Birthday Adventure in the Works…

I'm planning a birthday surprise for my boyfriend (unless he reads my blog)! It'll be a weekend road trip through Olympic National Park in March. I've already starting my planning, so I figure I'll write out my plans here so you can see my process.

Lena Lake hike that is located on the outer east boarder of Olympic National Park.

Initial Planning Steps

I've already selected the dates that align with his birthday weekend. The things I have taken into consideration are…

Time of year for weather conditions
Possible staying options, which that depend on how I want to camp (tent, hotel, or van)

As of right now, I'm leaning toward either renting a camper van or an Airbnb. However, since I am at an age that renting a van comes with additional fees (<25), I most likely will do an Airbnb close to the park.

The Hood Canal cuts through the east side of Mount Olympus

Next Steps

That's all I have for right now, but my next steps would be to look into prices of places to stay overnight and reserve that place to stay. Once that is set, I can go into the finer details of what to do while we're there (the must-sees and dos). And finally, I will plan out the logical route to drive in the timeframe we'll be there.

Since I'm starting two months in advance, I can plan a little bit at a time, making it that much easier.

Updated 1/27/2022 … check back later for more progress!

Final Itinerary: 48 Hour Mini Road Trip

I finally had the time to set my whole plan. Up to this point I only had our accommodations set, but now I filled in our whole itinerary. It took me about 2 hours to put together, and only now had the time to sit down and do it. So here it is...

Day 1:

Part 1: Drive to Coast and Rainforest

Leave Tacoma around 5 am

2 hour and 40 min to Kalaloch Beach - 8am

Tree of Life in Kalaloch campground
Ruby Beach (11 min)
Explore the West Coastline

1 hour to Hoh Rainforest - 10am

Hall of Moss: 1 mile loop trail easy, well paved
50 min to Forks for lunch - 12pm

Part 2: Drive from Rainforest to Hot Springs

1 hour from Hot Rainforest to Sol Duc Hot Springs - 2pm

$15 per person, first come first serve
Open 9am to 8pm with 1.5 hr session times
Hike: Sol Duc Falls 1.6 miles

40 min to Lake Crescent for sunset - 5pm

La Poel
Aurora Creek
Moment in Time
Lake Crescent Viewpoint

45 min to Tiny House Airbnb - 7pm

Sleep for sunrise adventures tomorrow

Day 2:

Hurricane Ridge and Port Angeles

1 hour early morning to Hurricane Ridge

Cirque Rim Trail: 1 mile, easy, paved hike to Sunrise ViewPoint
Explore Olympic National Park

Explore Port Angeles town

Num Num Donuts and Cock-a-Doodle Doughnuts
City Pier
Biking around city
Olympic discovery trail
Feiro Marine Life Center ($6 per person)

2 hours from Airbnb to Home

Final Update 3/22/2022