Hurricane Ridge

On Tuesday morning we packed a lunch and headed for Hurricane Ridge.  The road to the top is 17 miles and starts from the town of Port Angeles.  The Olympic National Park Visitor center is a short 5 miles up the mountain.  Then you drive another 12 miles to Hurricane Ridge at the top of the mountain.
Hurricane Ridge is a mountainous area located in the Olympic National Park.  At an elevation of 5,242 feet.  Hurricane Ridge is a year round destination.  In the summer, visitors come for the views as well as hiking.  In the winter months they come to ski and snowboard.  It is named for its intense gales and winds.  The weather is unpredictable and visitors should be prepared for snow at any time of the year.   However, it was very calm and pleasant the day we were there.  Sunny and warm.  There are places to stop along the way for picture taking or just to look out over the breathtaking views.  However, nothing compared to the top of the mountain.  From the parking lot at the top you have views of the snow covered Olympic mountains.  There are several short hiking trails that give you different views of the surrounding areas.  There is also a steeper, longer trail that leads to the very top of the mountain.

  There were 3 tunnels in a row on the road leading to the top.  The roads are very good and it was a nice easy ride.

At this overlook you could see the town of Port Angeles below as well as Mt. Baker in the distance.  We hadn't seen Mt. Baker since we left Anacortes.  You could also make out the Victoria, BC across the Straits of  Juan de Fuca.

There are deer everywhere in this part of Washington, so we weren't surprised to see this deer as soon as we stopped in the parking lot.

The is the visitor center located at the top of the mountain at Hurricane Ridge.

 

Gorgeous views of the snow covered Olympic mountains.

There were still some patches of snow on this mountain top as well.

More deer that crossed in front of us when we were on the short hike to the viewing point.

We stopped at the picnic area  to have lunch.  I was a little surprised when this bird landed on the table and took a piece of bread from my fingers.  He just reached out and took it......Yikes!  Kinda like the seagulls at the beach when you are trying to eat!