Olympic National Park Photo Gallery
My time in Olympic National Park was filled with 12 days of hiking, rain and sunsets. A beautiful park filled with rainforests, beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls.
Our first destination was to hike to Shi Shi Beach. It was a four and a half mile hike to the area called the Point of Arches on Shi Shi Beach. We hiked in with the camping and camera gear. Each of us had about 50 pounds of gear. The hike was two miles in the rainforest and then we had to climb down a 150 foot cliff. The remaining hike was along the Shi Shi Beach to the rock formations known as the Point of Arches.
Sun Exposure: Full sun. Dark red rock and sand reflect the sun, amplifying the heat.
Permits: Day use only. Cost is $5 per person. Limited to 6 people in a group. Each group constitutes one permit. No more than 20 individuals will be allowed daily access into this area - 10 from walk-in permits and 10 from submitted applications. Walk-in permits are available by applying in person for next-day hikes. From mid-March to mid-November permits will be issued at the Paria Contact Station. From mid-November to mid-March, the Paria Contact Station is closed and permits are issued at the Kanab Field Office.
DIRECTIONS:
Take the Edmonds ferry to Kingston.
Cross the Hood Canal Bridge.
Follow Highway 101 through Port Angeles,
Five miles past Port Angeles, veer right to Highway 12,
Follow 112 for about 60 miles to Neah Bay
When entering Neah Bay you will pass the US Coast Guard which is on the left side of the road across from the Makah Museum . Travel 1 1/2 miles (follow the road with the yellow stripe). Right past the Senior Citizen's Building, curve left, where you see the IHS Clinic on your right. Follow the curve to the right and then to the left (follow the signs to Cape Flattery). Go approx. 2 1/2 miles to a bridge on the left, turn and cross it and stay on the paved road. Be sure to mind the 15 mph signs and road humps. Follow the signs to the fish hatchery. Shi Shi trail is 2 driveways before the hatchery.
We set up camp well away from the high tide point and waited for the good light of the sun setting. The tide was low during the sunset hours. There were many tidal pools to photograph while I waited for the sunset. All in All I photographed from 5:30 til 9:30. Ended up with some great shots of the area. Woke up the next day and photographed the morning light, tore down the campsite and hiked back to the trailhead.
Second Beach was one of my favorite places to photograph along with Ruby Beach. It was a short mile hike and down a cliff to the beach. A quick climb over some logs and the rock formations were all very close to each other. It was great for the sunset with the sun setting behind the main rock formations.
This beach can be found in the Olympic National Park along the 101 Olympic coastline. Located near the village of La Push (12 Miles from Forks) this road will go by Third beach trailhead but keep going to you find the Second Beach trailhead.
Sol Duc Falls
Sol Duc Falls was a great place to photograph. I tried here to do something different since we have all seen the traditional view points of this waterfall. I used a fisheye lens here. But of course, I also got the traditional views aw well. I will be updating this page soon with the galleries of the waterfalls from around the Olympic National Park area. You can click on the link above or on the photo from this page to see the rainforest gallery.
Hall of Mosses
The Hall of Mosses is located in the Hoh Rainforest area of Olympic National Park. Since the weather in Washington calls for chance of sun instead of chance of rain, on the rainy days I would shift the photography to either the rainforests or the numerous waterfall in the area. I spent several different days here.
Rialto Beach
Rialto beach is one of the most accessible of the West End beaches for photography. A 2 miles hike down the beach from the parking lot to the Hole in the Rock formation and Split rock sea stack. You will still need to wade through a small stream to get to the main sea stack area here but no hiking down a cliff or trail for this beach. You will take the same road toward La Push and Second and Third Beach, but take the first right when you come to the first gas station. Here you will be on the north side of the Quillayute River which empties into the Pacific
Ruby Beach
Ruby beach was the easiest beach to get access to for the photography and is an awesome place with sea stacks to photograph. You will still need to wade through a small stream to get to the opposite side of the main sea stack here but getting wet is to be expected at Olympic National Park.
The sunset was great during my stop here and was very happy with the photography I was able to do during this time. I stayed there shooting well into the late evening getting the great colors dusk has to offer those who stay out late.
