[fastballfreddy]

How do you rate it? I was up there a couple weeks ago and was somewhat disappointed. I was with family, so wasn't able to do much, just did hurricane ridge, beach 2 and Hoh Rainforest. So I'm definitely not judging it yet. I just got back from Mt. Rainier and that was awesome! So I want to hear from some experts..... What's your favorite part of the park? and while on the subject, what is your favorite National Park? my top three (no order) - Yosemite, Rocky Mt. and Mt. Rainier

[captain jack]

[Eric]

The hoh is nice but crowded. It's also much better in the winter during the rainy season. Aside from the smaller crowds, everything is a vivid green and it is dripping with fresh rain in cool temperatures with mist and fog snaking through the forests. In summer it is hotter, drier, and browner. I love the beaches but they don't seem to work for everyone. Again, I would say strictly offseason but not so much cause they are better then but just because summer is short here in the mtns and you can go to the beaches anytime of the year so gotta spend that time up high while you can. There are some great tidepools along the 101 beaches but you might wish to get further away from the road. Favorite parts of places are secrets round here it seems. But try 7 Lakes basin or Marmot Pass or Grand Ridge for a nice alpine intro to Olympic that might be more pleasurable than Hurricane Ridge. Olympic is a good park and you can't beat the variety. My only complaint is for local country it seems to take forever to drive to except for Staircase. Everthing else seems like a three or four or five hour drive for areas that really aren't that far away as the crow flies. That's the way it goes I guess. I'd pick the Yellowstone/Grand Teton combo as the best park(s). Although ask on another day and you'd get another answer. The Arches/Canyonlands/Capitol Reef/Bryce Canyon/Zion combo is up there as well. Then I'll say NOCA if you factor in the bordering areas of Mt. Baker, the Pasayten and the Glacier Peak area which is really one big area in my mind. Throw in Rainier as the flowers put it over the top among volcanoes. Then maybe Yosemite to round out the top five. I'm probably doing a great disservice to Alaska but I haven't had the chance, yet. I'm still holding onto my ballot until I make it to Gates of the Arctic. Rocky Mtn is overrated. Those mtns are just tall cause the whole Colorado Plateau rises so far up. They got 14eers in CO that make Queen Anne Hill look like Denali.

[Trevor]

I hear larry approaching.

[sarbar]

It's all in the trails you do, the season you go, etc. It doesn't have the peaks of the Cascades-but what it does have is a quietness, a remoteness. For me, the Olympics are my off season playground.

[Tazz]

Olympics can only be enjoyed fully if hiked into. The best stuff is inside the park. Most is a backpack at that. there are some great day hikes but you need to put the pack on to enjoy what it has to offer. The alpine plants are incredible in the Olys. It is hard to compare for me because everywhere is different and special in its own way. My favorite parks go like this. Denali NP( most incredible wild place I have been to), NCNP, RNP, right behind those are all the parks in Utah, then Tetons & Rocky NP. Yosmite is nice but better in winter due to the crowds.

[Don]

T&M is right, Olympic has to be backpacked in order to be fully appreciated. It is not a car tourist's park. I would say the same for NCNP, though it does offer day hikes that put you in some pretty prime spots. Favorite NP's outside of Washington would be Yoho, Jasper (if you count up north, eh?), Glacier in MT and Kings Canyon in CA (Yosemite is nice, but it's no Kings Canyon!). Can I mention the Wind River range or will I be docked points for not adhering to the rules? Yellowstone and Teton didn't excite me much. Alaska and the SW still await.

[harinama]

any way possible get to the low or high divides. Then you really see what the onp has to offer. As has been said, you need to get 10+ miles in to really get a feel for it. I climbed Mt Olympus last season, and the views were incredible! I still consider my trans onp hike (elwah-n. quinalt) in may a number of years ago to be one of the best (hehe and dangerous) hikes i've done.

[markv]

Olympic IS my favorite. Right as everyone says...it's not a driveby. If i had to pick one spot that is my favorite so far, it's Royal Basin/ Royal Lake. It's the ideal overnighter hike, ending in a bowl surrounded by high peaks and waterfalls. Bogachiel is Hoh without the crowds. Even from Hurricane Ridge, it's pretty airy and peaceful if you hike in a couple of hours, NOT on the main trail.

[silence]

[Larry]

I agree with the others on the fact that you need to take a longer hike into the interior to appreciate more of what Olympic has to offer. As an overall park experience, Olympic has it all... from sea level to glaciers, and all the zones of life in between. You've simply got to find your own interpretation of the beauty, man. Don: The Wind Rivers are simply outstanding. I've only been there twice, but they really are a gem.

[Don]

[Don]

[dicentra]