Olympic National in June

[bruce]

My wife & I are heading to Olympic National Park on June 13 and will

be staying until June 21. We have reserved rooms in 3 lodges

throughout the national park. We will be staying near Lake Quinault

(southern rainforest), Kalaloch (coastal), and Sol Duc Hot Springs

(Northern area of Park). Our only goal will be to broaden our

portfolio of rainforest images.

 

Does anybody have any insight into great places that should not be

missed throughout the park?

 

BTW, we are nature generalists... we enjoy both 35mm and MF

photography and shoot wildlife, macros, landscapes, and abstracts. Any

and all reccomendations are appreciated.

 

regards, bruce

[mark_windom]

Olympic National Park is a very diverse area..bring lots of film.

 

Lake Quinalt Lodge: nice place to stay, great food. Quinalt Rain Forest has plenty of photo ops.

 

For the coastal part of you trip I would recommend Ruby Beach, Second Beach and Rialto Beach. A short side trip to the Hoh Rain Forest is a must.

 

Sol Duc Hot Springs: Sol Duc River and Sol Duc Falls as well as old growth forest.

 

I would continue your trip to Hurricane Ridge for great views of the Olympic Mountains. Wildflowers this year are unpredictable as to when, and in some cases if, they will be blooming due to record to near-record snowfall in the Olympic and Cascades Mtn.

 

Bottom line: there's probably too much to do in the short time you will be in the Park. Come prepared for rain. Hopefully you will get some sunny days for sunsets at the coast and some overcast days for the forests.

[stephen_matera2]

I think Mark pretty much covered it except I would also recommend the tide pools at Tongue Point. You may also try Deer Park, which tends to be free of snow a little earlier than Hurricane Ridge. The road to Deer Park won't accomodate any large vehicles (RV's).

[paul_di_biase]

Shooting the rainforest will take a lot of time as there is a lot of rainforest to shoot. You could probably spend a week just moving up and down the Quinalt rainforest. Keep in mind that much of your shooting will have to be done in the early and late hours of the day to avoid the hot spots caused by mid-day light making it past the canopy. Of course, if the day is very overcast this may not be a problem. I suggest bringing a good fill-flash to help handle these hot spot problems.

 

You might get more help on the Pacific Northwest photography e-mail list.

www.onelist.com/subscribe/pnwphoto

[srini]

Besides most of the places already covered, i would like to add Marymere falls, Cape Alava and Neah Bay. The route to Neah Bay follows the coast and has good views.

[joel_klein]

Another nice walk to consider is the loop trail that starts at Lake Ozette. It is a boardwalk through the rainforest out to the coast, then a beautiful beach walk, then another boardwalk to where you started. It is a nice trip in part because you can appreciate the transition from rainforest to coast. You also start and finish at Lake Ozette, which itself is quite photogenic.

 

The parking/camping area is at the north end of the lake, so the whole thing is sidelit unless you hike around. Also a very nice camping spot.

 

Olympic has had a great deal of snow this year, particularly up on Hurricaine Ridge. Call to see what the deal is up there.

 

Among the better authorities on Washington state hiking is Ron Judd. He has a number of texts which describe hikes in quite good detail. In "Washington In and Out" he also makes photographic suggestions throughout the book.

 

Hope the trip is terrific.

[flavio_teixeira]

Bruce,

 

I recently bought a book by Pat O'Hara (the best nature photographer IMO) and I think its title is Olympic National Park. It has legends about each site. The whole book is about photography in the Olympic Natl. Park. Beautifull! If you go to amazon.com and do a search on Pat O'Hara you will find the title.

 

Good luck and good trip.

[massimiliano_poletto]

In terms of literature, I recommend "Olympic Mountains Trail Guide", by Robert Wood --- he's spent a lifetime hiking the Olympics, and his love of the place is contagious.

 

Also remember to call or check www.nps.gov/olym/ for snow and trail conditions. Record snowfalls have apparently caused a lot of trail damage, washed out bridges, and so forth. Bring good boots and a rain cape.

 

I agree with the advice above, though I must add that the best way to appreciate the Olympics is to go into the backcountry. In June many trails will have snow and require adequate equipment (snow shoes, ice axes, etc.). Nonetheless, in case you're up for it, or if you decide to return some day in July or August, here are some personal favorites:

1. The Enchanted Valley from north of Lake Quinault to Mt Anderson.

2. The Duckabush Valley up to O'Neill Pass.

3. The Hoh rainforest. Depending on conditions, you could arrange a nice two- or three-day hike through the rainforest, over Bogachiel Peak, and into Sol Duc. If conditions are clear, you should have great views of the glaciers on Mt Olympus.

 

If you're lucky, you can even run into some fauna. In my unfortunately limited experience (about 10 days of hiking in all), I've seen a herd of elk, several marmots, one bear, countless squirrels or similar small rodents, a couple animals that looked like snow hens, and many other birds.

 

I hope you have a great trip!