A rainy weekend in the moody Hoh Rainforest!
Chelsea’s sister Emiline and her husband Daniel came to visit in April! We were able to show them some of the rainy PNW that we know and love, including the Hoh Rainforest. April was very rainy this year so there were a lot of mushrooms and lush green plant life.
The Hoh Rainforest is in Olympic National Park. To get there for our 2 day trip we drove from Edmonds (North of Seattle), crossed the Kingston Ferry, and drove to the Hurricane Ridge entrance of the park.
We were able to find a camp spot at Heart O’the Hills Campsite at the base of Hurricane Ridge.
Just so you know:
- It is a first come – first serve campsite with only 1 loop open during the off-season (October – April).
- There are 4 loops total with flush toilets and some hook ups at some of the sites
- Each site has lots of privacy due to fallen logs and small brush cover
- It is VERY hard to get a site in the Summer months. Be sure to plan ahead and go as early as you can to snag a site!
Across from our camp area was this wet area of Skunk Cabbage. We had never seen them blooming before and it was such fun! They are fairly stinky!
The sunset did peak through for a moment and we loved seeing the contrast of the bright tree-tops and the dark understory where our campsite was.
Since it was a rainy Spring this year, the weekend was very cold and very wet but we did enjoy camping and cooking in the drizzly cold weather.
Mushrooms were popping up all over the area! There were so many different types of mosses and mushrooms. They looked perfect with the dewy rain.
If you know the names of any of these fungi, please let me know! They are so fun!
One of the more underrated areas of the forest are the clear pools. Right behind the Visitor Center and right before the Hall of Mosses trail there are small bridges that cross shallow clear pools. They are so pristine that you can see every leaf of every plant in the water. All the plants are green without any dirt covering them at all. We have always found them magical. The raindrop rings add a little extra magic here too.
There was a short break in the clouds at Hurricane Ridge. It was so nice to see those mountains pop out.
We are so glad Emiline and Daniel came to visit! Thanks for hanging out with us in one of our favorite places.
Adventures with the Yells 