Summer and fall are the best seasons for hooking a chinook, coho, steelhead, sockeye, or cutthroat on the Sol Duc River.
Sol Duc is a top spot for hiking with kids, with options ranging from the 1.6-mile flat hike to Sol Duc Falls to the more challenging 7.6-mile hike up to Deer Lake. There’s also an easy half-mile loop through an old-growth forest.
Red Hawk Stables in nearby Sequim offers guided trail rides.
The Crescent Lake boat launches, including Storm King Ranger Station and Fairholme, are just down the road from Sol Duc. The Log Cabin Resort and Lake Crescent Lodge also offer canoe and kayak rentals.
Olympic National Park is a peak-bagging paradise, with the 7,980-foot Mt. Olympus as the crown jewel. Other peaks of note include Mt. Deception (7,780 feet) in the Royal Basin area and 7,743-foot Mt. Constance, which operates on a quota system.
The hot springs may close for winter, but nearby Hurricane Ridge offers tubing, skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. Check with the ranger station in Port Angeles to join a guided walk.
In addition to the pool at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort (perfect for laps between hot springs soaks), Lake Crescent beaches can be found off Highway 101 nearby.
Black-tailed deer are common in Olympic (as are black bears, so use provided bear boxes). During a hot spring soak, look up for bald eagles, northern pygmy owls, and black oystercatchers. In September and October, head to the nearby Salmon Cascades Overlook in the Sol Duc Valley to watch for chinook and coho salmon swimming upstream.