The park · 45 minutes from the estate
Hurricane Ridge
Hurricane Ridge Road begins a few minutes from the estate and climbs seventeen miles to a mile-high, front-row seat on the interior Olympics — glaciated peaks to the south, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island at your back. It is the closest alpine country to the house, and the first drive we send guests on.
- Drive
- About 45 minutes
- Season
- Daily in summer; Fri–Sun in winter, chains required
- Park pass
- $30 per vehicle, good for 7 days
- Services
- None up top — carry water and snacks
The trails we recommend
Everything starts from the ridge-top parking area at the end of the road, already a full mile above the Strait.
- Hurricane Hill — 3.2 miles round trip on a paved path, about 700 feet of climbing. Moderate effort for a full-circle panorama, from the Olympic interior to the water.
- Klahhane Ridge via the Switchback Trail — 5 miles round trip and 1,700 feet up, most of it early. Strenuous, much quieter, and the best odds on the mountain of meeting goats and marmots.
- The meadow loops — Big Meadow, Cirque Rim, and High Ridge run a quarter to half mile each from the lot. Easy and mostly paved; in July the lupine and avalanche lilies do the work.
Know before you drive up
The 2023 fire took the day lodge and its replacement is still years away, so the ridge currently offers restrooms and little else — no water, no food. Fill bottles and pack a picnic in Port Angeles on your way through.
Summer construction has thinned the main parking lot: aim to be on the road before nine or come for the late afternoon. A $1 shuttle also runs from town daily in high summer if you’d rather skip parking entirely (a park pass is still required).
In winter the road opens Friday through Sunday as weather allows, every vehicle must carry chains, and the little family ski and tubing hill spins up beside the meadows.