginning was mostly shaded as we walked through a dirt road lined with alpines. The trail shortly opened up for us into large grassy meadows covered in wildflowers. Here, you can already start to see the Olympians. We followed the trail to the top of the peak. Upon reaching the top of Hurricane Hill, we could see Canada across the sound. Perfect hike to get a great glimpse of the Olympic National Park.