Olympic National Park with Kids

KID RATINGS

Fun: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (out of 5)
Difficulty: Very Easy    Easy    Moderate    Hard    Very Hard
(Activities range from very easy to hard depending on what you are doing)

KEY FEATURES

Terrain: Beaches, ocean, mountains, bridges, lakes, rivers waterfalls, trails, temperate rain forest
Time Needed: 1 day to several days, I recommend several
When to Go: Anytime of year, but summer/early fall is best

Hiking Distance: short to long depending on what you are doing

COST

• $30 entrance fee to some areas of the park (valid for seven days)

• Free if you have a 4th grader with Every Kid Outdoors program

• Beaches are all free

• Sol Duc Hot Springs is an added cost. Cost depends on age and time of day visiting.

• Fees for camping

AMENITIES

• Camping  (book 6 months in advance)

• Lodges and Cabins  (book 6 months in advance)

• Hotels in gateway cities such as Aberdeen and Port Angeles

• Bathrooms available at visitors centers and some trailheads

• Hot Springs

• Water available at campsites, resorts, visitor’s centers and some trailheads

Where to Stay at Olympic National Park

It takes over three hours to drive the coastal perimeter of Olympic national park without stopping. I recommend staying in the park to minimize drive time. Book your stay six months in advance if you would like to stay within Olympic National Park either at a campground, cabin or lodge. See below for additional information on campgrounds within Olympic National Park.

There are no hotels located within Olympic National Park. Check out hotels in the surrounding cities of Port Angeles to the North and  Pacific Beach, Ocean City and Aberdeen to the south.

THINGS TO BRING

• Camping gear if camping

• Good hiking shoes

• Food/Snacks

• Good rain jacket

• Water

DETAILS

Olympic National Park is one of the most diverse national parks we have visited. It has ocean beaches, mountains, hiking, camping, lakes and hot springs. Our family loves the mountains and the beach so it was the best of both worlds for us. We spent hours on the beaches exploring, discovering tide-pools and playing on drift wood and hiked through the lush temperature rain forests to waterfalls.

We spent about 5 days in the park and we didn’t even get to explore everything the park has to offer. Olympic National Park is nearly one million acres and contains 70 miles of coastline. It is no wonder we couldn’t fit everything in. 

Olympic National Park with your kids will be an adventure your family always remembers. We visited with our 2, 6, 9, and 10 year old and had an absolute blast.   

THINGS TO DO AT OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK WITH KIDS

Explore Beaches and Tide Pooling

Olympic National Park includes miles of serene beaches where no two beaches are exactly alike. From sand to rocks to drift wood to tide pools, each beach has its own characteristics.

The water is cold, definitely different than the beaches we were use when we lived in Florida. However, the beauty of these beaches is almost unreal and we especially enjoyed finding the diverse sea-life. 

Tide pooling was our favorite part of Olympic National Park with kids.  We spent hours exploring the tide-pools filled with ocean life. Make sure to visit the beaches at low-tide for optimal tide-pool viewing. Check out the NOAA tide predictions before going.

First Beach

Quileute Oceanside Resort sites right on First Beach. We camped here and loved having such quick access to this beach. There are firerings to enjoy a sunset fire and smores. My kids loved playing on the driftwood on the beach here. Walk about a half mile to the North on this beach for sea-life viewing along the side of the causeway.

Second Beach

This is a secluded beach with majestic sea stacks and many tide pools to explore at low tide. My kids actually swam in the water at this beach, I preferred to just wade. Remember you are in Washington not Florida…The water is cold. It is about a mile walk to get to second beach, but it is well worth it. This makes it more secluded with less people.

Rialto Beach

Rialto beach is just north of the La Push, Washington and is 3 miles from the Mora Campground. It has many tide pools at low-tide. 1.5 miles from the beach entrance is the hole in the rock structure.

Kalaloch Campground Beach

This isn’t an official beach name because this beach doesn’t have one. This is the beach just off of the Kalaloch Campground. We walked along this beautiful misty beach for about a mile north.

If you walk just south of the Kalaloch Lodge you can find the “Tree of Life”. This large tree is right next to the beach and most of its root system is hanging in air without any soil to feed it. 

Kalaloch Beach 4

This was our favorite beach because of the many star fish we found on the rock structures just north of the beach entrance. We also saw sea-lions swimming nearby. There were also tons of smooth beautiful rocks. We love collecting rocks so this was super fun for us. It is north of the Kalaloch Campground but south of Ruby Beach.

Ruby Beach

Possibly the most known beach along Washington’s coast with its famous Abbey Island. Great place for a beach stroll and tide pool exploring.

Hiking

There are countless hikes within Olympic National Park ranging from very easy to very hard. Here are the hikes we did on our trip. Full reviews on each hike to come.

Sol-Duc Falls: a 1.6 mile easy and flat hike to a beautiful waterfall.

Hoh River Trail: This trail follows the Hoh River through the beautiful rainforest. You can make this is along or short as you want. We hiked a total of 5.5 miles to the Mineral Creek Falls.

Second Beach: an out-and-back 2 mile trail round trip that walks you through Oregon’s beautiful coastal lush forest to a secluded beach. It is downhill on the way to the beach, uphill on the way back.

Rialto Beach/Hole in the Wall: A 3 mile flat beautiful beach walk with views of sea-life in tide pools to a rock formation with a large hole. Make sure to do this hike at low tide so you can walk out to the Hole in the Wall.

Hot Springs

The Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort has one fresh-water pool and 3 mineral pools that vary in temperature from 99 degrees to 104 degrees. We spent an afternoon here and had a lot of fun. It was nice to relax and do something a little different for a day. My kids love swimming no matter where we are at and will usually choose swimming over any other activity. There are cabins located right next to the resort.

Camping

Each major area of the park has camping opportunities near it. All campgrounds fill quickly and open for reservations on a 6 month rolling basis. I recommend reserving a site at the 6 month mark before traveling if you want a site in the summer months. The campgrounds that can be reserved in Olympic National Park are Kalaloch, Hoh Rainforest Campground, Mora and Sol Duc Hot Springs. You can reserve here. 

We really enjoyed the campgrounds we stayed at. Here is a little information on each. 

Kalaloch Campground is between the main highway and the ocean. If available, pick a site closer to the ocean than the highway. The beach is a short walk and was easy to access. You can also stay at the Kalaloch Lodge if you are not camping. It is the only place to stay that is non-camping within about 1 hour in each direction.

Sol Duc Campground is nestled in the beautiful Washington rain forest near the north end of Olympic National Park. It is near the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort and the Sol Duc Waterfall hike. It is also closer to crescent lake if you are exploring that area.

Quileute Oceanside Resort is privately owned and not operated by Olympic National Park, however it is surrounded by the park and is close to the beautiful First, Second and Third Beaches. The camping here was more KOA style and there are only a few sites. I loved falling asleep to the sound of the ocean. There are several cabins available right along the ocean-side that looked really nice. This resort books on a 1 year rolling basis and books quickly.

Explore the Lakes

Crescent Lake is nestled among Washington coastal mountains and is absolutely beautiful. I wish we had more time to explore this area. There is hiking, camping and a lodge nearby. Marymere Falls is a popular hike in the area. Kayak and canoeing rentals are available.

Lake Quinault: This area is surrounded by the temperate rain forest and offers boating, hiking, camping, fishing, food and lodging. It is the gateway to the southwest base of the park.

Scenic Drive on Hurricane Ridge

This is a 17-mile road takes you through the majestic snow-capped Olympic Mountains. There are several hiking options off this road. It is a curvy road and a couple of my kids started to feel a bit car sick. Just be prepared.

JUNIOR RANGER PROGRAM

We love getting Junior Ranger books from National Park visitor centers. The Junior Ranger program keeps the kids busy while we drive and helps them learn about each park and how to preserve it. 

PROS & CONS

PROS

• Unique and beautiful scenery

• Diverse outdoor adventures

• Stunning scenery

• Not crowded, park is big and people are spread out

• Sea-life viewing

• Mountain-life viewing

• Gorgeous beaches

• Waterfalls

CONS

• Can rain a lot

• Requires a bit of driving to get from one location of the park to another

DIRECTIONS

Olympic National Park is located on the north west portion of Washington State. If you put in Olympic National Park into your GPS device or phone you will be led to the middle of the mountain range of the park. Make sure to put the specific location within the park that you want to visit.

MAPS

Map to northeast corner of park 

MORE INFO

Olympic National Park official site

Olympic National Park NOAA tide chart

OTHER NEARBY ADVENTURES

Forks (20 minutes from Second Beach)

Seattle (3 hours from the park’s northeast entrance)

Portland (3 hours from park’s southwest entrance)

Oregon’s Coast (3 hours to beaches such as Seaside and Cannon beach from park’s south west entrance)

Mount Rainier National Park (3 hours)