Traveling to Olympic NP in April. Trail suggestions please.

[Knapps Over]

Good day community.
So my rig (Serenity) has been sitting in storage since Oct in Seattle after returning from Alaska. I'm headed back out this month to inventory, do maintenance and take on a little test run into Olympic National park. I'm in need of suggestions on trails and hazards this time of year. Any info you can provide that you think would be helpful is greatly appreciated.
Get out there and be safe. Well, Coffee 1st safety is more like 3rd.
Have fun
Tom

 

[jdunk]

I found this guide to be helpful.. probably still a little snow.

You can’t really get into the national park in a vehicle.

GripTwister Dual Sport Tours

Dual Sport Motorcycle Tours

www.griptwister.com

 

[Knapps Over]

I found this guide to be helpful.. probably still a little snow.

You can’t really get into the national park in a vehicle.

GripTwister Dual Sport Tours

Dual Sport Motorcycle Tours

www.griptwister.com

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out ASAP. Yes, I was curious about the snow and conditions. I still have 2 weeks so I'll check out weather the week before.

 

[jdunk]

There should be plenty that you can get to without much issue. It’s a great area.

We’re actually on the coast now. Not sure if we’ll make it into the mountain forest, but if we do, I’ll drop a report for you.

 

[Knapps Over]

There should be plenty that you can get to without much issue. It’s a great area.

We’re actually on the coast now. Not sure if we’ll make it into the mountain forest, but if we do, I’ll drop a report for you.

I'll be grabbing Forest service maps when I arrive too.

 

[jdunk]

Always a good plan. I think there’s 4 of them…. I might be wronf

 

[jdunk]

We drove close to 2/3's of the way around it. We could see snow in the trees on some of the higher altitudes, but I imagine you'll be able to get around pretty well wherever you decide to go. Especially since you can't actually get into the National Park with a vehicle.

 

[OTH Overland]

Good day community.
So my rig (Serenity) has been sitting in storage since Oct in Seattle after returning from Alaska. I'm headed back out this month to inventory, do maintenance and take on a little test run into Olympic National park. I'm in need of suggestions on trails and hazards this time of year. Any info you can provide that you think would be helpful is greatly appreciated.
Get out there and be safe. Well, Coffee 1st safety is more like 3rd.
Have fun
Tom

If you have not already found it, there is a good Forest Service website for the peninsula area Olympic National Forest - Maps & Publications The interactive map is a pretty good tool, it allows you to zoom in, click the road or trail you are interested in and it will give you information on the types of vehicle allowed, when the road is open etc. Keep in mind that open all year does not mean snow free. Gaia GPS provides a Snow depth map layer that can give you some kind of idea, but pretty much ends up with you wont really know till you drive up the road. The forest service land pretty much follows around the boarder of the National Park, and then there is usually private land between there and the water. There are still a few low level logging roads that have not been gated that we have explored.

There are a few good dirt roads into the National Park, Obstruction Peak off of Hurricane Ridge is a beautiful drive, but currently buried in snow and Hurricane Ridge is closed until Memorial Day. Deer Park road just east of Pt Angeles goes in quite a ways, unpaved but any vehicle can do it, not sure how far you can get before getting snowed out. Several areas of the park have road damage and are closed, complete list on the NP website. If you get out to the far NW corner, Lake Ozette is a great place to visit if you are interested in a 3 mile walk through the rainforest out to a great ocean beach. You can make a 9 mile loop with 3 miles on the beach. Neah Bay has some good scenery and you can do a short walk out to the most NW corner of the country, with a chance of seeing some whales.

 

[Knapps Over]

Good day community.
So my rig (Serenity) has been sitting in storage since Oct in Seattle after returning from Alaska. I'm headed back out this month to inventory, do maintenance and take on a little test run into Olympic National park. I'm in need of suggestions on trails and hazards this time of year. Any info you can provide that you think would be helpful is greatly appreciated.
Get out there and be safe. Well, Coffee 1st safety is more like 3rd.
Have fun
Tom

If you have not already found it, there is a good Forest Service website for the peninsula area Olympic National Forest - Maps & Publications The interactive map is a pretty good tool, it allows you to zoom in, click the road or trail you are interested in and it will give you information on the types of vehicle allowed, when the road is open etc. Keep in mind that open all year does not mean snow free. Gaia GPS provides a Snow depth map layer that can give you some kind of idea, but pretty much ends up with you wont really know till you drive up the road. The forest service land pretty much follows around the boarder of the National Park, and then there is usually private land between there and the water. There are still a few low level logging roads that have not been gated that we have explored.

There are a few good dirt roads into the National Park, Obstruction Peak off of Hurricane Ridge is a beautiful drive, but currently buried in snow and Hurricane Ridge is closed until Memorial Day. Deer Park road just east of Pt Angeles goes in quite a ways, unpaved but any vehicle can do it, not sure how far you can get before getting snowed out. Several areas of the park have road damage and are closed, complete list on the NP website. If you get out to the far NW corner, Lake Ozette is a great place to visit if you are interested in a 3 mile walk through the rainforest out to a great ocean beach. You can make a 9 mile loop with 3 miles on the beach. Neah Bay has some good scenery and you can do a short walk out to the most NW corner of the country, with a chance of seeing some whales.

Great info. Ty. I like the hike through the rainforest to beach.
Well appreciated.

Tom

 

[OTH Overland]

Tom, Not sure when you are arriving or what facilities/space you have where your rig is stored, but if you find yourself in need of any tools etc. that you do not have on hand while doing your maintenance, drop us a message and we would be happy to help out with tools or space if we are home. We are about an hour north of Seattle.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Cape Flattery is a nice short hike and stop at the Makah Museum in Neah Bay for the permit and spend some time there. Definitely stop there before hiking to Lake Ozette.