Hotels in Olympic National Park

Many campgrounds here are open seasonally, and their exact schedules are subject to change. Campgrounds at higher elevations may be snow-covered (and closed) from early November to late June; seasonal campgrounds at lower elevations may open earlier.

There are no showers or laundry facilities inside the park; the Log Cabin Resort, on the north shore of Lake Crescent at the northern edge of the park, has both.

The park has no RV hookups aside from those at Sol Duc ($33 nightly; www.olympicnationalparks.com; reserve via tel. 866/574-2708), and many sites can accommodate RVs of only 21 feet or less. Use of the park's RV dump stations costs $5. The Log Cabin Resort offers RV sites with hookups.

North- & East-Side Campgrounds

The six campgrounds on the northern edge of the park are some of the busiest in the park, due to their proximity to U.S. 101.

Deer Park is the easternmost of these campgrounds (to get there, take Deer Park Rd. from U.S. 101 east of Port Angeles); at 5,400 feet, it's also the only high-elevation campground in the park. The winding one-way gravel road to the campground will have you wondering how you're ever going to get back down the mountain. (RVs and trailers are prohibited.) Deer frequent the campground, and hiking trails head out across the ridges and valleys.

Because of its proximity to Hurricane Ridge, Heart O' the Hills is especially popular. It's on Hurricane Ridge Road, 5 miles south of the Olympic National Park Visitor Center. Several trails start at or near the campground.

Two campgrounds are on Olympic Hot Springs Road, up the Elwha River, which is popular with kayakers and anglers. Elwha is the trail head for a trail leading up to Hurricane Ridge. Altair has a boat ramp often used by rafters and kayakers. And, yes, there are undeveloped hot springs pools, just a 2.5-mile hike away.

The only national park campground on Lake Crescent is Fairholme, at the west end of the lake. This campground is popular with power boaters and can be rather noisy. South of this area, nearby Sol Duc sits amid impressive stands of old-growth trees near the Sol Duc Hot Springs (and the resort there). Not surprisingly, it is often crowded.

You'll find RV sites with full hookups at the Log Cabin Resort, 3183 E. Beach Rd., on the north shore of Lake Crescent (www.logcabinresort.net; tel. 360/928-3325). Because there are no hookups at any of the national park campgrounds, this is a good choice for RVers. The resort accepts credit cards (DISC, MC, V) and is open year-round.

Southeast-Side Campgrounds

Along the Dosewallips River, you'll find the walk-in-only Dosewallips Campground in a forested setting. The campground is a 5.5-mile hike from the road; a landslide closed the road for cars.

The remote Staircase Campground is inland from the Hood Canal and is a good base for day hikes or as a starting point for a longer backpacking trip. It's up the Skokomish River from Lake Cushman on F.S. 24 and is the trail head for the Six Ridge, Flapjack Lakes, and Anderson Pass trails.

South- & Southwest-Side Campgrounds

If you want to say you've camped in the wettest rainforest in the Lower 48, head for Hoh, a busy campground near the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center.

East of Lake Quinault, North Fork and Graves Creek, reached only by unpaved roads that are prone to washouts and not recommended for RVs, provide access to several long-distance hiking trails.

Queets was closed due to flooding in 2005, but the park rerouted the road and reopened it in 2008. The road often washes out; call for the latest information.

Coastal Campgrounds

Along the peninsula's west side are several beach campgrounds. Busy Kalaloch, at the southernmost portion of the park's coastal strip, is the only Olympic National Park campground that accepts reservations, and only for the period from mid-June through early September (www.recreation.gov; tel. 877/444-6777).

Up the coast is Mora, along the Quillayute River about 2 miles from beautiful Rialto Beach. About 3 miles in from the coast is the remote Ozette, on the north shore of Lake Ozette. It's a good choice for kayakers and canoeists, as well as people wanting to day-hike to the beaches on either side of Cape Alava. This campground may be closed during periods of heavy rain because of flooding.