Hoh Rain Forest—Is it worth it?

Moss-covered trees and ferns dot a trail — Hoh Rain Forest

Any trip to Olympic National Park is likely to include a visit to one the Park's temperate rain forests. Large trees covered in moss that seems to drip and drape off the branches, and there are ferns galore.

Most people won't visit the forest valleys of Quinault (though I recommend it!), Bogachiel (less frequented), or Queets (tough to access)—they will visit the most famous, the Hoh Rain Forest. (Hoh is pronounced "hoe"). This particular rain forest is one of the most heavily visited spots in the Park (perhaps the most visited!), which can lead to long wait times to get in (think hours!).

So you might be wondering: Is it worth it?

And the answer is: YES! With some planning, you can ensure the best day possible for everyone in your travel party.

What you will see at the Hoh Rain Forest

An elk right off a trail in a dense forest — Elk greeted us on the trails

According to the National Park Service, the Hoh Rain Forest gets about 140 inches of rain each year. Portland, where we live, only gets about 36 inches a year; Seattle about 37.5 inches. So, yeah, the Hoh Rain Forest gets a lot of rain—in fact, it is the wettest spot in the lower 48 states. (Don't forget to pack a raincoat!)

Green moss covers a tree — Healthy moss!

All that rain means lots of lush landscape. I've never seen such healthy (or massive!) ferns. The mosses on the trees is also amazing to see in person, and photographs just don't do the forest justice.

A child walks down a path next to ferns and trees — Walking the trails

What you might see while at the Hoh

Big trees! like Western Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Big Leaf Maple, Vine Maple, Black Cottonwood, and Red Alder
Roosevelt Elk, banana slugs, deer, Black Bears, and River Otters.
You are less likely to see Pumas/Mountain Lions and Bobcats, but they are there!

How to get to the Hoh/Prepare

Given the popularity of the Hoh Rain Forest, you can expect some crowds. This is especially true if you travel in the summer. We visited Olympic in early July, and a park ranger told us that 4th of July weekend had people waiting to enter for up to 4 hours! Yikes. If you have small children, then double yikes. (Translation: bring activities and snacks!)

My recommendation: go early. If you can wake up super early for one day, this is it. If you can, get there before 8 am but by no later than 10 am. There will likely still be a wait the closer to 10 am that you arrive, but after 10 am you should expect that wait to increase.

With a two young kids, we opted to wake at 5 AM and head out by 5:20 AM. We had breakfast packed, coffee brewed the night before, and lunch ready to go.

Keep in mind that you will be doing a lot of driving today as well depending on where you are staying. The drive times listed below don't include any wait times you might have at the entrance point to the park here.

c. 2 hours from Port Angeles > Hoh Visitor Center
c. 90 minutes from Lake Quinault > Hoh Visitor Center (we visited from here).
c. 48 minutes from Forks > Hoh Visitor Center

At such an early hour, we had no wait time (woohoo!) and got to the Visitor Center at 7 am. The Visitor Center wasn't open yet, so we decided to head out to the most popular trail first.

What you can expect at the Visitor Center

water fountains and water bottle fill station
bathrooms (the best in the park!)
great interactive information inside the center, along with books, stamps, the usual
various rangers
no food, so bring your own!

Some other useful info

pets aren't allowed on the trails
there is a campground here

What to do/Trails

A sign with four trails listed: Mini Trail, hall of mosses, spruce trail, and hoh river trail — Trailheads at Hoh Visitor Center

There are four trails that originate at the Hoh Visitor Center.

Mini Trail: about .1 miles, accessible
Hall of Mosses: .8-mile loop trail, and the most popular trail here (translate that to mean at peak hours, loads of people). It is a pretty easy trail. You will see . . . lots o' mosses!
Spruce Trail: 1.2-mile loop trail. Another easy trail with lovely new and old growth forest. You will also see the Hoh River and Taft Creek.
Hoh River Trail: 18.5 miles one way. So yeah, we didn't do the entire trail. But we did do part of it, and I highly recommend that! For 1.8-mile (round trip) hike, you can make it to the First River access. If you want to go further, you could stop at Mineral Creek Falls (5.4-miles round trip). For backpackers, you can get a permit.

two kids climb on a large log that borders a trail — Logs are always fun!

We started with the Hall of Mosses to avoid crowds. By the end of that hike, the park was getting much busier already!

a tree arches over a path — A tree archway

Kids will enjoy the trail—there are lots of things to walk under or around, and logs to climb that border parts of the trail (though do stay on the trail). This is also true of the Spruce Trail. Plus, if you get there early enough, your chance of seeing the famous Roosevelt Elk increases!

ferns and trees flank a path — Spruce Trail

I highly recommend doing the Spruce Trail and at least a small part of the Hoh River Trail. Each one has slightly different things to see, and my kids enjoyed all three trails.

a rocky ground gives way to a turquoise river. trees, mist, and mountains are in the background — Hoh River

Is it worth it?

I know I already said yes, but I hope that this post convinces you further that you definitely should visit the Hoh Rain Forest. Just keep in mind that if you want to take your time and linger among the trees and moss, you should get there early. We got there at 7, and stayed for almost 6 hours. It was an incredible way to spend the day, and my kids never complained. It was definitely a trip highlight.