North Cascades National Park and Olympic National Park are in the far northwest corner of Washington and close enough that you can do both in one trip.

North Cascades National Park

We stayed at Howard Miller Steelhead County Park in Rockport, Washington. From there it is a short drive to the east entrance to North Cascades National Park. There were many short hikes along North Cascades Parkway as well as scenic overlooks.

We opted to drive to Diablo Lake Vista Point so that we could have scenic views while enjoying our lunch.

The next day we found a gravel bike trail to ride while our friends explored more of the the park.

Olympic National Park

Quileute Oceanside Resort

On our way west, we traveled to the coast and stayed at Quileute Oceanside Resort. If you want to get away from it all, this is the place to be. Unless you have Starlink, cell service is non-existent. However, to be able to camp along the Pacific Ocean and have amazing views, it was worth the drive.

For those who are familiar with the Twilight books and films, the adjacent town of Forks has embraced the fact that they are known as the Twilight town, even hosting a Twilight convention every year.

Hoh Rain Forest

The Hoh Rain Forest is a little over an hour’s drive from Quileute and is definitely worth it. This part of Olympic National Park has a temperate climate that has produced the most amazing and beautiful rain forest. Get there early as the parking lot will fill up quickly. There are several hikes from the visitor’s center as well as a ranger talk that we found very informative.

Gilgal Oasis RV Park

The town of Sequim (pronounced “skwim”) is near the main entrance to Olympic National Park. We stayed at Gilgal Oasis RV Park in Sequim. This is a small park and the sites are tight, but it was nice for a couple of days.

We drove about 20 minutes to Port Angeles to the main visitor’s center to get the lay of the land before driving up to Hurricane Ridge. This road has switchbacks and drop offs, but the payoff at the top is worth it. We were treated to sweeping valley views and glaciers. If you’re inclined, there is also a hike with more spectacular views, but parking can be difficult.

Other things to do in the Sequim area are:

• Visit a Winery
• Take a bike ride
• Visit one of the many Lavender farms
• Drive to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge along the water where you can see Canada across the way

Conclusion

As you can see, there is so much to see in this northwest corner of the state of Washington. It is worth the drive.

We’re Mike & Jennifer Skinnell, and together we are The Rambling Quilter. We travel the country full-time in our 41ft. fifth-wheel pulled by our F-350 – affectionately named Beauty & The Beast. Jennifer writes our blog, travel articles, contemporary romance, cozy mysteries, and “Don’t Wait – Our Full-Time Journey Through Breast Cancer”. Our blog is purely for information and entertainment purposes. However, if you’d like to support Jennifer’s writing career, her author link to her books is below.