OLYMPIC SUMMITS, BIRDS & BEACH ENCOUNTER
FULL DAY TOUR
Tour Length: 11 Hours
Tour Code: EV03
Pick-Up: City Hotels / Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66
Departing: 7:30a
Returns: 6:30p
Activities: Hiking, intertidal beach walks, birding & educational Sightseeing
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
Carbon Footprint:
Cost: $175 per person
Season: Year Round
Min No of Passengers:
Inclusions:
Hotel pick up and drop off, highly qualified and knowledgeable naturalist guide, travel in luxury air - conditioned vehicles, home made morning & afternoon tea, sumptuous lunch or picnic, selected Washington wines and refreshments, all park entry fees and comprehensive commentary.
Description:
Be whisked away with your guide starting the day with a short driving tour down Seattle’s Waterfront and historic district, Pioneer Square! We head down to the waterfront’s Pier 52 and take scenic 30-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island, keeping an eye out for one of our resident Orcas, Porpoise, Stellar or California Sea lion, Seal, River Otter and many types of seabirds!
The roadway along the curved shoreline of Hood Canal and across the Hood Canal bridge offers visitors spectacular scenery and the chance to enjoy the beauty of the region while cruising along U.S. Highway 101. This scenic roadway hugs the edge of the deep-water fjord where Orcas occasionally visit and giant octopus sleep deep beneath the surface. In places, the forest grows right to the edge of the shoreline.
The Olympic Peninsula is a microcosm of Northwest ecosystems: Here you find remote beaches littered with tide-scoured cedar logs alongside the country's oldest forests and one of the state's most dramatic mountain ranges. The options are endless, and your senses will never rest. More than 12 feet (3.7 meters) of precipitation falls on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula every year, feeding the incredibly diverse ecosystems preserved at this national park. Sixteen species of plants and animals evolved here and nowhere else. Olympic harbors some of the greatest true wilderness left in the contiguous United States, including a lush temperate rain forest. Depending on your guide you may visit a waterfall or two or possibly take a short hike into the interior where you may catch a glimpse of Roosevelt elk, named for Theodore Roosevelt, who decreed that they be protected here. Next head toward the Olympic National Park and take time to stop at Scenic spots along the way for incredible photo opportunities. Shortly after US 101 makes the bend and starts running west along the Strait of Juan de Fuca comes the pastoral Dungeness Valley, sandwiched between the strait and the snowy peaks of the Olympic Mountains. In addition to providing a scenic backdrop for dairy cows and berry farms, those mountains cast a rain shadow across the sunny valley, which receives only 17 inches [43.2 centimeters] a year. This escape will take you to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge for some incredible bird viewing and the majestic Hurricane Ridge for a hike or snowshoe adventure! Depending on the season you may even have a chance to go crabbing or digging for clams.
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge - Along the valley’s scenic loop is the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. Its main feature is a 5.5-mile [8.9-kilometer] sand spit that hooks out into the strait to an old lighthouse. During spring and fall thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds descend on the shallow waters protected by the spit, and people hiking along it can see bald eagles, great blue herons, loons, and harbor seals.
PORT ANGELES, as the name suggests, the action is down at the port. From atop the observation tower on the City Pier (Foot of Lincoln St.), visitors can see huge ships gorging on logs for export; the paper, pulp, and plywood mills that line the harbor; the tankers and cargo ships plying the shipping lanes in the strait; and, in the background, Vancouver Island to the north and the Olympic Mountains to the south. Your naturalist guide will take you on a short beach walk providing insight into the world of sea cucumbers, sea anemones, giant Pacific octopuses, and sea slugs—there’s even a chance to gently handle some critters.
Lunch today is at a local favorite, Bella Italia, a traditional Italian restaurant located in the heart of downtown Port Angeles. Bella features fresh Seafood, locally grown organic vegetables, Wine Bar and Retail Wine Sales. We highly recommend their spicy cioppino! Time permitting you may have a chance to explore this charming little town’s boutiques, arts and crafts on your own.
Hurricane Ridge – We bring those background mountains into the foreground and head south on Hurricane Ridge Road into a few of the 922,626 acres [373,120 hectares] that comprise Olympic National The paved road winds up over 5,000 feet [1,524 meters] to Hurricane Ridge, a justifiably popular mountain citadel that puts visitors at the edge of the park’s exceptionally jagged peaks. Several fine trails fan out from here, but if the group is up to it we will take the 3-mile [4.8-kilometer] round-trip Hurricane Hill Trail. The grade is steep, but that’s all right, because you’ll want to stop to admire the brilliant wildflowers that throng the meadows in summer. Watch for wildlife, too; Olympic marmots and black-tailed deer often show up, and black bear are fairly common. From the meadows at the summit visitors get a superb 360-degree view that embraces the surrounding mountains, the strait, the San Juan Islands, a chunk of mainland Washington, and a fair bit of Canada.
Our thirst for a Pacific Northwest Adventure quenched, we head back east and across the Sound, arriving back at your hotel around 6:30pm, just in time to go grab a bit at one of the city’s many restaurants.
Make this a 1, 2 or 3 night escape and visit the Hoh Rainforest, Cape Flattery and the rugged Pacific Coastline!
This tour can be customized as a private tour, call or email for a quote.
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