Port Angeles Forum: How do I get to Olympic National Park and what are the activ

You can't see ONP in one day. And you can't see it without a car. How are you getting to Port Angeles? You can drive up to Hurricane Ridge and do some hiking and that would make for a good day's outing. But I think you need to do a little research on ONP to understand the challenge.

I also agree you need to do a little research. When you say ashore we do not even know what you mean unless you are talking about the ferry from Victoria BC. You do need a car to see anything related to the Park. If you are comming from Seattle, Mt Rainier makes more sense. One day makes very little sense for a Park this size and will not even give you an idea of what makes this Park unique.

I originally wrote a rather harsh post berating you for not doing any research. Then I realized from your wording that you might be on a cruise ship, docking in PA for a few hours, in which case your questions are quite reasonable. Is that the case?

I did not know cruise ships stop in PA!

Thank you for replies. I will be coming to PA by ferry from Victoria. So I have few choices in hotels, that I am chosing. Some are away from the center so I may need a car just to get there. If I need a car, it make sense for me to go next day to some ONP destination myself. Otherwise I would chose an available tour from the local operator. Hence I decided to ask forum a question whether it is possible and make sense to go somewhere using a car on my own. So this is the part of my research. Thank you for your replies.

Regards

Alex from Atlanta

Thank you for replies. I will be coming to PA by ferry from Victoria. So I have few choices in hotels, that I am chosing. Some are away from the center so I may need a car just to get there. If I need a car, it make sense for me to go next day to some ONP destination myself. Otherwise I would chose an available tour from the local operator. Hence I decided to ask forum a question whether it is possible and make sense to go somewhere using a car on my own. So this is the part of my research. Thank you for your replies.

Regards

Alex from Atlanta

Thank you for advises. Should I get a GPS if I venture to the forest or beaches myself. So I won't get lost? Or the road is easy so I can return?

Sorry, lots of stupid questions

Alex from Atlanta

Cruise ships in PA? Who knew, except I guess Kaleberg. :)

portangeles.org/Blog/Blog/Cruise-Ships-In-Po…

The cruise ships dock only about twice a year here. it is a huge deal for the people of Port Angeles, who try to show as warm a welcome as they can. PA is not a regular stop for any of the cruise lines, much as the town would like it to be. The few times it has happened have been experiments on the part of the cruise lines.

Alexgeps: asking rather clueless questions on TripAdvisor does not count as research. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me try to be more helpful. You will need a car to get around PA, both to your hotel and to get to meals, unless you are staying at the Red Lion or one of the very modest downtown hotels. If you are staying at the Olympic Lodge, probably the best hotel/motel in town - and that's not saying very much - you will need a car or a taxi. If you want to get to Rialto Beach, Hurricane Ridge, or Lake Crescent, all you need is a car and a map. They are very easy to get to, no GPS necessary. You can rent a car from Budget right at the ferry dock. You should check GoogleMaps for directions and look at a map of the Olympic Peninsula as well.

The summit of Hurricane Ridge is 45 minutes from the ferry dock. Just get onto Race Street and go. There is still snow up there, but its melting fast, and you can walk around and enjoy beautiful views. Some early wild flowers are emerging.

The eastern shore of Lake Crescent is 30 minutes from the ferry dock. You just get on 101 and go west. Most people want to drive along the lake and stop at various viewpoints. There are two trails you could take. The Spruce Railroad Trail runs along the eastern shore of the lake. It is not a loop; you go out on the trail and then backtrack. If you go to the end it is roughly 8 miles round trip, but you could shorten it if you wished. The Marymere Falls Trail starts at the Barnes Creek Ranger Station in the center of the lake. It does not follow the lake. Instead, it takes you through old growth forest to a pretty waterfall. The round trip is 40 minutes. It is easy to drive to both of these trails.

Rialto Beach is 1 hour and 15 minutes west of the ferry dock. You can drive right to the beach and hike out to beautiful tide pools and views of sea stacks.

There is a tour company, All Points Charters and Tours, that can drive you to various sites in ONP. Their number is 360 565 1139. I cannot vouch for them, as I have never used them. I don't know how much they charge, but you might want to call them if you don't want to rent a car. There are two taxi companies in Port Angeles that could get you to dinner and to your hotel if you decide not to rent a car.