Road Tripping Washington

Washington, I’ve heard endless stories about how incredible it was, and of all the beauty it holds, but didn’t quite understand it until I actually went there and saw it first hand.

With a urning to get out in nature and see as much as possible in the short 4 days we had there, we pinned on a map the trails in Olympic we wanted to see, got our camping permits, grabbed the car, made a quick pit stop to REI, and off we went.

Our desired locations, Hoh River Forest & Olympic Hot Springs. Though that was our plan, due to several factors, some of those things changed, and it still ended up being an epic trip. Here’s the three major activities we did during our time there.

1. Hoh Rainforest Trail

This 17.4 mile trail leads all the way up to Glacier Meadows. The beauty of this trail is it’s possible to experience even just a small portion of it in a day or do a long weekend and venture further up the glacier. We decided to stay at Lewis Meadow Campground, located at roughly mile 11 miles in.

While not much of a incline for the first 13 miles of the trail, the route does cover lots of ground, and it does involve traversing some rivers (via tree bridges or rocks).

It‘s an incredible experience, especially starting off as you walk through the rainforest part of the hike and are surrounded by massive trees and moss everywhere.

Not to far into the hike you leave behind the crowds of people coming for a day hike and really can enjoy just being in nature. Throughout the hike you follow the Hoh River and catch incredible glimpses of the mountains and glaciers in the area.

All along the trail there are campsites available to stay in, though you must obtain a permit before starting your trek, which you can easily get via the National Parks Services’ site.

2. Mt Rainer National Park

Due to some exhaustion and the heat wave we encountered during our trip out there, after we trekked out, we opted to skip the hot springs and decided to head to Rainer and see what the area was like.

As some one who likes researching areas I at first was a little uncertain what to see or do. But we went with it.

On our drive over we took a pitstop at Lake Crescent, which has some nice drive off points that even offer picnic tables.

When we arrived to the area we found a campsite near to the park entrance and crashed for the evening. The next morning we packed up and drove into the park.

We entered through the South entrance of the park. Since we didn’t have any particular must see in the park, we stopped along the way and checked out some incredible views.

Right off the road we stopped off and I took a short walk to Nisqually River, where the Wonderland Trailhead is at. Unfortunately, due to high waters the crossing for the river was blown out, and instead I just admired the view and to the next stop we went.

Being that Rainer is 14,409 ft tall, even in the dead of summer, and during one of the worst heatwave the states ever experienced, there was snow.

At Henry Jackson Visitor Center, I took a little walk up on the Skyline Loop Trail. While I would’ve like to continue more, my shoes were not the sturdiest in the snow and so I came back down and just enjoyed seeing the area.

Our next and last stop in the park before driving off to Seattle was to Reflection lake. When the snow is melted this lake gives an incredible reflection of Rainer. However, even covered in ice and snow, it still provided a nice sitting and resting spot for lunch.

While we did not explore deep into the park, or do any intense trails for the day, Rainer is still a place I recommend people to check out. It offers a bit of everything for everyone, from right-off the road lookouts, to simple day hikes, and even overnight hikes to the summit.

3. Seattle

Our last stop involved us checking out Seattle for a day. While many things were closed due to the heat wave and COVID restrictions still in place, we took a nice walk through the downtown, checked out the famous market, and ventured to Golden Gardens Park to cool off from the heat. And while the water was freezing, it was so nice to spend sometime chilling and keeping cool during the heat wave.

All in all Washington offered so many new sites to see, and definitely left me wanting to come back for more. And while I didn’t get to see everything, nor even barely scratched the surface, it was a great look into the area and has become a highly recommend place for anyone who wants to spend sometime in nature but also be close to a city.