Life with ArielIt’s unfortunate that US national parks don’t allow dogs in most places. Same for Olympic National Park. People always ask me how I brought Ariel into the parks and what activities we did. First of all, you don’t have to fake your dog as a service dog or break the rules in order to bring them to the parks. As I wrote in my blog about Death Valley National Park, dogs are allowed into national parks. They are usually allowed in developed areas such as campgrounds and paved or dirt roads. Second, some parks allow dogs on a few trails. Usually those trails are short but pretty. Last but not the least, the recreation or wilderness areas around national parks often offer equally great views and trails. They typically allow dogs. So there’s always a way for dogs to enjoy your national park roadtrips.
Here’s Ariel and my itinerary for Olympic National Park. We were on a long roadtrip from California to Alaska traveling in our RV. This’s one of the highlights of our trip.
Accommodation
For visits to national parks during summer time, you have to book campgrounds or nearby hotels way ahead of time. I tried to book Olympic National Park’s campgrounds 4 months before my trip. Everything had already been booked out. In fact, the campgrounds are gone the moment the booking window is open. So follow national parks’ websites closely about their reservation window if you want to live inside the parks. Ariel and I ended up camping at a RV park near Elwha River Valley. I don’t recommend it as it’s pretty crowded and the space between motorhomes was very tight.
Day 1: Visitor Center, Elwha River Valley, and Sol Duc Valley
Port Angeles Visitor Center
Olympic National Park has multiple visitor centers and they are far apart. One thing I don’t like about the park is that, unlike other national parks, there is no major scenic drive inside that connects you to different parts of the park. To get to different places, you have to drive around the park on the windy Highway 101, which is time-consuming. For example, to get to Hoh Rainforest from Lake Crescent, you have to drive about 50 miles to the west then south. Definitely take this into consideration when you are planning your trip.
We stopped at the Port Angeles Visitor Center on Day 1. There’s a dog friendly trail behind it, called Peabody Creek Trail. The entire trail is shaded and very pretty, accompanied by the soothing sound of Peabody Creek. It’s covered by various types of plants and trees that I have never seen in California. We were overwhelmed by the lush greens. It’s a great first stop and definitely raised my expectation about Olympic National Park.
Elwha River Valley
Driving west, we reached Elwha River Valley. The Madison Falls Trail there is dog friendly, short and flat. Madison Falls is a small waterfall only about 50ft high, but cute and pretty. What’s better is that its parking lot is right next to Elwha River and you can walk to the beach. The water level was not that high by late June when I visited. But it’s a good view with the mountains, forests and wildflowers. In addition, the Olympic Hot Springs Rd that goes into the valley was closed to cars. So Ariel and I were able to walk on the paved road and enjoy the valley.
Sol Duc Valley
Sol Duc Falls in Sol Duc Valley is one of the most iconic and picturesque places in Olympic National Park. Unfortunately, none of the hiking trails in the valley allow dogs. The Sol Duc Road is a very scenic drive guarded by tall trees. And it’s not too busy if you are away from popular sightseeing spots. You can walk your dog on the paved road for a bit to stretch legs. But I don’t recommend hiking long distance on a roadway. Alternatively, you can book the Sol Duc Campground and dogs are allowed there.
If the humans really don’t want to miss out the Sol Duc Falls, go ahead and leave your pup in the car. The Sol Duc Falls Trail is only about 1.6 miles roundtrip from the parking lot and pretty flat. I completed it in half an hour. Ariel was fine by herself in the car with the windows open. However, don’t do this if the outside tempature is too high (over 75F) with no breeze or if your pup will bark non-stop when left alone.
Day 2: Lake Crescent and Rialto Beach
Day 2 itinerary was short because, as I mentioned before, the drive from one place to another took time. We made it to Lake Crescent and Rialto Beach. It turnt out Day 2 was get-close-to-water day!
Lake Crescent
We actually bypassed this lake several times in Day 1 because a decent portion of Highway 101 is right next to it. I didn’t mind the repetitive drive at all because the view was amazing. The lake reflects different shades of blue and green when seen from different angles.
There are several ways dogs can enjoy this lake. First, there are many vista points along Highway 101 that all offer awesome views. Or, hike the Spruce Railroad Trail. It is one of the few trails in the park that are dog friendly. The majority of the 11.2-mile trail is along the lake. You don’t have to complete all 11 miles to enjoy the beauty of Lake Crescent. However, this trail is extremely popular and parking is difficult, so I recommend you go early in the day. Lastly, find beach access in remote areas. I drove along the E Beach Road and there were several turnouts that had beach access and were away from the crowd. A few other people were swimming and paddling there. Ariel and I happily tapped the water and played fetch.
Rialto Beach
Rialto Beach is another popular destination in Olympic National Park and dog friendly. However, it’s a bit far, about 1.5 hours of drive from Port Angeles. It’s famous for the view of rock formations in the Pacific ocean, the pebble beach, and the tree graveyard as a result of tornados. I had to say I was not impressed, maybe because it was an overcast day. But I could imagine how it looks when it’s sunny. It can’t compare to California coastlines and beaches. However, the tree graveyard was new to me. Piles of dead giant trees, especially on a gloomy day, were pretty demonstrative of the aftermath of deadly tornados.
