ArboursAbroad contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase using one of the affiliated links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. See our Disclosure Policy for more information.
Hands down one of the most famous parts of Olympic National Park is Hurricane Ridge. In fact, I’d say that’s what most people know the park for. The Hurricane Ridge section is where you’ll find the Olympic National Park welcome sign, the biggest visitor’s center, and the view of Mount Olympus, the mountain the park is built around.
Typically, Hurricane Ridge is the first area of Olympic National Park that people visit due to its location. The road leading up to Hurricane Ridge is right in the heart of Port Angeles, the first major access point to the national park from Seattle. We, however, were approaching from the Oregon Coast, so this was going to be the last area of the park we visited.
Those plans changed real quick upon learning the road to Hurricane Ridge would be closing on September 16th for quite some time for road construction. So we zipped over from the dreamy beach side of Olympic National Park, leaving behind so much to explore to ensure we would make it to Hurricane Ridge before it closed for the season.
Traveler’s Tip.. Check the NPS website for updates on when the road to Hurricane Ridge is reopened before visiting this area of Olympic National Park.
Hurricane Ridge Road | Getting to Hurricane Ridge Hikes
Driving up Hurricane Ridge, we honestly didn’t really know what to expect. We had seen a few photos of the area but did absolutely zero research on the area. The incline and twists and turns of the road took us by surprise, not sure why we didn’t expect to be driving up a mountain, but I digress.. The road took us by surprise and left us giddy with excitement to be up in the mountains verse on the coast.
Up and up we climbed, twisting and turning through cloudy views back to cloudless ones, and upon reaching the top, the famous Mount Olympus was socked in. Thankfully, the views of the mountains around were still pretty, and the clouds gave an interesting layering effect to the mountains to really showcase how massive they are.
We popped into the Hurricane Ridge visitors center for a minute, then continued up the road to the Hurricane Hill Trailhead.
Traveler’s Tip.. Be sure to stop at the visitor’s center. There is a super interesting topographical 3D map of the national park, a souvenir shop, and a little cafe. It’s also a great place to fill up on water!
Hiking Hurricane Hill | Most Popular Hurricane Ridge Hikes
- Distance: 3.2 miles total round trip
- Elevation Gain: 650 feet
- Terrain: paved
- Location: 47.9766, -123.5178
Let me start this off by saying, sometimes I mix up my numbers, and sometimes, I don’t remember things correctly. And sometimes, I look at things and don’t double-check before we hit a trail with how far a trail actually is. This is one of those times.
We hit the Hurricane Hill trail with the idea that the trail was only .25 miles out and back. Making it a super easy .5 mile hike total to a viewpoint. However, upon jumping on the trail, we soon realized this was not the case. About a quarter mile in, we could see people at the top of a hill far, far in the distance!
Facepalm.. yeah.. this trail was definitely not a short and sweet one. It was 1.6 miles one way, uphill to a viewpoint. The entire trail was paved, and to be completely honest, the viewpoint wasn’t that great. We ended at the top thinking, “this is it?!”
The hike was fine, and the views were okay — but honestly, nothing better than you got from the visitor’s center, or from the first quarter mile of the hike. The only extra view from the actual viewpoint was looking down on the town of Port Angeles and seeing over into Canada if the weather is good.
Not complaining, just not what we expected, and we’d honestly not recommend hiking Hurricane Hill to people. Instead, we’d recommend Sunrise Point.
Sunrise Point Trail Olympic National Park
- Distance: 1 mile loop
- Elevation: 200 feet
- Terrain: paved and packed gravel/dirt
- Location: 47.9700, -123.4950
In our humble opinion, the short hike to Sunrise Point is one thousand times better than Hurricane Hill. The trail makes you feel more outdoors, and we saw more wildlife (birds + deer) on this wee hike.
We really just went up to Sunrise Point just to explore some more of the trail systems from the visitor’s center. But shoot, it ended up being beautiful! Something about the angle that you’re looking over the mountains makes them seem 10x’s larger than they do from the visitor’s center. And we loved the 360 views of the mountains, from here.
They really were larger than life!
The other super nice thing about sunrise point was the lack of other people around. Yes, we saw a handful of people, but really not that many. Way less than the number of people hiking up Hurricane Hill!
Sunrise Point, in our opinion, is the best hike in the Hurricane Ridge area. It’s a super short loop with just amazing views around every corner! I would go back up to Hurricane Ridge just for this little hike to see the mountains again without the amount of cloud coverage we experienced.
Sunset + Where To Next
If we had more time, we would have liked to hike Klahhane Ridge. It’s meant to be super pretty although was a bit too long to tack onto our day. With this area closing the next day for road construction, we had to save Klahhane Ridge Trail for a future trip to the national park.
We came down off the trail to get back to the van just in time to make dinner. Sunset seemed like it wasn’t going to be anything great, as there was so much cloud coverage. But shoot, the sky started lighting up just behind what we could see, and we wished we stayed up at sunrise point for a bit longer! But, hey, it happens.
Lesson learned there, always stay through sunset. You never know what’s going to happen even in a cloud-filled sky!
We made dinner in the parking lot of the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center before making our way back down the mountain. Since we had to skip past a lot of the national park to get to Hurricane Ridge before it closed, we then backtracked and found some dispersed camping just outside Madison Falls, where our next little adventure would take place.
READ MORE | Every Dispersed Camping Site In The Olympic National Forest We Stayed
If You’re Visiting Hurricane Ridge Don’t Forget These Things
National Parks Pass | Purchase at the entrance station
You have to pay to enter this area of Olympic National Park. The $80 annual national parks pass is the best bang for your buck if you plan to visit more than two national parks in a year. There are also a handful of ways to get this pass for free. Head here to the NPS website to see what pass you qualify for!
Map + Extra Regional Paper | at the entrance booth
We made the mistake of not accepting a new map in each new region of Olympic National Park we visited. And while we didn’t need a new map every time, what we didn’t realize was there’s a paper printout of each region at each ranger station.
This would have been super nice to have to see what other hikes are in the area of Hurricane Ridge, as really there isn’t much information in the general national parks leaflet/map given.
Trail Shoes | snag some here
Trail running shoes are a great choice for hiking shoes. We aren’t huge fans of boots as they take up a lot of space, are often not that comfortable, and are super hot. Trail running shoes are instead a bit lighter, though are still waterproof and super grippy.. perfect for hiking!
Extra Layers | read all about packing layers here
Layers are a must when doing any hike. You’re not being a responsible hiker if you don’t bring layers to wear if you get cold. For the shorter hikes from Hurricane Ridge, just a jacket would probably be fine. If you plan on doing any of the longer hikes, be sure to pack extra layers for both your top and your bottoms and a waterproof jacket too!
Hiking Camera Gear
Most of our camera gear is PeakDesign, a fantastic company to stand behind.. we love them! We shoot with a Canon R5 (find it here) and love the camera. The PeakDesign gear we recommend is compatible will all cameras though. So no worries if you’re shooting with something else!
Camera Tripod | find the current price here
Our tripod of choice is the PeakDesign travel tripod. It’s lightweight and compact, making it easy to fit in a backpack. We also love that there’s a built-in phone attachment to set your phone up on the tripod as well. This tripod is an investment, but it’s a good one.
Camera Backpack Clip | check current prices here
Oh my goodness. What a game-changer in the world of hiking with a camera! This clip attaches to the strap of your backpack, and with one easy-release button, you can release your camera to get the shot before easily clipping it back to your pack.
It’s probably our most used piece of camera equipment when hiking.
The Clutch | check current prices here
This camera strap is just for going around your hand. It comes in clutch, get it!?, when shooting in iffy places. It also just gives that extra piece of mind that you won’t drop your camera when shooting. The clutch is low profile and an essential in our book for the protection of your camera!
More On The Olympic Peninsula + Olympic National Park
Free Camping in the Olympic National Forest
Quinault Rainforest | it’s better than the Hoh Rainforest in our opinion
Storm King Hike | not for the weak ones
13 Hikes in Olympic National Park
Mountain Biking to Olympic Hot Springs
Getting to the Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is where Olympic National Park is. It can be a bit awkward to get to, especially since the national park has no roads actually through it. You’ll basically be taking a road trip on US Highway 101 in Washington to explore Olympic National Park.
You’ll want to fly into Seattle or Portland (Seattle is closer distance-wise, but awkward with ferries), and then rent a car to drive around the Peninsula.
If you’re taking ferries, be sure to book them in advance, so you don’t have to wait in standby for sometimes multiple ferry crossings as we did. Keep in mind, opting out of ferries means taking toll roads out of Seattle to Olympic National Park!
To avoid all this, you can simply fly into Portland, head to Aberdeen, Washington, and then continue up the loop of Olympic National Park.
Search Flights at momondo.com and Save Up to 35%
Search Car Rentals at momondo.com and Save Up to 35%
Save + Share This Post Here
It helps us tremendously when you share what we write. It not only allows other people to enjoy this area of the world too, but it also is a great way to tell us this post was helpful and we should continue writing more like it in the future!
If you don’t want to save or share this post, but it was helpful to you, please leave us a comment below so we know! Want to support us in a different way? Find out how here.
