Olympic National Park is an unspoiled landscape of sandy beaches, serene lakes, glacier peaks, meadows, streams, and forests. Few people totally immerse themselves in the ocean here without wetsuits, but many families play on this popular and particularly scenic stretch of rugged coast in other ways—clamming, hunting for beach glass, kiting, hiking, biking, and fishing for salmon and steelhead on the nearby Quinault and Hoh rivers. The half-hour ferry ride from Port Angeles to British Columbia, Canada, is a fun side trip.
The park service runs wonderful naturalist programs for children that include beach and tide pool walks, meadow explorations, and a program called Sub-alpine Secrets. Children eight and older can earn junior ranger certificates. Check with the visitor center on arrival. A trip to this part of the Olympic Peninsula is not complete without a visit to one of its rain forests. Easiest to reach is the Hoh Rain Forest, eighteen miles up the Hoh River from U.S. 101. Its visitor center provides information about the trails, as well as raft trips on the Hoh and Queets rivers.
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