Seattle-PA-Packwood Trip Early March

Submitted by elstyxia t3_11dhxv9 in Washington

I got a ticket to Seattle this Friday, 3/3. We are staying in Port Angeles and wanted to hike near Olympic National Park but I have no idea how snowy it is/what trails are open. Any easy-moderate hikes near PA that will be accessible? Might go to the Hoh Rainforest as well.

Also, staying near Packwood and wanted to visit Mt Ranier Park but I know it’s only open on weekends. Any easy-moderate trails that are open in the surrounding area? I’ve been looking on Alltrails but it’s still difficult to gauge. Any help would be appreciated! Fine with hiking in the snow, just worried with accessible roads and all.

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elstyxia OP t1_ja8t7cs wrote

Replying to schreist (#2,065,387)

I’ve looked but it’s not super helpful because I don’t know the area 🥲 Which is why I’m more asking for accessible hikes outside of the park but nearby, I’m not sure how else to find out other than Alltrails

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WorldlyWiseWeary t1_ja8xejs wrote

I'd recommend you go to the ONP Visitor Center in Port Angeles; they can help you find the best hikes for you, give you the most up-to-date advice (conditions can change quickly in March), and answer your questions. Hurricane Ridge, up the hill from the visitor center, will still be buried in snow, but if it's a clear day (iffy in March), the views are incredible. It can be clear one hour and socked in with clouds the next. There are monitors in the visitor center showing the current web-cam views, so you know the conditions at the top before you decide to drive up. The Lake Crescent area is close to Port Angeles. There are a variety of hikes there (scroll down to see a chart of the trails.)

Similarly, the NPS website has details about the Hoh area, including a list of trails in that area.

At Rainier, the Nisqually entrance up to Longmire is open every day (unless there's an active snowstorm). The NPS page about Longmire lists some hikes there. The road from Longmire to Paradise is only open on weekends this winter. There's currently 10 feet of snow at Paradise, so there won't be any hiking there until summer.

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Obvious_copout t1_jaayoq4 wrote

You can drive up to hurricane ridge, but it's a ski area right now because it's covered in snow. All of the lower elevation trails are going to be open, so Lake crescent area, solduc area, the high rainforest, and anywhere along the coast are going to be mostly snow free. Though it did just snow out here and there was some snow around Lake crescent (I was out there Saturday ) but no more than a melting inch.

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