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A Week in Washington: Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Parks

A Week in Washington

Saturday, September 6, 2025
Seattle, WA
Moderate
Hosted by Carl

The trip report

Written by Carl

Friday, 9/5: Mo & Fred arrive in Seattle and explore the city, including the Seattle Underground Tour, which includes subterranean storefronts and sidewalks from before the great fire of 1889.

Saturday, 9/6: Bob, Alexandar, and I arrive in the morning.  We meet up with Mo & Fred, who offer a walking tour of the gayborhood, waterfront, and many delicious eateries.  Food highlights were a raspberry-filled Voodoo Doll donut at Voodoo Doughnuts and Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper ice cream at Salt & Straw.  There may have even been some dress-up at a local goth retailer.  We finished with sunset pictures from the Seattle Great Wheel and a shooting gallery at Klondike Arcade. 

 

Sunday, 9/7: After a rapturous breakfast at the Sutton Suites Hotel, we explored Seattle more.  A couple of us headed to the Chihuly Museum, while two others went to the Museum of Pop Culture, and one explored the city further on foot.  After having delicious poke bowls for lunch, we headed south towards Mt. Rainier.  We navigated around a road closure to arrive by late afternoon.   We stopped to get pictures of Christine Falls, which are framed by a stone bridge, and for a quick hike to Bench Lake and Snow Lake.  This hike offered breathtaking evening views of Rainier and the surrounding area, including a mountain called Unicorn Peak with an outcropping that resembles a horn.

Monday, 9/8: This was our big climb day on Rainier.  The weather was unusually clear, offering amazing views of the mountain throughout the day.  We climbed the well-travelled Skyline Loop, eventually breaking off to head towards Camp Muir.  Past Pebble Creek, we followed large snow patches towards the camp.  We made it to an altitude of about 9,000 feet, which was about a half mile from the camp, before deciding to have lunch and turn around.   There are signs posted that crevasses are peppered below many of the snowfields, and we opted to err on the side of caution.  Even though we turned back just shy of Camp Muir, the views of Rainier, Old Snowy Mountain, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Hood could not have been more awe-inspiring.

Tuesday, 9/9: We discovered on Monday that Route 123 had been shut down earlier in the week for roadwork prior to winter, which made us look for alternatives to our original plan to drive from the Paradise area of the park to Sunrise.  Instead, we did some local hikes and left midday to head up to Olympic NP.  We arrived at Hurricane Ridge in late afternoon and enjoyed sweeping views of the Olympic Mountain Range and Canada to our north.   We stayed in Port Angeles that night, with three of us enjoying Pizza Hut take-out as we did laundry at Willy’s Laundromat. 

Wednesday, 9/10: We picked up breakfast on our way into Olympic NP.  Our destination: Lake Crescent.  Lake Crescent is known for its turquoise, glacier-runoff waters, and it has many attractions, all located next to each other.  We started the day climbing Storm King.  The trail climbs 2,000 feet in 2 miles, and the last 0.1 miles involve a series of ropes to help with ascent.  Four of the group opted to go all the way to the top, and the views were well worth the climb.   After, the group walked the fairytale-like trails of Marymere Falls.   We enjoyed lunch at the Lake Crescent Lodge, which has a strong Dirty Dancing vibe.  A couple of us enjoyed a swim in Lake Crescent, which was refreshing but not—what’s the word—frigid.  After, we meandered through the Moments in Time self-guided nature trail to the parking lot.   We ended the day at the Sol Duc Trail, our first taste of the rainforests that were to come later in the week.  The Sol Duc Lodge offers thermal pools that are between 102 and 107 degrees Fahrenheit.   They were steamy and…sulfuric. 

Thursday, 9/11:  This was our coastal cluster day.  After a quick early dip in the thermal pools, we headed west to Rialto Beach.  Hole-in-the-Wall is one of the most iconic destinations in Olympic Park, and our schedule had us arriving shortly after low tide to ensure we could access that part of the beach.  A heavy fog hung over the beach and added an otherworldly moodiness to the beach, which was beautiful.  With arriving at low tide, Hole-in-the-Wall allows exploration of tidepools in that area, and we saw several sea anemones, hermit crabs, turban snails, and starfish.  After, we drove to Forks for lunch.  Forks is known for being the town where the Twilight books take place, which we know.  What we did not know was that the day we were there was the start of the Forever Twilight Festival.   Our heavily Team Jacob crew left after lunch and headed to Ruby Beach for more coastal explorations.  The tide was high at this point, so we were limited on how far we could go before, well, water.  Ruby Beach is named for the reddish color of its sand, which contains the mineral almandite garnet, but unfortunately, high tide prevented us from seeing its namesake color.  We ended the day at the Kalaloch (pronounced Clay Lock) Lodge.  Kalaloch has an amazing shoreline full of black-bellied plovers, western gulls, and brown pelicans, to name a few.  The cabins we stayed in were spacious and so comfortable, too!  That night, we ate like kings in an early celebration of Bob’s birthday.

Friday, 9/12: This was the rainforest cluster day.  We drove to Hoh Rainforest in the morning and walked both the Hall of Mosses Trail and Spruce Nature Trail.   Hoh was 20” short of rainfall from where they should be this time of the year, which is something that you could see in the parched appearance of many of the hanging mosses.  We were awed by the towering Douglas Firs, which can reach 300 feet in this part of the park.   Hoh is known for being home to a large herd of protected Roosevelt elk, which we unfortunately could not see (much to Fred’s ire).  After, we headed south to the Quinault Rainforest in the southwestern corner of Olympic NP.   We explored a 2-mile trail and an abandoned homestead before heading back to Seattle. 

Thank you so much to everyone who joined me for this adventure!  It was truly more than I could have wished for. 

Event photos (163)

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About this event

Explore the Pacific Northwest this September with GayOutdoors!  We will be visiting two National Parks in the course of a week: Mt. Rainier & Olympic.  We will start this adventure in Seattle, visiting perennial tourist favorites such as Pike Place Market, the Chihuly Museum, and the Space Needle.  Our first national park will be Mt. Rainier, and we will be doing a few hikes, including the iconic Skyline Loop (with the option of continuing to Camp Muir).  After Mt. Rainier, we will drive to Olympic National Park and explore sites like Hurricane Ridge, Shi Shi Beach, Hoh Rainforest, and the Sol Duc thermal pools before making our way back to Seattle.   

Below is our itinerary, but there is room for discussion if tweaks want to be made.  Additionally, there are links to a map of our activities and accommodations, a link to pictures of the places we will be visiting, and a link to the driving route.  For this 7-day adventure, we estimate the cost will be $1,440 per person for shared accommodations, airfare, shared car/gas, and some miscellaneous expenses, such as one National Park pass per car.   The estimated costs are detailed below as well.  Our hope is to mitigate costs as much as possible so that it is not a barrier to those wanting to join us.

Hotels are booking up now in the National Parks for Summer 2025.  If you are interested in joining us, sign up as soon as possible.   This should be an adventure to remember!

 

Tentative Itinerary:

Saturday, 9/6  

  • Arrive Seattle
  • 2:00 PM: Pike Place Market
  • 6:00 PM: Dinner
  • 7:30 PM: Seattle Great Wheel

Sunday, 9/7     

  • 10:00 AM: Chihuly Museum
  • Noon: Space Needle
  • 1:00 PM: Lunch in Seattle
  • 1:30 PM: Drive 3 hours to Mt. Rainier, Nisqually entrance
  • 5:00 PM: Check-in at Paradise Inn
  • 5:30 PM: Dinner at Tatoosh Cafe
  • 6:30 PM: Hiking Bench and Snow Lake Trail (1-1.5 hours)

Monday, 9/8    

  • 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Tatoosh Café
  • 7:00 AM: Option 1: Hike Camp Muir Route via Skyline Trail (Challenging option, 7.5 hours)
  • 7:00 AM: Option 2: Hike the Skyline Loop (Moderate to Challenging option, 3.5 hours)
  • 1:00 PM: Hike Pinnacle Peak Trail (for those that did Option 2: Skyline in AM)
  • 6:00 PM: Dinner at the Paradise Inn Dining Room

Tuesday, 9/9   

  • 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Tatoosh Cafe
  • 7:00 AM: Drive to Sunrise Visitor Center (~1.5 hours)
  • 9:00 AM: Hike Mount Fremont Lookout Trail via Sourdough Ridge Trail (3 hours)
  • Noon: Lunch at Sunrise Day Lodge
  • 1:00 PM: Drive to Port Angeles (4 hours)
  • 5:00 PM: Check into Olympic Inn & Suites
  • 5:30 PM: Dinner in Port Angeles
  • 6:30 PM: Walk or Bike Ediz Hook in Port Angeles (2-3 hours, 3 miles)

Wednesday, 9/10         

  • 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Olympic Inn & Suites
  • 7:00 AM: Drive to Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (45 mins)
  • 8:00 AM: Hike Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge (2 hours)
  • 10:30 AM: Hike to Sunrise View Point via High Ridge Nature Trail (1 hour)
  • Noon: Lunch 
  • 12:30 PM: Drive to Marymere Falls Trail (1 hour).
  • 1:30 PM: Hike Marymere Falls Trail (1 hour)
  • 2:30 PM: Drive to Sol Duc Falls (45 mins)
  • 3:15 PM: Hike Sol Duc Falls Trail (1 hour)
  • 5:00 PM: Check into Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort
  • 5:30 PM: Dinner at the resort
  • 6:30 PM: Hot springs/Thermal baths

Thursday, 9/11              

  • 6:00 AM: Breakfast at the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort 
  • 7:00 AM: Drive to Shi Shi Beach (2 hours)
  • 9:00 AM: Walk Shi Shi Beach Trail (3 hours)
  • Noon: Lunch (bring with us)
  • 12:30 PM: Drive to Hole-in-the-Wall (2 hours)
  • 2:30 PM: Hike to Hole-in-the-Wall from Rialto Beach (1 hour)
  • 3:30 PM: Drive to Kalaloch Lodge (1 hour)
  • 4:30 PM: Check into Kalaloch Lodge
  • 5:30 PM: Dinner at Lodge

Friday, 9/12     

  • 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Kalaloch Lodge 
  • 7:00 AM: Drive to Hoh Rain Forest (1 hour)
  • 8:00 AM: Spruce Nature Trail and Hall of Mosses Loop (1 hour)
  • 9:00 AM: Drive to Quinault Rainforest (1.5 hours)
  • 10:30 AM: Quinault Loop (1.5 hours)
  • Noon: Lunch (bring with us)
  • 1:00 PM: Drive to Seattle (3 hours)
  • 4:00 PM: Check into the hotel 
  • 6:00 PM: Dinner in Seattle

Saturday, 9/13                Fly home

 

Estimated Costs

*Please note that we are not collecting any money.  You are responsible for booking your flight.  We can coordinate booking hotel rooms and vehicles. 

*Costs are estimates that do not include taxes, price fluctuations, and other fees

Accommodations:

  • 2 nights in Seattle (location TBD) at $200, divided by 2 people = $200
  • 2 nights at Paradise Inn in Mt. Rainier at $210, divided by 2 people = $210
  • 1 night at Olympic Inn & Suites at $150, divided by 2 people = $75
  • 1 night at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort at $281, divided by 2 people = $140.50
  • 1 night at Kalaloch Lodge at $351, divided by 2 people = $175.50
  • TOTAL ESTIMATE for Accommodations = $801 for 7 days

Transportation:

  • Roundtrip airfare: $350
  • SUV rental $70/day x 7 days, divided by 3 people = $163
  • Gas (30 gallons at $3.50), divided by 3 people = $35
  • TOTAL ESTIMATE for Transportation = $548

Miscellaneous:

  • America the Beautiful pass $80, divided 3 people per car = $27
  • Chihuly Museum & Space Needle combo pass = $64
  • TOTAL ESTIMATE for Misc. = $91

Estimated cost per person for accommodation and travel: $1,440 per person 

Who came along (5)

Carl SUSTAINING
Carl
Leominster, MA
Bobcat SUSTAINING
Bobcat
Upton, MA
MO GUEST MEMBER
MO
Lancaster, NH
baezfred GUEST MEMBER
baezfred
Lancaster, NH
A member
Profile hidden

Comments

Carl · Jan 21, 2025
Hi everyone. Thanks for your interest in the trip to Washington State this September. I'd love to carve out some time next week to meet virtually and talk through the logistics of the trip. Here is a link to a website that you can pick the meeting days & times that work well for you. Once you've voted, I'll send out a formal invite: https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/e7Y719Gb

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