Today was our first full day on the Olympic Peninsula. We began our exploration of Olympic National Park and the surrounding area.
Attempted Coffee
Thanks to a child who was still very much on EST, we were woken up early. While Faith and Walker ate a pancake breakfast, Dad and I went to Walmart to grab a couple things we’d forgotten the night before, and then headed across the street to grab a cuppa’ from Essence Coffee, or so we thought… Turns out, they were closed a couple extra days for the week of Independence Day, and neither one of us had seen the rather small sign on the door the night before. Disappointed, we headed back to our VRBO to load up for the day.
Attempted Donuts
We drove over to Port Angeles, which is the largest city on the peninsula, and about 20 minutes west of Sequim. We easily found a parking space, and headed for Sasquatch Bakery Donuts…which was also closed. Great sadness abounded. I tried a couple other choices I had in my travel notes, but they too were closed. So, we walked to the nearest place that was open, because we were all famished, especially those of us who hadn’t eaten a pancake breakfast.
Breakfast
It was well past time for second breakfast, so when we looked up 1st Street and saw The Great Northern Coffee Bar was open, we seized the moment. Dad ordered a latte and bagel sandwich with sausage, cheddar, and egg; Mom ordered a mocha latte and a banana walnut muffin; Faith got an iced mocha and a bacon, egg, and cheddar bagel sandwich; and I got a latte and “The Bennigan” – a pretzel roll with ham, Swiss cheese, and mustard. The food was all very tasty.
The coffee was…well, fine. I am not a fan of dark roast coffee, which is a good chunk of the PNW flavor profile. If you want to get really coffee nerdy (if you don’t, just scroll down to the next section header): the beans in a “dark roast” coffee have been roasted past the “second crack”, an audible queue during the roasting process that the beans have split open and begun seeping oil. Dark roasted coffee, also referred to as “French Roast”, “Vienna Roast”, or “Italian Roast”, almost always has visible oil on the outside of the beans making them shiny. This also makes them taste objectively terrible (in my humble opinion), and is why a lot of Seattle-area coffee is known for tasting “burnt” (or even “rancid”, if they stale too long).
Pro tip: if you see only oily beans in a coffee shop, get an espresso drink with some milk in it; it will likely taste far better than their drip. Most drive-through coffee barns/shacks go this route, as do shops that focus on sugary drinks. That’s not to say you can’t have decent dark-roasted filter coffee, but I’ve found it to be a rarity. Usually roasting beans that dark goes so far past caramelization and Malliardization that “roasty-ness” is turned into those “burnt-ish” flavors. Just like in grilling and cooking, some char can be nice, but too much is not good.
Coffee rant over; back to the story…
Visitor Center
We drove up the hillside above town to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, and sat in the parking lot while we ate. We then discovered that we didn’t get Mom’s muffin, to her great disappointment. We all contributed part of our sandwiches to the cause, and all was well. After spending some time in the visitor center talking to a very helpful volunteer and letting Walker play in the children’s interactive exhibits, we threw away our breakfast trash, and finalized a plan for the day.
Olympic National Park
Before I get too far into the National Park, how about some fun facts? Click the drop-down boxes below for some history and info about the park (sourced from the NPS website).
- 922,651 acres
- 876,447 acres (95%) are Congressionally-designated wilderness
- 73 miles of wilderness coast
- 3,000+ miles of rivers and streams
- 32 named glaciers – the Hoh Glacier is 3+ miles long
- over 1,200+ native plants
- 16+ kinds of endemic animals and 8+ kinds of endemic plants
- 20 reptile and amphibian species
- 37 native fish species
- 300 bird species
- 56 mammal species, including 24 marine mammal species
- 22 species listed as Threatened or Endangered
- 130 historic structures
- 611 miles of trails
- 168 miles of roads
- 64 trailheads
- ~3.4 million annual visitors
- Highest point is Mount Olympus, at 7,965′
- Lowest point is the Pacific Ocean
- Hoh and Quinault Rainforests receive over 12 feet of rain annually, making them the wettest points in the lower 48 states
- Designated as a National Monument by Theodor Roosevelt in 1909, and then re-designated as a National Park by Franklin Roosevelt in 1938
- Lowest latitude on earth where glaciers start under 6,500′ and exist below 3,300′
- Has its own species of endemic marmot – the Olympic Marmot
Hurricane Ridge
From the visitor center, we drove up Hurricane Ridge Road, which takes you 17 miles south of Port Angeles, into the heart of the Olympic Range. The road climbs to 5,242′, and ends at an area with subalpine meadows and magnificent mountain vistas. We’d been debating about postponing the drive up for a day, since there was pretty heavy cloud cover at the top. The webcam in the visitor center showed the clouds were breaking, so we decided to go for it.
On the way up, the road winds through a triple tunnel.
At the top, the clouds were indeed dispersing, so we were glad we chose to visit. While we couldn’t quite see everything, we had great views of a lot of the mountains and valleys below, and could see all the way over to Vancouver Island and Victoria in Canada.
There used to be a day lodge/visitor center at the top of Hurricane Ridge, but it burned down in May 2023 due to a construction mishap, right after renovations started in April (article). Now, there are only temporary bathrooms and a makeshift store operating out of a mobile trailer. The charred remains of the lodge are now completely removed.
First, we drove over towards the trailhead for Hurricane Hill, the terminus of Hurricane Ridge Road. While we decided to skip the popular hike that starts from the trailhead here, we enjoyed the views from the overlooks, and were amazed how certain trees had a “snowline” where the drifts piled up against them. The ridge line averages 30-35ft of snow annually.
Next, we decided to go for short loop hike, starting back at the temporary visitor center. Faith and I hiked a combo of the Cirque Rim Trail and Big Meadow Loop, while Mom sat and enjoyed the view toward Victoria from an overlook. Dad also hiked a shorter loop, breaking off from Faith and I after a while.
Most of the paths were either paved or flat enough for a stroller, so we were able to push Walker the entire loop, which he thoroughly enjoyed – giggling most of the way. We saw a handful of deer (the local black-tailed variety), and the Olympic Ski Patrol cabin, which serves the slopes on winter weekends.
The drive back down was mostly in the clouds, although we were graced with a few nice views here and there.
Grayson's
After descending back to almost sea level, we pulled off at the visitor center to plan for lunch; I wasn’t wanting to have another everything-is-closed-fiasco. Once again, several places were closed for the holiday week, so we decided on Grayson’s, a breakfast and lunch cafe with a simple yet elevated menu.
Dad and I split “The Smash”, a chuck smashburger with American cheese, lettuce, pickes, onion, and special sauce on a brioche bun with fries and the “B.L.T.S”, a sandwich with 1/4″ honey cured bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, dijonnaise on sourdough with fries. Mom got the “Flagler County Tacos”, with citrus-herb marinated mahi, mango salsa, avocado, and fresno aioli. Faith got the “Fried Chicken Caesar”, with chopped romaine, asiago, brown butter croutons, house dressing, and a fried chicken thigh. We also got Walker a kid’s cheeseburger with tomato and pickles.
Apparently Mom was just having a bad food day, because the fresno sauce on her fish tacos was flaming spicy. Even I couldn’t handle it. But once again, we had plenty of food, especially since Faith’s Caesar salad was big enough for three people; we even had some left over after Mom and I both worked on it.
Everyone else’s food was excellent. I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite out of everything else. The fries were really the surprising standout – they had some kind of sweet pepper dust/flakes all over them, and had a truly unique/addicting flavor. I asked, and the kitchen staff told me it’s a secret. I think the “dust” is basically a type of homemade paprika made from dehydrated sweet peppers…maybe I’ll try to replicate it sometime.
Grayson's
Port Angeles, WA
Great sandwiches with amazing fries. Even though the menu is simple, everything is made with quality ingredients and attention to detail.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
New Zealand-Style Ice Cream
At this point in my life, I felt like I’d pretty much “seen it all” when it comes to ice cream. Well, leave it to the other land down under to surprise me. I’m talking about New Zealand – yes, that country that always gets left off of world maps (P.S.: that’s a fun game to play). I’ll do my best to describe the ice cream contraption, but ultimately, you’ll just have to watch the video down at the bottom of this post.
First, the scooper puts flash-frozen fresh fruit and vanilla sweet cream ice cream into a [PVC?] funnel. Then, a machine drives a plastic auger into the cone, blending the fruit and ice cream together, and pushing it out the bottom kind of like soft-serve. Apparently, there are only a handful of these Kiwi machines that exist outside of their homeland, and one just happens to be in a city of ~19,000 in Washington State.
We all got their signature mixed berry, with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. I was the only one who got a cone. It was excellent, and we all said we’d go back (consider that foreshadowing).
Welly's Real Fruit Ice Cream
Port Angeles, WA
If you’re looking for truly unique ice cream, this is the place! Both their signature fruit-infused ice cream and their traditional ice cream are delicious.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
While we ate our ice cream, we sat outside the Port Angeles Fisherman’s Wharf, which the city has converted into residential, office, and retail space for shops, an arcade, and restaurants, before heading back towards the National Park boundary west of town.
Lake Crescent
Back on Highway 101, we drove past the Elwha River Valley, home to the largest dam removal in US history. The valley has since flooded significantly as the river struggles to get back to its regular path, so that area of the National Park is closed to vehicle traffic indefinitely. Next, the road took us by the massive Lake Crescent, and its smaller counterpart, Lake Sutherland. The road winds around the shoreline of the lakes, providing nice views of the clear water, Mount Storm King, and the other surrounding peaks.
Sol Duc Falls
Turning south, we entered the Sol Duc valley (pronounced “soul duck”, and translates to “sparkling water”), and followed the Sol Duc River upstream until we passed the Sol Duc Hot Springs and arrived at the Sol Duc Falls trailhead. Dad, Faith, Walker, and I went on the hike, while Mom took a nap in the van in the shade of the massive western red cedars and sitka spruce.
The trail is a little less than a mile each way, and goes through old-growth (defined as 300+ years old) forest, past moss-laden cascades and the crystal clear river.
At the end of the trail, a thundering triple waterfall drops into a steep rocky canyon, sending a cool mist up into the forest. The area around the falls is especially lush and green (and muddy).
We hiked back out, regrouped at the van, and drove out of the valley, heading back towards Port Angeles and Sequim.
Attempted Dinner
Near Lake Sutherland, we stopped at Granny’s Cafe for [hopefully] burgers and some blackberry/huckleberry desserts. They said it was a 45+ minute wait for hamburgers (not sure how a flattop gets that backed up). Left disappointed and hungry from yet another food failure, we decided to drive the rest of the way back to Port Angeles and Sequim so we’d have better alternative options and be more productive with the waning daylight.
Pizza
Back in Port Angeles, we once again struggled to find somewhere that was open and had takeout. Finally, I called in an order into Barhop Artisan Pizza in Sequim. We got a pepperoni, a margherita, and a proscuitto (with red sauce, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and parmesan). The place is mostly a brewery, but they served up some excellent pies. All were very good, particularly the proscuitto.
Barhop Artisan Pizza
Sequim, WA
Quality pizza with a nicely fermented crust.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Evening
Dad and I went back out to Walmart again to get some additional groceries, enjoying a glowing sunset over the mountains and farmland as we drove. If you’re wondering why we’ve already made three trips to Walmart, it’s because the Sequim store was being remodeled, rearranged, and upfitted with new signage. In short, we either couldn’t find what we needed the first time, got so confused we missed something, or the items we needed were not unboxed yet.
Video
Here’s a video compilation from today’s adventures.
The Best Things we Saw Today
Isaac
The best thing I saw today was… “Sol Duc Falls and surrounding forest”.
The best thing I ate today was… “a three-way tie between fries, Welly’s ice cream, and prosciutto pizza”.
Faith
The best thing I saw today was… “Hurricane Ridge”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the ice cream”.
Jerry
The best thing I saw today was… “Sol Duc Falls, but Lake Crescent is a close second”.
The best thing I ate today was… “a three-way tie between bagel sandwich, prosciutto pizza, and fries at lunch”.
Amy
The best thing I saw today was… “view from Hurricane Hill, and looking towards Mount Olympus with the eagle in the background”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the rest of Faith’s Caesar salad”.
Conclusion
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Tomorrow, we’ll explore more of Olympic National Park, heading over to beaches and rain forests on the western side of the peninsula.
– Isaac, Faith, Jerry, Amy, and Walker
3 Responses
Spectacular scenery!
That prosciutto pizza looked delicious.
“P”
The trees and waterfalls were beautiful scenery. Looked cool and refreshing.
I always enjoy your “food stories”!
Thanks for passing the stories of your adventures along to us!
You outdid yourself today. Excellent reporting, beautiful scenery, and the ice cream and pizza.