45th Stop - Olympic National Park (WA)
Blog Post #56 - Written March 9, 2026
Stay: August 28-30, 2025
So I have to say again that we might have a blackberry problem. Like we were driving along this beautiful bay and saw some blackberry bushes along the side of the road. There were also people down looking for something in the marshes, so naturally, we decided to pull over (we were lucky to find a pull-off big enough to accommodate the truck+trailer on this winding mountain/lakeshore road). We picked our blackberries, then hiked down to discover what was so exciting. There was one group looking for salmon (we found none). But the other man was collecting oysters. He was from southeast Asia and love coming here to collect oysters for his family meal like he used to do in his home country. He let the boys help him collect some in the muck as well! A quick wipe down and then we were off to our campground.
Our campground (Elwha Dam RV Park) in Port Angeles, WA was so much fun. A family had bought the campground a few years ago and revamped it into a very casual, but family-friendly campground. They had a little greenhouse and community garden that their kids had tended as projects in their younger days. They also had a basketball court, an outside Jenga/building blocks set, and a volleyball net. But the best thing was that we arrived just in time for Pizza Night!
Pizza Night became a bi-weekly tradition when a long-term resident asked if he could test a design for a pizza oven. He'd do all the labor if the campground owner provided the supplies. And so this fabulous brick oven was created and Pizza Night became a regular community event. Friends and family of the owners came in and hundreds of pizzas were made by the owners and staff. It was solely donation based. And you could make requests! Like dairy free pizza for me! They had a couple of local musicians performing as well. It was so much fun to chat with the owners and hear their story of how it was raising their kids on a campground, all the odd jobs and small businesses their kids started to earn money, etc. Got our creative juices going, wondering if we could pull off something like it...
The Olympic Peninsula was simply magical. Our drive up into the mountains took us into the clouds. It was cloudy, misty, and downright gloomy. But then we emerged above the clouds! It was so cool! Of course we were enamored, and we promised that on the way down we would capture this majestic scene. But it burned off by the time we left later that afternoon (so sad!)
We spent the day driving and hiking with incredible viewpoints. There used to be an old ski lift that took visitors up to an old lodge. Both are now ruins. We did see a good amount of deer on our hike. We were warned at the campground that they had had a recent cougar attack where a small hiker was snatched from his family (but thankfully retrieved) . So we were on the lookout with D. And of course, she was in a mood and wanted to fall behind the whole time.
The next day we walked around Crescent Lake, a beautiful 12 mile long lake, formed by glaciers. Because of its complete isolation and formation process, the water is low on nitrogen, preventing the growth of algae, keeping the waters stark blue and giving the lake the nickname of "The Caribbean of the Pacific North West." We hiked/biked the Spruce Railroad trail, following the advice to look for "The Devil's Bathtub". This particular alcove of Crescent Lake was a shocking warm blue. Gary jumped off the bridge and some of the higher rocks as well. A boat full of guys from Scandinavia somewhere showed up in their speedos and started jumping from the highest possible point on the rock/cliff wall, doing flips and tricks. They were a lot of fun to watch ;) On the other hand, we helped out one guy who did not know how to swim, but really wanted to bridge jump. Luckily, we convinced him to wear a life jacket that was clipped to the bridge haha.
Our last couple of stops were at some beaches along the Salish Sea (which is apparently the water north of Washington State). I think one was called the Salt Creek Recreation Area and I cannot remember for the life of me the name of the other beach, but it wasn't too far away.
We hiked down a steep staircase to a rocky shoreline covered in algae and moss. Very slippery but full of little tide pools and barnacles. We met a couple who go spearfishing. Well, the husband goes spearfishing and the wife makes sure he doesn't disappear for too long. Gary really wished we had a full body wet-suit so he could go out too.
The waters were frigid, but Gary braved the water to walk across the low tide to a little island off the coast. Z really wanted to go, so Gary graciously carried him all the way. On shore, we found these large driftwood pieces, so of course, started building. The littles and I made a little house/corral. Gary and Z built a teepee. Z found a long bullwhip style of seaweed that they tied to their creation, creating a cool clothesline for everyone to get snagged on.
Just outside our campground was a beautiful river full of salmon and rainbow trout. We had so much fun climbing around. D decided that it was time to swim, but she only brought her birthday suit, so we let her roam (no pics, because you know, nudity, but trust me, she was adorable haha). Absolutely beautiful!
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