Olympic National Park is a national park in the United States located in Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. The park includes four areas: the Pacific coastline, mountainous regions, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the drier forests on the east side. The park contains three different ecosystems, such as subalpine forest and wildflower meadow, temperate forest, and the rugged Pacific coast.
President Theodore Roosevelt first named the park Mount Olympus National Monument on March 2, 1909. Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt later changed the monument to a national park on June 29, 1938. In 1976, Olympic National Park was named an International Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It was also designated a World Heritage Site in 1981. In 1988, Congress set aside 95 percent of the park (1,370 square miles or 3,500 square kilometers) as the Olympic Wilderness. This area was renamed Daniel J. Evans Wilderness in 2017 to honor former Washington state Governor and U.S. Senator Daniel J. Evans. During his time in the Senate, Evans helped create a bill in 1988 that established the state's wilderness areas. This is the largest wilderness area in Washington.
In 2024, Olympic National Park had over 3.7 million visitors. This made it the 25th most visited park in the United States.
Natural and geologic history
The coastal part of the park includes a rough, sandy beach and a narrow area of nearby forest. This area is 60 miles (97 km) long but only a few miles wide. Native communities live near the mouths of two rivers: the Hoh River is home to the Hoh people, and the Quileute people live in the town of La Push at the mouth of the Quileute River.
The beach has long stretches of untouched nature, ranging from 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km) in length. Some parts of the beach are mostly sand, while others are covered with large rocks and boulders. Thick vegetation, slippery ground, tides, and misty weather make walking difficult. The coastal area is easier to reach than the park’s interior, and few hikers travel far beyond short day trips.
A popular trail on the coastal strip is the 9-mile (14 km) Ozette Loop. The Park Service manages this area with a registration and reservation system to control how many people use it. Starting at Ozette Lake, the trail includes a 3-mile (4.8 km) boardwalk path through a nearly untouched coastal cedar swamp. From the ocean, a 3-mile walk is supported by trails that help with high tides. This area has been used by the Makah people from Neah Bay. The final 3-mile section of the trail also has a boardwalk, making it easier to walk. Another popular trail is the 0.7-mile (1.1 km) path to Second Beach, which offers views of offshore rock formations and wildlife.
Thick forests next to the beach cause fallen trees to appear on the sand. The Hoh River, near the southern end of the park, carries naturally eroded wood and other materials northward, enriching the beaches. Driftwood remains a common sight today, both visually and ecologically, and can be seen in early photos of the area. Driftwood often comes from far away; the Columbia River once sent large amounts of material to the Northwest Pacific coasts.
The smaller coastal part of the park is separated from the larger inland area. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once supported connecting them with a continuous stretch of parkland.
The park is known for its unique turbidites, which are rocks or sediments that move into the ocean as suspended particles in water, creating layers on the ocean floor. Over time, these sediments and rocks press together, and the process repeats. The park also has tectonic mélanges, which are large rocks with a strong petroleum smell. These rocks are large enough to be shown on maps and can be as big as a house.
In the center of Olympic National Park, the Olympic Mountains rise. Their sides and ridges are covered with ancient glaciers. The mountains formed due to tectonic activity from the Juan De Fuca Plate subduction zone. The rocks in the area are a mix of basalt and oceanic sedimentary rock. The number of glaciers in the park decreased from 266 in 1982 to 184 by 2009 because of climate change.
The western part of the mountain range includes Mount Olympus, which reaches 7,965 feet (2,428 m). Mount Olympus receives a lot of snow and has the most glaciers of any non-volcanic peak in the contiguous United States outside the North Cascades. Its largest glacier, Hoh Glacier, is 3.06 miles (4.93 km) long. To the east, the mountains are drier because of the rain shadow effect from the western mountains. The tallest peak in the eastern part of the range is Mount Deception, at 7,788 feet (2,374 m).
The western side of the park is covered by temperate rainforests, including the Hoh Rainforest and Quinault Rainforest. These areas receive more than 12 feet (370 cm) of rain each year, making them one of the wettest places in the continental United States.
Unlike tropical rainforests, the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are mostly made up of coniferous trees, such as Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Coast Douglas-fir, and Western redcedar. Mosses grow on the bark of these trees and hang from their branches in green, wet strands.
Old-growth forests are also found on the eastern side of the park, but the climate is drier. Sitka Spruce is not present, trees are generally smaller, and the undergrowth is less dense and different. Just northeast of the park is a rainshadow area where yearly rainfall averages about 17 inches.
Ecology
According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential Natural Vegetation Types, the park includes five classifications: Alpine Meadows & Barren, also known as Alpine tundra (52) potential vegetation type with an Alpine Meadow (11) potential vegetation form; a Fir/Hemlock (4) vegetation type with a Pacific Northwest conifer forest (1) vegetation form; a cedar/hemlock/Douglas fir vegetation type with a Pacific Northwest conifer forest (1) vegetation form; Western spruce/fir vegetation type (15) with a Rocky Mountain conifer forest (3) vegetation form; and a spruce/cedar/hemlock (1) vegetation type with a Pacific Northwest conifer forest (1) vegetation form.
The park is located on an isolated peninsula, separated from the land to the south by a high mountain range. This isolation allowed many plant and animal species found only in this area to develop, such as the Olympic Marmot, Piper's bellflower, and Flett's violet. The southwestern coastline of the Olympic Peninsula is the northernmost non-glaciated region on the Pacific coast of North America. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the distance from ice-covered peaks to the coast was about twice as far as it is today, which helped the area serve as a refuge for plants that later spread to glaciated regions to the north.
The park supports many species native only to the Pacific Northwest coast, such as the Roosevelt elk. Scientists have recognized the park as a biological reserve because of its unique species, which help researchers study how plants and animals evolve. The park is home to large populations of black bears and black-tailed deer. It also has a large number of cougars, estimated at about 150. Mountain goats were accidentally brought to the park in the 1920s and have harmed native plants. The National Park Service has started plans to manage the goats.
The park contains an estimated 366,000 acres (572 mi²; 1,480 km²) of old-growth forests. Forest fires are rare in the rainforests on the park’s western side. However, a severe drought following the driest spring in 100 years, combined with very low snowpack from the previous winter, caused a rare rainforest fire in the summer of 2015.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Olympic National Park includes two climate types: a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) in the western half and a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) in the eastern half. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that the plant hardiness zone at Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center is 8a, with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 14.5 °F (−9.7 °C).
Human history
Before European settlers arrived, the Olympic Peninsula was home to Native American people. These groups mainly used the area for fishing and hunting. However, recent studies and archaeological work in the Olympic and other Northwest mountain ranges suggest that Native American tribes may have used the subalpine meadows more extensively than previously believed. Many Pacific Northwest indigenous cultures were greatly affected by European diseases and other challenges long before settlers and businesses arrived. This meant that when early observers recorded information about Native American life, they saw a much smaller population than had existed earlier. Today, many cultural sites and important artifacts have been found in the Olympic Mountains.
When settlers began arriving in the region, industries focused on extracting natural resources, especially timber, grew rapidly. This happened heavily in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By the 1920s, people started to oppose logging after seeing large areas of forest cleared. This period also saw more interest in outdoor activities, as cars made it easier for people to visit remote places like the Olympic Peninsula.
The first formal proposal for a national park on the Olympic Peninsula began with the work of Lieutenant Joseph P. O'Neil and Judge James Wickersham in the 1890s. These men explored the area and worked together to protect it. On February 22, 1897, President Grover Cleveland created the Olympic Forest Reserve, which later became Olympic National Forest in 1907. Later, President Theodore Roosevelt established Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909 to protect the subalpine calving grounds and summer range of Roosevelt elk.
Public support for protecting the area grew over time. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill to create a national park. The Civilian Conservation Corps built a headquarters in 1939 with funding from the Public Works Administration. This building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1953, the national park was expanded by 47,753 acres to include parts of the Pacific coastline between the Queets and Hoh rivers, as well as sections of the Queets and Bogachiel valleys.
Even after the park was established, illegal logging continued in some areas. Political debates about protecting the valuable timber resources in the region still happen today. Logging occurs on the Olympic Peninsula, but not within the park itself. In 1988, the federal government created the Olympic Wilderness, which covers 877,000 acres within Olympic National Park. This area was renamed the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness in 2017 to honor Governor and U.S. Senator Daniel J. Evans, who helped create it. A plan to expand the wilderness by 125,000 acres in 2022 was not approved.
Fauna
The national park is home to many animals, such as chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, six species of bats, weasels, coyotes, muskrats, fishers, river otters, beavers, red foxes, mountain goats, martens, bobcats, black bears, Canadian lynxes, moles, snowshoe hares, shrews, and cougars. Marine animals such as whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals, and sea otters swim near the park's offshore areas. Birds that live in the park include raptors like winter wrens, Canada jays, Hammond's flycatchers, Wilson's warblers, blue grouse, pine siskins, ravens, spotted owls, red-breasted nuthatches, golden-crowned kinglets, chestnut-backed chickadees, Swainson's thrushes, red crossbills, hermit thrushes, olive-sided flycatchers, bald eagles, western tanagers, northern pygmy owls, Townsend's warblers, Townsend's solitaires, Vaux's swifts, band-tailed pigeons, and evening grosbeaks.
Recreation
There are several roads in the park, but none go far into the interior. The park has many hiking trails, but the large size and remote location mean it usually takes more than a weekend to reach the high country in the interior. The rain forest has many plants growing wild and many shades of green, which are worth seeing even if it rains during the trip. July, August, and September often have long periods without rain.
A special feature of ONP is the chance to backpack along the beach. The park's coastline is long enough for trips lasting several days, with time spent walking along the beach. While walking on the beach is easier than climbing a mountainside (like the Seven Lakes Basin), visitors must be careful of the tide. At the narrowest parts of the beaches, high tide can reach the cliffs behind, blocking the path. Visitors must climb over several rocky areas using muddy trails and fixed ropes.
During winter, Hurricane Ridge offers many winter sports activities. The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club runs a nonprofit ski and snowboard area at Hurricane Ridge. It provides ski lessons, rentals, and low-cost lift tickets. The area has two rope tows and one poma lift. When Hurricane Ridge Road is open, skiers, snowboarders, and others can access backcountry areas. Winter access to the road is limited to Fridays through Sundays, depending on weather. A group called the Hurricane Ridge Winter Access Coalition is working to allow seven-day-a-week access to the road, which is the only park road open to alpine areas in winter.
Rafting is available on the Elwha and Hoh Rivers. Boating is common on Ozette Lake, Lake Crescent, and Lake Quinault. Fishing is allowed in the Ozette River, Queets River (below Tshletshy Creek), Hoh River, Quinault River (below North Shore Quinault River Bridge), Quillayute River, and Dickey River. A fishing license is not required to fish in the park. However, fishing for bull trout and Dolly Varden trout is not allowed, and these fish must be released if accidentally caught.
The Olympic National Park can be seen from the Hurricane Ridge viewpoint. The road west of the Hurricane Ridge visitor center has picnic areas and trailheads. A paved trail called the Hurricane Hill Trail is about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) each way, with an elevation gain of about 700 feet (210 m). Snow on the trail is sometimes seen as late as July. Other dirt trails of different lengths and difficulty levels branch off from the Hurricane Hill Trail. The picnic areas are open only in summer and have restrooms, water, and paved access to picnic tables.
The Hurricane Ridge visitor center burned down on May 7, 2023. Built in the 1950s, it had a 3D map of the Olympics, a media center showing nature documentaries, and a gift shop. There is no current plan for when the center will be rebuilt. A project to rebuild the lodge and create a temporary visitor center received $80 million in federal funding in late 2023.
In March 2026, Washington's National Parks Fund gave a grant of $768,483 to improve park infrastructure and support youth science programs. Park leaders mentioned that the funds will be used for search and rescue training and equipment, astronomy programs, and mules for backcountry trail work.
Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project
The Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project is the second-largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of the National Park Service, following the Everglades. The project involved removing the 210-foot (64 m) Glines Canyon Dam and draining its reservoir, Lake Mills, and removing the 108-foot (33 m) Elwha Dam and its reservoir, Lake Aldwell, from the Elwha River. After the dams were removed, the park will plant vegetation on the slopes and river bottoms to reduce erosion and help the environment recover more quickly. The main goal of this project is to restore populations of Pacific Salmon and steelhead fish to the Elwha River, which have been unable to reach the upper 65 miles (105 km) of river habitat for over 95 years because of the dams. The removal of the dams was completed in 2014.