We Went Camping at Sol Duc in Olympic Peninsula
Even though some things went terribly wrong I'd do it all over again
We grabbed a ferry to the peninsula and drove from Kingston. Just before we got to the camping site at Sol Duc we drove along Lake Crescent which might be the most beautiful drive I’ve ever been on. And I’ve done multiple 3000+ mile road trips.
When we arrived at the campsite it was raining. Unfortunately we weren’t able to keep a fire lit because of the rain, but I set up a tarp, using twine to tie it to different trees over a cement picnic table that was part of the campsite. I set up the tent just outside of the tarp coverage area so the entrance was just under the tarp. I brought a propane stove so we were still able to have some hot food, the aptly named hot dog, as well as some seafood salad from our cooler.
We laid in the tent to go to sleep but I was nervous. This tent had never been through a night of rain before and I didn’t know how it would handle it. I laid down for a bit. In the tent you couldn’t tell the difference between when you’re eyes were open or closed. I always have trouble sleeping in tents but even more so this night. I felt a drop of water hit me on the head. There was a hook sewn in to the tent, I didn’t know if it was a leak or this is where moisture was condensating but I moved over a bit to avoid further drops. Things seemed to be getting more and more moist in there by the minute. Eventually I realized the bottom half of my pillow was completely soaked through.
I knew things weren’t going well, but perhaps there was a chance we could make it through the night and deal with it in the morning, but then I realized water was collecting on the bottom of the tent and I didn’t want my backpack full of electronics and other stuff getting soaked. At about 3am, we got out of the tent and into the car.
I figured we’d find a hotel in Port Angeles which was about an hour east of us. Unfortunately I had to drive out of the campsite to get internet access on my phone, and when I did I made a few calls to hotels, none of which were picking up. I started realizing this wasn’t like a big city where you could get a hotel in the middle of the night.
While we were driving we saw two deer standing on the side of the road. With the absolute darkness around us they both looks like deer ghosts. Which I’m sure they weren’t. Of course they weren’t...
Back to the campsite again, out last option was sleeping in my coup. I put the driver’s seat back and fell asleep around 4am. At around 5am I woke up as the sun came up and it was time to make breakfast. I got a pot of water going for coffee, and we made bacon and eggs over the fire at first and then finished on the stove as I couldn’t get the head distribution right on the pan. We followed this up with smores. Here’s a secret for smores, don’t use Hershey’s milk chocolate, get some dark chocolate and they taste way better.
The area was full of bird songs I hadn’t heard before. I used my app to identify a bunch of beautiful looking birds but I wasn’t able to get any photographs. We decided to pack up all the camping supplies and head back to Port Angeles, a small town with a population of about 20k people. We were able to book a hotel, but before that there was plenty to do. We stopped at Crescent Lake Viewpoint which was beautiful.
Then went to Madison Falls Trailhead, a very short hike from there to a beautiful waterfall, and checking out some of the smaller offshoot trails. I found a bunch of rocks near the waterfall with red streaks in them signifying oxidizing iron.
After that we got to town and after killing some time at Starbucks we found Next Door Gastropub, and got some burgers and poutine. We also spent some time looking at local shops. After that we unpacked at the hotel and slept for hours until around 5pm. Then we found a restaurant called Kokopelli Grill which was just a 10 minute walk from our hotel. I’ve found no matter how small a city is, you can always find excellent restaurants and this was one of them, mostly a seafood menu, they had a local red wine by the glass there that was one of the best wines I’ve had in a long time. It was either Camaraderie Cellars or Harbinger Winery.
We went back to the hotel and pulled all the camping equipment in from the car and opened it up so it would dry out over night. Luckily our hotel room had two large fans plus an air conditioning unit. I watched the Ronda Rousey fight and called it a day.
The next morning we woke up and went to Chestnut Cottage Restaurant, a great breakfast place. They have one of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had, along with chocolate chip pancakes, eggs Benedict, and a Crème Brûlée French Toast. Everything was delicious. We also caffeine maxed, as they were very enthusiastic about coffee refills.
After that we headed to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. It’s about 40 minutes north of Port Angeles and it has some truly spectacular views. Right as we park we saw about 7 deer just hanging out, unbothered by all the humans around.
There is a whole trail system up there which we spent hours exploring. From some of the peaks you can see across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria Canada. There were deer all over and we saw a number of chipmunks.
On the drive back we stopped at a bunch of the different viewpoints. I would say Hurricane Ridge was the highlight of the trip.
The next stop was the Dungeness Nat’l Wildlife Refuge, a strip of lands that pokes out into the water. There is some camping here, which might be a fun trip in the future, and some beautiful views of the waters. The sound of waves crashing into the shores from below is mesmerizing.
Finally we were off to Port Townsend. I wanted to take a different ferry back for variety. We stopped at a restaurant called The Old Whiskey Mill. I got the Artichoke Crusted Halibut and the kids got burgers. The burgers were are quite a spectacle, I would recommend them, as they are huge and delicious.
After checking out some local shops we headed back to the ferry.
I hope to do the Sol Duc camping site again once I’ve figured out how to handle rainy weather better, and then go checkout the west side of the peninsula near forks. The area is huge here and I could see myself planning a trip year after year.