From Port Angeles, one road takes you above the clouds and into the Olympic Mountains

Washington’s wildest alpine road

Olympic National Park covers nearly a million acres of the Washington peninsula, and Hurricane Ridge is where most people get their first look at it.

The drive from Port Angeles climbs from sea level to 5,242 feet in just 17 miles, winding through old-growth forest before the trees fall away and the mountains open up around you.

On a clear day, you can see across the Strait of Juan de Fuca all the way to Vancouver Island in Canada.

The ridge earns its name from the winds that rip across the exposed terrain, and that’s just the start of what’s waiting up top.

Two presidents fought to protect this peninsula

Theodore Roosevelt created Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909, mostly to save the elk that now carry his name.

Nearly 30 years later, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the act that turned it into a full national park in 1938.

UNESCO added two more titles, naming it an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and a World Heritage Site in 1981. About 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness.

The Olympic Peninsula’s isolation has allowed dozens of plant and animal species to evolve here and nowhere else on Earth.

The 3.2-mile trail ends with views into three mountain ranges

Hurricane Hill Trail is the one hike everybody does up here, and for good reason. The 3.2-mile round trip gains about 650 feet, mostly on a paved surface that works for families and casual hikers.

At the top, you get a full 360-degree look at the Olympic range, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and on the best days, Mount Baker rising out of the North Cascades.

Wildflowers crowd both sides of the path in summer, and Olympic marmots pop up along the way.

Three easy loops start right at the parking area

You don’t have to commit to a long hike to see something good.

The Cirque Rim Trail runs about a mile round trip on a paved path along the edge of a deep bowl, with mountains on one side and wildflower meadows on the other.

Big Meadow Trail is half a mile through subalpine grass where deer and marmots graze in the open.

High Ridge Trail stretches 1.2 miles and includes a spur to Sunrise Point, where you can look straight down at Port Angeles.

Lupine and paintbrush carpet the ridge in July

The growing season at 5,000 feet is short and hits hard.

By mid-July, the meadows fill with lupine, Indian paintbrush, glacier lily, penstemon, and the Olympic Mountain aster, a species you won’t find anywhere else.

The color runs thick enough to rival what you’d see at Mount Rainier. August keeps it going.

Warm afternoons bring fritillaries and checkerspots drifting through the blooms, and if you time it right, the whole ridge looks like someone rolled paint across it.

The Olympic marmot lives here and nowhere else

About the size of a house cat, the Olympic marmot is a brown, bushy-tailed rodent that lives only in the Olympic Mountains. The Washington State Legislature made it the state’s official endemic mammal in 2009.

These animals spend seven to eight months of the year hibernating underground, with no food, no water. Hurricane Hill is one of the best spots to find them once they surface.

You’ll probably hear a sharp whistle before you spot one sitting on a rock.

Black-tailed deer graze right next to your car

Deer on Hurricane Ridge have zero interest in keeping their distance.

Black-tailed deer wander through the parking area and graze beside the trails like they own the place. Mountain goats show up on higher slopes and rocky outcrops, though they stay farther off.

Black bears roam the forests below the ridge and sometimes cross the trail. Above it all, golden eagles and ravens ride the updrafts.

The Switchback Trail to Klahhane Ridge is the go-to route for spotting deer, goats, and marmots in a single outing.

An unpaved road climbs to 6,150 feet with no guardrails

From the Hurricane Ridge parking area, an eight-mile dirt road winds its way to Obstruction Point, the highest point you can drive in the entire park at 6,150 feet.

The road is narrow and the drop-offs are steep, with nothing between you and the edge. It opens mid-July and stays accessible through October, weather depending.

At the end, trails lead to Grand Lake, Badger Valley, and Lillian Ridge.

The road was originally supposed to connect through to Deer Park, but unstable terrain killed that plan.

One of the last ski areas inside a national park

Hurricane Ridge gets over 400 inches of snow in an average year, and someone decided to put a ski area in the middle of it. The Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area runs two rope tows, a Poma lift, and a tubing park.

A nonprofit called the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Education Foundation keeps it going, open weekends from mid-December through March.

It’s small, family-oriented, and the westernmost lift-served ski area in the lower 48 states.

Free ranger-led snowshoe walks every Saturday

Once the snow buries the meadows, the National Park Service leads free snowshoe walks every Saturday during winter.

They hand you the snowshoes, and a ranger takes you out for about 90 minutes across less than a mile of ground. All ages can handle it.

If you want more, experienced visitors can push into the backcountry, but you need avalanche awareness and have to register at the visitor center first.

Keep in mind that Hurricane Ridge Road is only plowed Friday through Sunday in winter, and you need tire chains.

The day lodge burned down, and there are no indoor facilities

The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge has stood at the top since 1952. A fire destroyed it on May 7, 2023, and right now, there are no indoor facilities at the summit.

Portable restrooms line the road, but that’s it. The park also limits daily vehicle access, with the first 175 vehicles allowed in freely and the rest metered as others leave.

If you’re visiting on a weekend, get there early. The ridge road opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. during the summer.

Mount Olympus and its glaciers fill the southern sky

The drive up Hurricane Ridge Road gives you overlooks around nearly every curve, and each one is worth a stop. From the top, Mount Olympus and its glaciers anchor the view to the south.

Look north and the Strait of Juan de Fuca stretches out below you, with Vancouver Island beyond it on clear days. In fall, the subalpine grasses go golden.

In winter, snow buries everything and can linger into July. Few drives in the country take you from sea level to alpine country this fast.

Explore Hurricane Ridge in Washington

You can reach Hurricane Ridge by driving 17 miles south from Port Angeles into Olympic National Park. The visitor center area at the top is your starting point for every trail and the Obstruction Point Road.

A park entrance fee applies, and an annual pass covers your vehicle and everyone in it for the full year.

Before you head up, check NPS alerts and road conditions online, especially in winter and early spring when snow can close the road without much warning.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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