Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge

Many areas in the backcountry are used too much for their own good. But still, I always encourage people to get away from the crowds and the parking lots, to leave their cars and go for a walk. The area is wonderful, but there is a reason that you see it in every guidebook, calendar, and travelogue about the area—you can snap this photo while standing on asphalt and then walk a few feet for an ice cream sandwich from the visitor center. No matter how many interpretive signs you read or pictures you look at you will never appreciate the primeval character of this wilderness without hiking at least a few miles into it. Hurricane Ridge is beautiful, but the Enchanted Valley, the high Sol Duc, the upper reaches of Royal Basin, are all better because when you are there they surround you. No matter how attractive the Bailey mountain range is from this spot, I always know that when I turn around I will see traffic and salt-hungry deer licking spilled anti-freeze off the parking lot.

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