Hoh Rain Forest and Rialto Beach

On our second full day at Olympic National Park, we scheduled our one and only company tour.  (We planned all the other day hikes and trips inside the park by ourselves.)

After reading through a list of guided tours in Olympic, I finally settled on using the Olympic Hiking Company as they had received numerous positive reviews on Viator and Trip Advisor.  In particular, their 8-hour tour of the Hoh Rain Forest and Rialto Beach really caught my eye as I figured we could learn so much more about this unique rainforest from an actual tour instead of just wandering around with a map.

After we met the van at our designated pick-up spot, we were off to see the Hoh (pronounced 'Hoe') Rain Forest, which is touted for its huge trees and rich biodiversity.  As mentioned before, there are 18 unique animals in the park that are found nowhere else in the world--most of them in the rainforest.  The spectacular trees include the western red cedar (which has leaves that look like lace) and the western hemlock, which can tower up to 200 feet.  The Sitka spruce and Douglas-firs can reach up to 300 feet!!  

On the drive to the Hoh Rain Forest, we learned that this area of the park receives up to 140 inches (or about 12 feet) of rainfall annually.  Part of the reason is due to the Olympic Mountain Range.  Since saturated clouds cannot pass over the mountains, they must release their moisture (i.e. rain) before continuing their journey.  As a result, since the clouds release all their rain in this one area, the land on the other side of the mountain range is dry (which is described as the high desert).  

The Hoh River that passes through the Hoh Rainforest is fed by glaciers.  The week before we started our trip, the state of Washington experienced one of its worst heatwaves in history with temperatures rising above 100 degrees.  (Their normal for this time of year is around 70 degrees.)  Our guide explained that the 100+ degree heat caused many of the glaciers to melt faster, which meant, in turn, that the water level of this river was really high.  Thankfully, by the time we came, the heatwave had broke, and mostly everything, including the river, returned back to normal.

The moss and algae on the river were a beautiful bright green, but the water itself was crystal clear.

Our guide showed us this banana slug, which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. 
(It turns different shades of green and yellow, just like a banana.)  

One of the hikes we took at the Hoh Rainforest was called the "Hall of Mosses," a 0.8 mile loop of lush, mossy tree groves.  (It was enchanting!)  During the hike, we learned that when a tree falls it becomes a nurse log.  Allie Wisniewski in American Forests explains a nurse log this way:  "Even though they're dead, they are not gone...as they decay, nurse logs offer seedlings shade, nutrients, water, and protection from disease and pathogens; thus nurturing and making way for the new generation."  

Here are a few examples of nurse trees and nurse logs our guide showed us where the trees actually grow out of other trees or out from these logs:

The next part of our tour was visiting Rialto Beach--the only beach we saw during our stay.  Before I share pictures, let me say that this was the one part of our trip that was cut short.  Literature on Olympic National Park will suggest that visitors see more than one beach, with favorites being Mora, Kalaloch, and Ruby Beach (in addition to Rialto Beach).  For one, these beaches are known for their tidepools, which appear during low tide.  Such pools contain colorful sealife, including brittle stars, hermit crabs, anemones, and octopuses.  My Lake Quinault Lodge book by Smith-Western Co. states, "There are 29 species of marine mammals in the Olympic Coast Nation Marine Sanctuary...It also contains one of the largest populations of bald eagles and seabirds in the lower 48 states."  

The other unique features of these beaches are the eerie sea stacks, described as "remnants of eroded coastal cliffs that loom out of the water" and the massive driftwood logs scattered along the Pacific Coast.  The Lake Quinault Lodge book by Smith-Western Co. says, "More driftwood washes up on these beaches than anywhere else in the world.  Trees are washed down from the rivers on the beach."

While we didn't get a chance to see the tidepools (which look just as enchanting as the Hoh Rain Forest), we did get to see the sea stacks, the driftwood, and a bald eagle nest (perched on top of one of the sea stacks).  The beach, too, made up of all types of sand and stone, was miraculous.

There was a bald eagle family/nest on top of this sea stack.

Indeed, our 8-hour tour felt more like 2 hours since we were having so much fun learning and sightseeing.  This day was one of the most majestic parts of our trip, and yet, in the next three days, we would hike to two prominent waterfalls, drive 18 miles (or 5,000+ feet high) to see Hurricane Ridge, and spend our evenings soaking in 103-degree hot springs.  In other words, there would still be way more to come.

Lake Quinault Lodge, Quinault Rainforest, and the Olympic National Forest

In March 2021, visiting Olympic National Park seemed to be a pipe dream.  What if we took a two-week vacation, spending five days in Olympic National Park, another three days in Seattle, four days in Sunriver, Oregon, and the last two in Portland, Oregon?  The trip seemed ambitious for sure, but my deep-seated desire to see the Pacific Northwest made the dream a reality.

After a six hour plane ride across the country, we flew into Portland, OR, picked up a rental vehicle and drove a leisurely three hours Northwest toward Olympic National Forest and Lake Quinault Lodge.  A part of me wanted to take a side adventure to see some of Oregon's rugged coastline, particularly Cannon Beach, but after a long day of traveling, I was outvoted by the two Lews to just "head to our hotel."

I didn't object.  Our hotel, after all, would be Lake Quinault Lodge, one of the two places we would stay while visiting Olympic National Park.  For anyone who hasn't heard of Olympic National Park, particularly my friends and neighbors back East, you're not alone.  While it is one of the ten most visited National Parks with approximately 3 million visitors annually, it doesn't have quite the same notoriety as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, or Yosemite.  My son asked me naively, "So what makes Olympic National Park special?"  

At the beginning of the trip, I wasn't sure how to answer him.  Without seeing any of the sights for myself, do I tell him its the glacier-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains; the 60 miles of rugged and picturesque shoreline, which is the longest wilderness coastline in the United States; the twelve major rivers and approximately 200 streams fed from the run-off of glaciers; or its old-growth and temperate rainforests that boasts a biodiversity of animals found nowhere else in the world?  (For example, according to a book I purchased called Lake Quinault Lodge: Washington's Olympic National Forest published by Smith-Western Co., "There are 18 animals in the park found nowhere else in the world.  The signature banana slug, native to the Northwest, lives in the rain forest as do the northern spotted owl, the marbled murrelet, jumping mouse, shrew and Douglas squirrel.")

As we pulled up to Lake Quinault Lodge, we already knew this National Park trip would be a trip like no other.  Two to three-hundred foot trees stood at our feet, and the Lodge was situated right by Lake Quinault, a beautiful crystal blue lake fed by glacier water from the Quinault River ("a 33-mile long river, home to some of the greatest salmon and steelhead fishing in the world"). 

On our first full day at Lake Quinault Lodge, we treated ourselves to a hearty breakfast and prepared to hike the Gatton Creek Trail and the Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail.  It was during breakfast that we learned President Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed here in the 1930's (and sat in the same dining room) during his first research trip to create Olympic National Park.  (He later designated it a National Park in 1938 "to protect the wildest and most beautiful part of the [Olympic] peninsula.")

Another interesting fact is that Lake Quinault Lodge (constructed completely of timber) was built in 1925 and designed by architect Robert Reamer, the designer of the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park.   (I always enjoy learning about the history of a place, and it was fun to connect the dots between this lodge and the one at Old Faithful.)

The five-mile loop we walked the first day was our longest hike on the trip, and yet it was the perfect introduction to the world of an old-growth, Pacific Northwest Rainforest.  We marveled at the large, moss-covered trees, not knowing that there would be even larger and greener forest to be discovered the next day near Lake Crescent and the Hoh Rainforest.  (The 60-70 degree weather was another perfect touch; in fact, summer days in Olympic National Park are usually dry and 70 degrees.)

In the evening, we ate a delicious meal on the main deck and rested knowing we would be going on a full-day bus tour in the morning.  We probably could have benefited from an additional night's stay at Lake Quinault Lodge, but we did experience a lot during our two night visit.  

Other attractions included the Lake Quinault Museum, a kitschy museum of artifacts and memorabilia collected from the residents of the Lake Quinault area--this included Native American artifacts such as dugout canoes and basketry; it also featured rooms and items, showing logging/pioneering life.  (I could have easily spent a full-hour in the museum rather than the 35 minute sprint I took before closing.)  

This is a Roosevelt Elk. It was named after President Theodore Roosevelt when he created Olympic National Park because he helped protect this elk species, which is the largest variety of elk
in North America.  Male elk (bulls) can weigh up to 1,100lbs.

The other "attractions" are the World's Largest Sitka Spruce Tree, located a short walk away from the lodge.  (It's estimated to be over 1,000 years-old!)  And, the human-sized Sasquatch or Bigfoot stuffed animal that guards the doors of the lodge (and is incidentally sporting a COVID mask these days).  Right next to him is a glass-case listing recent sightings of Bigfoot in Washington State according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Association.  I'm glad we didn't bump into him on any of our hikes!!

Again, Lake Quinault Lodge was the perfect "introduction" to all Olympic National Park has to offer.  While I was certainly impressed with the beautiful lodge, the rainforest nature trail, and the world's largest Sitka Spruce, I had no idea that more areas of enchantment--on the coast, in the forest, and on the mountaintops--were waiting for us.