The first snow of the season made it even more impressive. We were not the only visitors who had not expected snow so early in fall but hey these are the Olympic Mountains with Hurricane Ridge elevation of 5240ft. A lot of the tourists showed up in shorts and short sleeves. We were at least in long pants and wore anoraks, which allowed us to stay longer and enjoy the spectacular views! The below photos are all from yesterday!
Now being Sequim residents, you bet we don't only take our friends to Crescent Lake for some hiking, a visit to John Wayne Marina with a nice lunch (not cheap though) at the Marina restaurant overlooking Sequim Bay, nice walks or bike rides on the Discovery Trail and if it's berry season on a 'U-Pick Berry Tour', a visit to Hurricane Ridge is a must see on the list of things to do on Sequim vacation.
However, one thing can get in the way...it's the weather on Hurricane Ridge, which can be quite stormy. Why else the name?! That's why always make sure to call and check the 24-hr Olympic National Park Road and Weather Information Line at 360-565-3131 to make sure the weather has not shut down everything. Visit the Hurricane Ridge website for information on ski lifts, ticket prices and more.
However, one thing can get in the way...it's the weather on Hurricane Ridge, which can be quite stormy. Why else the name?! That's why always make sure to call and check the 24-hr Olympic National Park Road and Weather Information Line at 360-565-3131 to make sure the weather has not shut down everything. Visit the Hurricane Ridge website for information on ski lifts, ticket prices and more.
We had planned a winter outing to Hurricane Ridge many times during this winter season but with only the weekends offering access to the mountain, it's a gamble to find the right weekend. Many times during last winter season chains were required for the mountain access road and even our snow tires would not do. Finally yesterday on Easter Saturday, when the weather forecast for the entire day had sounded really promising, we checked first time the weather for the Ridge at 8:30am. It still sounded good with temperatures on the summit at 24 F. Brrrrrr! We checked again 2 hours later. The road was all the way open to the mountain. Snow tires were still required.
11:15am we got on our way to Port Angeles, turned on Race St to Olympic National Park, showed our senior National Park pass - allows you free entrance to all National Parks for a lifetime - at the park entrance and went up the windy road to the summit, with lots of aaahhhs and ooohhhs. What vistas! The higher we came the higher the snow piled on the side of the road. We arrived on Hurricane Ridge around 12:15pm. The sun was shining. The open area at the parking area is kind of windy and makes it feel colder there but as soon as we walked - we did not rent snow shoes, walking worked fine - to the lifts, we felt very comfortable in our warm winter clothes with gloves and scarves and hats.
The ski lifts very busy with an amazing number of snow boarders versus skiers. Lots of young people seem to prefer the snow boards to skiing these days. We had a great time to watch everybody. There was even a slalom competition for kids going on, which might have been the reason that stands sold hot dogs and hamburgers. Of course, one also could warm up at the Visitors Center and buy some food at the restaurant there. We had brought our own sandwiches and some delicious tea, which we enjoyed with the great views of the Olympic Mountains.
When you come from Seattle for a weekend visit to Sequim, bring some warm clothes with you. You may be lucky for an amazing trip to Hurricane Ridge and afterwards relax at the Jacuzzi or saunas at SARC. A Sequim vacation can be quite rejuvenating! Happy Easter everybody!
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