Fun stuff to do on the Olympic Peninsula?

[minnesotamac]

We will be climbing Rainier in August and would like to head on over to the Olympic Peninsula afterwards. Got any good ideas on some fun stuff to do for 2 to 3 days? Anything is game, backpacking, more climbing, etc. Any suggestions/information would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Crux]

Mount Constance

[mattp]

Consider hiking one of the coastal strips, either Lake Ozette to Rialto Beach, or the Hoh River to Third Beach. If you can arrange a car shuttle, they make a good through-hike; if not, hike partway out and then back. Though the water is too cold to swim and there are nasty rip tides and stuff, the beaches out there are as beautiful as any beaches anywhere.

 

The North Fork of the Quinnault is a nice one for day-hiking in the rain forest.

[minnesotamac]

Thanks a lot guys, any more information or ideas would be apprecaited.

[nolanr]

Royal Basin is pretty cool. You can get in and out and do some exploring or tag a summit in one long day, or camp up there and take your time. I think you have to go to the Ranger Station near Pt. Angeles to get an overnight permit, however, which is a pain in the butt because it will cause some extra driving and backtracking. Used to be able to self issue a permit at the TH but not for several years.

 

Or...you could go into neighboring Deception Basin which is more out of the way and forego the whole permit thing, and easily cross the ridge and descend into Royal Basin for a day of exploring.

[Toast]

There are some crag lines that have been put up near the Elwah, I think. You could always tour 101 churches in Port Angeles, but I like Mattp's idea of the Washington beaches. They're shweet.

[nolanr]

Dungeness Spit (5 mile long sand bar leading to a lighthouse) is a fun half-day outing. Costs $3 or something to park.

[spicoli11]

Count the mullets in port angeles when you drive thru

[PVD]

If your time is limited, and you want to get up into the alpine, Mt. Washington and Mt. Stone are pretty straightforward scrambles with great views. If you did Stone, you could camp at Lake of the Angels -- only about 4 miles (and 4,000 vertical feet) up from the Hamma Hamma River Road. Mt. Washington takes only about 5 hours round-trip.

[olyclimber]

Count the mullets in port angeles when you drive thru

 

The mullets are actually in Joyce.

[spicoli11]

Count the mullets in port angeles when you drive thru

 

The mullets are actually in Joyce.

 

How are they going to get out????