Side Trips: Details
(These are for Sunday Sept. 7 only.)
Lake
Crescent-Hurricane Ridge
Tour (LC & HR)
The Olympic Peninsula is renowned for it’s
scenic beauty. From the snow capped peaks, deep forests and
shimmering blue lakes, there are few places that rival the raw,
undisturbed splendor of this land. We explore some of the finest
examples of this marvelous ecosystem on this day tour to Lake
Crescent, Marymere Falls, and Hurricane Ridge. The tour can be
joined at mid-day for the Hurricane Ridge visit only.
We will
start our journey from Port Angeles, traveling first to Lake
Crescent, a deep and blue lake carved out by glaciers fifteen
thousand years ago. From the visitors center we will take an
easy walk through a tall and verdant forest to Marymere Falls, a
lovely cascade steeped in moss and ferns. Along the way we will
learn about the complexities of the old growth forest and it’s
inhabitants. From there we will go back through town and up to
the Heart O’ the Hills and wend our way up to the spectacular
views from Hurricane Ridge, easily one of the most famous vistas
in Washington. By the time we reach the top we will have gone
from sea level to sub-alpine forest. From this vantage point and
across the valley of the Elwha, far below, one can gaze upon the
many snow capped peaks of the Olympics, cloaked in glaciers.
Join us
for this adventure that will leave a lasting impression, the
highlight of your visit to the Olympic Peninsula.
LC & HR Itineraries
8:30 am
Depart from Port Angeles from Red Lion Hotel.
9:30 am
Arrive Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls trail head.
9:45 am
Depart on forest walk to falls.
11:45
am
Arrive back at Red Lion Hotel by bus. Box lunch
(included).
Hurricane-Ridge
group will join us.
12:30
pm
Depart Red Lion Hotel for Hurricane Ridge.
On
our way up we will take advantage of one of the pullouts to look
out across the Strait of
Juan de Fuca.
2:15 pm
Arrive at Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center. After an
orientation talk, we will
depart on a nature walk, strolling through meadows of
wildflowers and enjoying
more vistas. After the walk you will have time to check out the
gift shop, or just kick back and enjoy the spectacular views.
4:15 pm
Depart from the visitors center.
5:00 pm.
Arrive back at Red Lion Hotel.
Weather
conditions are unpredictable. It is advisable to wear sturdy
shoes, layered clothing, and bring a water repellant over
garment. Obviously, the peaks of the Olympics can be shrouded in
clouds, so there are no guarantees of views.
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Hoh
Rain Forest and
Rialto
Beach
Tour (HRF-RB)
On the
west slopes of the Olympic Mountains lies an enchanted land of
tall conifers, giant big leaf maples and a vast variety of
shrubs and flowers, all bathed by heavy mists and outright rain
from east bound weather systems from the Pacific Ocean. Yet in
the summer months of July, August and into September little
moisture is available for this dense forest. This is a temperate
rain forest. Unlike it’s counterparts in the tropics, where it
rains everyday, like clockwork, the temperate rain forest
receives the bulk of it’s moisture in the winter months, with
constant rain and thick mists – up to 140 or more inches a year.
These
conditions are ideal for Douglas fir, western hemlock and sitka
spruce. Within a fairly narrow band that is the rain forest, the
largest recorded of these and other species exist. Their size is
often exaggerated by heavy club mosses hanging in festoons from
branches high above the forest floor.
This,
the true “forest primeval”, is home to the majestic Olympic elk,
black-tail deer, black bear and cougar. Scurrying through the
underbrush are deer mice and voles, while Douglas squirrels
scold from the branches of trees above. Bald eagles glide over
the ever changing river plain, looking for salmon carcasses
after they’ve spawned. The “squawk squawk” of raven break the
silence from time to time.
All
this lushness and life and mystery is protected by the Olympic
National Park. With little access by humans, life continues in
the cycles set forth thousands of years ago, after receding
glaciers laid bare the landscape.
If you
have come to experience the isolated and dramatic Olympic
Mountains, your visit will be incomplete without a visit to this
remarkable and rare forest.
Join us
to explore the forest from the Olympic National Park Hoh Rain
Forest Visitors Center. Then take a side trip out to Rialto
beach, where the Pacific storms that feed the forest first meet
the rising land.
HRF-RB Itinerary
8:30 am
Depart Port Angeles from Red Lion Hotel.
9:45 am
Arrive Forks, rest stop.
11:00
am Arrive Hoh
Ranger Station and Visitor Center. After a short visit, we
depart on our walk through the deep forest on the “Hall of
Mosses” trail. Your guide will tell the story of how this
incredible forest functions, and identify many of the abundant
flora and fauna encountered
along the way. With the exception of a short steep pitch at the
beginning, this is an easy
walk with a number of stops along the way.
12:15
pm Return to
Visitor Center for a picnic lunch, included.
1:30 pm
Depart Visitor Center for Rialto beach.
3:00 pm
Arrive Rialto Beach. Rialto Beach is just north of the
mouth of the Sol Duc River
and Quilleute Indian Reservation. You will have time to do some
beach-combing or rest on a beached log to contemplate the
Universe.
3:45 pm
Depart Rialto Beach.
5:00 pm
Arrive back to Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles.
While
the above described schedule is usually kept, one must be
prepared for slight variances brought about by unexpected
events, such as a herd of elk crossing the road and posing for
pictures.
It is advisable to wear sturdy shoes and to bring a moisture
repellent garment, just in case. After all, it is a “rain
forest”.¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥
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Olympic Game Farm (OGF)
OLYMPIC GAME FARM is home to many animal species, both
endangered and non-endangered. Many of our animals are
veterans of the silver screen.
Among many others, OLYMPIC GAME FARM offers buffalo, tigers,
zebras, wolves, yaks and three varieties of bears for the public
to enjoy. We also have an aquarium, which you will see on
the walking tour, a Gift Shop, Petting Farm and our Snack Bar,
"Alice's Restaurant."
OLYMPIC GAME FARM is the place to get face to
face and experience wildlife at close range. We offer the
opportunity to really see a tiger's stripes, a rare white
rhinoceros, a Kodiak bear's huge size or to get slobbered by a
buffalo!
OLYMPIC GAME FARM has been in the business of
entertaining the public for over forty years. Many of our
animals have been stars of television and movies. For many
years, OLYMPIC GAME FARM worked exclusively for Walt Disney
Studios, filming here at the Farm and on the Olympic Peninsula,
as well as on many different locations.
This drive-through tour leaves our visitors with
vivid memories of these amazing creatures. Experiences which at
first are hard to imagine become pleasantly surprising: friendly
llamas eat bread from your hand, performing bears, grazing elk,
buffalo and exotic birds. You will also see many animals which
are on the endangered species list, such as timber wolves,
Bengal tigers, and African lions. In addition to the endangered
species, we are home to coyote, bobcats, cougars, and many
more species.
OGF Itinerary
8:30 am Depart Red Lion
Hotel.
9:00 am Arrive Olympic
Game Farm near Sequim-Dungeness area. Commence tour.
11:30 am Depart Olympic Game
Farm (box lunch included)
12:00 pm Arrive back at Red
Lion Hotel. Option to join HR tour for afternoon.
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