| The Hurricane Hill
Trail is one of the great high country trails of Olympic National Park.
Its trailhead is just down Hurricane Hill Road from the Hurricane Ridge
Visitor Center. It is accessible, beautiful, relatively easy, and
vastly rewarding. TRAILHEAD Drive to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center south of Port Angeles. Hurricane Hill Road starts at the far end of the parking area. It has a few tricky turns, so you can't take it in a bus or big RV, but it is a nice paved road. The Hurricane Hill Trail starts at the parking lot at the end of the road. There are bathrooms and picnic areas along the route. (In the winter, this road is the cross country skiing and snowshoe route). |
 The views start right away, so even if you don't walk very far, you get great views of the Olympics. The trail starts out easy, so just about anyone can enjoy it. Almost the entire route is paved, so you can probably do all but final peak in a wheel chair if you are up to a 650' climb. |
 One of the neat things about this trail is that there is almost always some snow around. You can see it from the start of the trail, and there is often a fair bit near the top, so you can make snowballs well in to the summer. |
 The very top of Hurricane Hill is not paved, so you have to follow the dusty dirt trails and step over a few rocks. The views from the very top and the last paved area are not all that different. You can see Port Angeles and Ediz Spit, Victoria and Vancouver Island, the San Juan Islands and floating in the distance, Mount Baker. |
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The
Hurricane Hill Trail is covered with snow in the winter, but this melts
in the spring. The trail is usually passable by mid-June, and it stays
open through October, but we suggest calling the park or checking the website,
especially in the shoulder season. If you keep your eyes open, you can find blue grouse, coyotes, chipmunks, deer, marmots, ravens, and eagles. The chipmunks around the top of the Hill will climb on your shoes if you hold still for a bit. The flower show is something spectacular. There is a short growing season, so once the snows melt, everything starts to bloom. The pictures here were taken in early June, so there is more greenery than petal, but the show continues through July, with lupines, yarrows, and a host of other blooms taking their turns. Come early for the glacier lilies, come late for the yarrow, but keep your eyes open. There is almost always something in bloom. |
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