The Hoh, Quinault, and Queets rainforests receive 12 to 14 feet of precipitation annually, making them among the wettest places in the continental United States. The result is temperate rainforest of extraordinary lushness: Sitka spruce and western red cedar towering 300 feet, every surface covered in moss, nurse logs supporting new trees that stand on roots above their decaying predecessors. The light is green-filtered; the silence is broken by dripping. The Hoh Rain Forest Trail provides accessible exploration; deeper wilderness requires backcountry permits. The rainforests occupy the western valleys, moisture-laden Pacific air dropping its burden as it rises toward the mountains.

Mount Olympus rises 7,980 feet from sea level, its summit glaciers visible from the coast. The Olympic Mountains are young and jagged, their peaks not yet eroded to the rounded forms of older ranges. Approximately 60 glaciers persist despite recession; the Blue Glacier is the largest. The mountains create their own weather, wringing moisture from Pacific storms, creating the rain shadow that leaves Sequim, on the peninsula's northeast, semi-arid while the Hoh drowns. The Hurricane Ridge Road provides vehicle access to alpine meadows; summit climbs require mountaineering skills. The mountains block easy passage; no road crosses from one side to the other.

The Olympic coast is the longest wilderness coastline in the contiguous United States - 73 miles of sea stacks, tidepools, and beaches accessible only by foot. The waves are Pacific-sized, arriving from thousands of miles of open ocean. Sea stacks dot the surf zone, remnants of headlands slowly eroding to islands. Tidepools at low tide reveal anemones, starfish, and urchins. The beaches are gravel and sand, littered with driftwood logs massive enough to crush the careless. Headland crossings require overland rope routes above the surf. The coast is part of the park but discontinuous, separated by Indigenous reservations. The wildness is genuine; the danger from waves and tides is real.

Olympic's isolation created endemic species found nowhere else: the Olympic marmot, the Olympic torrent salamander, several fish species. Roosevelt elk, the species named for Theodore Roosevelt, roam the river valleys in herds. Black bears are common; mountain goats, introduced in the 1920s, became so numerous and aggressive that removal programs were implemented. The waters offshore support gray whales, orcas, and sea otters (reintroduced after near-extinction). The completeness of the ecosystem - from seafloor to summit, from predators to prey - makes Olympic a biological reference point for what the Pacific Northwest once was throughout.

Olympic National Park is located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, accessible from Seattle via ferry to Bremerton or Bainbridge Island, or by driving around Puget Sound. The park has no through roads; access is from multiple peripheral points. Hurricane Ridge (south of Port Angeles) provides mountain access. The Hoh Rain Forest is on the west side, accessed from Highway 101. Coastal access points include Rialto Beach and Kalaloch. Plan for weather: rain is frequent, particularly on the west side. Backcountry permits required for overnight wilderness camping. The park's size and lack of internal roads mean choosing a focus; attempting to see everything in one visit is impossible. The experience rewards depth over breadth - a rainforest day, a mountain day, a coast day, each complete in itself.