Olympic National Park

The coast here is one of the most striking in the country: Rialto Beach, Second Beach, Ruby Beach and Kalaloch have sea stacks, driftwood piled like matchsticks and tide pools full of anemones and starfish. They are beaches for walking, not swimming. The Pacific stays around 10-13°C even in August, rip currents and rolling logs make the surf dangerous, and fog often sits on the shore in summer.

The swimming that does happen is in the lakes. Lake Crescent's very clear water and Lake Quinault are cold but bearable for a quick dip on a warm July or August afternoon. Nobody plans a stay here around lying on the sand.

Eating is at its best in the towns along the north shore, not in the park itself. Port Townsend has the most varied offer, with bakeries, cafés, seafood places and a local cider and farm culture. Port Angeles and Sequim add more casual cooking. The main local produce is Dungeness crab, named after the spit near Sequim, along with oysters and clams from Hood Canal, smoked salmon and berries in late summer.

On the west side, around Forks, Kalaloch and the rainforest valleys, the choice drops to diners, lodge dining rooms and whatever you bring for a picnic. Most visitors should treat food as fuel between hikes.

The peninsula's built heritage is mostly in Port Townsend. It is a Victorian seaport whose brick waterfront and hilltop houses survive almost intact, with the old coastal artillery post of Fort Worden on its edge. At Neah Bay, on the far north-west tip, the Makah Museum holds artefacts from the Ozette village, buried by a mudslide centuries ago, and is the best way into the whaling culture of the coast's Native peoples.

Inside the park, the historic lodges at Lake Crescent and Lake Quinault are pleasant period buildings. Beyond these, there is little to see indoors.

Evenings are quiet. Port Townsend and Port Angeles have a few pubs, taprooms and wine bars that stay open into the evening, but nothing runs late and there are no clubs. Inside the park and along the west coast, night means a campfire, a lodge lounge or a sky full of stars.

This is the reason to come. Three very different landscapes share one park. The Olympic Mountains rise to glaciated peaks around Mount Olympus, and Hurricane Ridge, above Port Angeles, gives an easy view across meadows full of wildflowers in July. On the wet west side, the Hoh and Quinault valleys hold temperate rainforest where moss hangs from huge spruces and maples. The Pacific coast, roadless for long stretches, has sea stacks, headlands and multi-day beach hikes timed to the tides.

Roosevelt elk graze in the rainforest valleys, black bears and marmots live in the high country, and grey whales pass the coast in spring. Hikes range from short loops to days-long backcountry routes like the Enchanted Valley. Kayakers paddle Lake Crescent, and the waterfalls at Sol Duc and Marymere are an easy walk. Summer is the dependable season. The west side gets heavy rain in winter, and the snow closes the high trails until early summer.

The standout outing is across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A car ferry from Port Angeles reaches Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, in about an hour and a half, with its harbour, parliament buildings and gardens; bring a passport. Port Townsend is a good day out from the eastern side of the park. From there, another ferry crosses to Whidbey Island and the old town of Coupeville.

Closer in, Sequim's lavender farms are at their best in July. The long drive out to Neah Bay combines the Makah Museum with the walk to Cape Flattery. Seattle is reachable by road and ferry, but at well over two hours it works better as a stop on the way in.

For a family that likes being outdoors, the peninsula works well. Children love the tide pools at low tide on the coast, spotting elk in the Hoh valley, and short, flat trails such as the Hall of Mosses or the walk to Marymere Falls. Port Angeles has a small marine life centre on the waterfront, and near Sequim a long-running drive-through animal park lets bears and elk come up to the car.

The hard parts are distance and weather. The main areas are one to three hours apart by car, the ocean is too cold and rough for children to play in, and rain gear is needed even in summer. Port Angeles or a lakeside cabin makes the easiest base.

You need a car. Highway 101 loops around three sides of the park, and no road crosses the mountains, so every area is reached by driving around the edge, often down a long spur road. The roads are good and traffic is light, but distances add up: Port Angeles to the Hoh rainforest is about two hours, and the full loop takes most of a day's driving.

Most visitors split their stay between the north side (Port Angeles or Lake Crescent) and the west side (Forks, Kalaloch or Lake Quinault). Rural buses exist but do not reach the trailheads in any useful way. Getting here from Seattle usually means a ferry across Puget Sound.

Shopping is limited. Port Townsend's Victorian main street has galleries, antique and book shops, and Sequim sells lavender in every form. Native carvings and prints turn up in a few places on the coast. Elsewhere it comes down to outdoor gear, groceries and park gift shops.

The peninsula is not cheap in its summer season. The historic lodges and coastal cabins inside the park are expensive and booked well ahead, and restaurant meals in the towns cost what they do elsewhere in the American West. The savings come from camping, which is plentiful and simple, and from the chain and independent motels in Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks. Once you have paid the park entry fee and filled the tank, hiking costs nothing.

Live performance gathers in Port Townsend, especially in summer. The arts centre at Fort Worden has a long tradition of week-long workshops and festivals, with jazz, blues and old-time fiddle music. The town also has a small professional theatre and a few venues with local bands. Port Angeles adds a community symphony and occasional concerts. Away from these two towns, the evenings bring ranger talks rather than performances.

The peninsula's one bathing tradition is at Sol Duc. Here, natural mineral water from the hot springs feeds a set of pools at the end of a forest valley road, open roughly from spring to autumn. It is a simple soak among the trees rather than a spa. Beyond that, the wellness offer is the pace itself. Quiet lakeside lodges at Lake Crescent and Lake Quinault, no phone signal in many valleys, the rain on the forest and long evenings with nothing to do make it an easy place to switch off. Massages and treatments are limited to a few small spas in the north-shore towns.