Olympic National Park offers accommodations at five lodges and resorts, allowing visitors to match their vacation plans with a complementary setting. Each location serves as a gateway to a distinct environment within the park — whether it’s a pristine forest lake, the Pacific Coast beaches or the temperate rainforest — each with its own spectacular features.
Here's a guide to each of the lodges and resorts to help you find accommodations best suited for your interests and activities. (Note: Prices and other details are subject to change; please check websites for the most current information.)
Lake Quinault Lodge
(Vacation match: Romantic couples getaway. As of this writing, rooms start at $327.)
Located in the Olympic National Forest (adjacent to Olympic National Park), this lakeside lodge was built in 1926 and is open all year.
Entering the lodge, visitors are welcomed by a charming lobby with comfortable sofas and chairs around a giant brick fireplace. The bar and dining room are just off the main lobby. This is a classic national park structure with lake-view rooms, surrounded by mammoth red cedar and towering Douglas fir. Though not permitted in the lodge, dogs are welcome nearby in the Boathouse rooms.
The dining room is named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who visited the park and ate at the lodge in 1937 (nine months before signing a bill to create Olympic National Park). As inviting as the Roosevelt Dining Room is, consider earning your leisure first by taking a hike.
There are several hiking trails to choose from, the closest being Cascade Falls Trail, which begins across the street from the lodge. This loop trail, about a mile and a half, takes you through incredibly green, lush surroundings. You are in the rainforest, so bring your raincoat just in case: Don’t let a little moisture hold you back!
You’ll hike by fallen logs covered in moss, sprouting ferns and tree saplings. The moss is everywhere: hanging from branches, coating tree trunks and carpeting the forest floor. Even on a misty day, the different shades of green seem vibrant.
When you return to the lodge, treat yourself to a meal in the dining room while looking out over the peaceful waters of Lake Quinault. Like the surrounding forest, the lodge grounds have a beautiful stillness about them that feels romantic. It makes you slow down, take stock and appreciate what (and who) is around you.
Open year-round; 345 S. Shore Road, Quinault; olympicnationalparks.com/lodging/lake-quinault-lodge
Kalaloch Lodge
(Vacation match: People seeking majestic beach walks. As of this writing, rooms start at $393.)
North of the Quinault Indian Nation, you’ll find Kalaloch Lodge just off Highway 101, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Open year-round, the lodge is situated on a 50-foot bluff, beside Kalaloch Creek, which makes its way west to the surf. "Kalaloch" is a Quinault word referring to “a good place to land,” and the estuary indeed looks like a fine landing spot, both for canoes and for shoreline visitors.
Waves rolling in across the beach provide a constant background sound punctuated by the calls of seagulls. Scan the horizon over the Pacific and take in the salt sea air as you walk along the very edge of the map.
The lodge, built in 1953, houses cozy rooms as well as a restaurant. There are also pet-friendly cabins available, facing the Pacific — simple but quite comfortable. The beaches along the coast are the immediate attraction. You could easily spend a day — or more — beach walking. You’ll find extended flat sandy stretches of ocean beach inviting barefoot walks; sections that are rocky, sporting millions of rounded skipping stones; and even driftwood-strewn patches, chock full of gray-and-white logs bleaching in the sun.
You can't help but be inspired by the majesty of the vast Pacific. The beaches, too, look like they go on forever.
Take advantage of side trips to hike in the Hoh Rain Forest. The Hall of Mosses Trail is especially intriguing.
Open year-round; 157151 U.S. Highway 101, Forks; thekalalochlodge.com
Lake Crescent Lodge
(Vacation match: Individuals relaxing at classic lakeshore lodge. As of this writing, rooms start at $193, cottages at $399.)
Lake Crescent Lodge, accessible from Highway 101, is open from the end of April to the beginning of January, and open on weekends only from January to late April. The lodge overlooks its namesake and is surrounded by old growth, evergreen brush and rhododendrons. The view of the lake from the lodge is breathtaking, backed up by forest and mountains, Pyramid Peak being the most prominent. There are lodge rooms, cabins and other lakeside accommodations, all surrounded by thick woods. Dogs are permitted in certain cottages.
The lodge interior has a “hunting cabin” look of rough-cut post-and-beam construction and natural wood ceilings. Its classic national park lodge look feels right at home among the evergreens and rhododendrons, and invites you to put your feet up. Dark wood paneling complements a large stone hearth, surrounded by couches. The setting is relaxing (cards or perhaps a board game, anyone?) and includes a dining room, bar, lounge area and sunroom veranda.
Step out from the lodge and cross the beach to the lake, and you’ll see swimmers diving off the pier that juts out into the water. Paddleboards, canoes and kayaks can be rented on the beach. Adirondack chairs are scattered along the lakeshore, inviting you to shift gears and slow down. Picnic along the lakeside or enjoy a drink outdoors while taking in the view.
The trail to Marymere Falls is close by, or, for a more demanding hike, try the trail to Mount Storm King.
Operating season: Full time late April to beginning of January, weekends only beginning of January to late April; 416 Lake Crescent Road, Port Angeles; olympicnationalparks.com/lodging/lake-crescent-lodge
Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort
(Vacation match: Adventure-seekers enjoying unique water activities. As of this writing, cabins start at $281.)
Located in the northwest region of Olympic National Park, Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort is about 40 minutes west of Port Angeles. Leaving Highway 101, you’ll get that “outward bound” feeling as you drive deep into the woods surrounded by towering fir, spruce and cedar. The resort is open from the third week in March to the beginning of November.
Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort is made up of rustic cabins, RV sites, a campground, a dining room and small store (dogs are permitted in the campground and cabins only). The main attraction is the open-air natural hot spring pools. There are three mineral soaking pools and one freshwater pool, inviting a rejuvenating experience. Pay an entrance fee ($18 for adults, $12 children and seniors) and — even if you aren’t staying at the resort — you can access the pools.
The other drawing card to the resort area is Sol Duc Falls. Two trails — one short, one longer — lead to a bridge overlooking the cascading water. On both trails, you’ll hike by huge evergreen trees where the surrounding earth is carpeted in golden-green moss. Tree roots and fallen logs are also covered in moss. Be on the lookout for a straight line of trees, the work of an earlier “nurse log” (a fallen tree that, decomposing, served as a long, narrow nursery platform for new tree seedlings).
You’ll hike alongside the busy Sol Duc River, pushing its way through the forest, before you approach the falls. The waterfall — actually three falls close together — roars through a stone chasm where moss clings to vertical rock walls and mist rises above the churning water. (An 18-year-old man who fell while walking atop the falls died earlier in June, temporarily closing the falls as of this writing . Check the Olympic National Park website for further information.)
The bridge allows a head-on view of the waterfall, which then roars below you. There is also a side trail from which you can admire the triple falls and the water boiling through them.
You're in the rainforest with a waterfall in front of you, a rushing river below you, and mist rising above you. Added to the hot springs, there is water — and adventure — all around you.
Operating season: late March to early November ; 12076 Sol Duc Hot Springs Road, Port Angeles; olympicnationalparks.com/lodging/sol-duc-hot-springs-resort
Log Cabin Resort
(Vacation match: Group of friends or extended family gathering. As of this writing, accommodations range from $112 to $378, depending on type.)
This is a smaller resort tucked away on the northeast side of Lake Crescent, nestled among cedar, fir and rhododendrons. Log Cabin Resort, open from the middle of May to the end of September, is probably the most versatile for types of accommodations: lodge rooms, log cabins and lakeside A-frame chalets, as well as tent camping, RV hookup sites and bike sites. Dogs are welcome in the Camper cabins and in the campground. The surroundings convey a childhood feeling of “summer camp,” welcoming kids, parents and family friends.
“This is a quieter place,” a resort employee told me. “We’re a little more casual than Lake Crescent Lodge over there across the water.” He motioned to the west and added, “We’re a little more removed.”
The resort offers a beautiful view of the lake, framed by forested mountain peaks. Walking along the lake’s beach, I was captivated by the water’s clarity and color, its turquoise hue the result of Olympic Mountains glacial runoff.
There are boat, canoe and kayak rentals. Or choose to relax in the restaurant and bar, which overlooks the lake. I did feel a more “laid-back” vibe at the resort as I watched children playing on the beach and adults parked in Adirondack chairs pulled up to the shore. I also saw families enjoying their cabins — each with their own picnic table and fire pit.
The Spruce Railroad Trail (wheelchair accessible and dog friendly) is nearby, offering hiking and biking opportunities.
Operating season: middle of May to late September ; 3183 E. Beach Road, Port Angeles; olympicnationalparks.com/lodging/log-cabin-resort
