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Pacific Northwest Nature Photographers Outing

Olympic National Park, Saturday & Sunday, September 6^th & 7^th, 2014

Hurricane Ridge View

Mark your calendars for a PNWNP weekend of photography in Washington's Olympic National Park. Our weekend highlights will include Hurricane Ridge for sunrise photography on Saturday, & then off to the Sol Duc forest on Sunday. We'll home base in Port Angeles where there are great places to stay and eat with camping facilities nearby. Here's a map of the city.

We're planning a very full weekend, but we'll have several meeting times and locations each day for those who may not want to participate in each shooting location but want to catch up with the group.

At this time of year, sunrise is at 6:30 a.m. Sunset is at 7:45 p.m. We'll also have a nearly full moon.

Friday Night Itinerary

Early Dinner at Gordy's Pizza. For those arriving Friday and who want to get together, we'll meet at Gordy's Pizza & Pasta at 4:30 p.m. for pizza & beer. Gordy's is located in Port Angeles at 1123 E. 1^st Street.

Sunset at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and Beach. We'll leave from the Gordy's Pizza at 5:30 p.m. to head to Sequim and Dungeness NWR and Lighthouse where we'll shoot sunset from Dungeness Beach.

Saturday Itinerary

Elwah Valley

Sunrise on Hurricane Hill. For those wanting to shoot Sunrise it will be an early morning.
We'll meet at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, at 4:00 a.m. From there we'll caravan up to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and on to the Hurricane Hill trailhead. It is a 1.5 mile paved trail that starts out fairly level and then climbs up to the lookout point. From the summit we'll have excellent views looking into the Olympic Range, east toward Mt. Angeles and north over Port Angeles and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We'll spend the early morning on the hill then head back to Port Angeles for breakfast and to pick up any late sleepers.

Breakfast in Port Angeles. Once back in town, we'll head to Smuggler's Landing for a hearty meal.

Salmon Cascades near Sol Duc

Elwha Valley. After breakfast we'll take a short drive up to Elwha Valley. Elwha Valley is a great place to explore more intimate scenics, waterfalls, forests, and wildlife.

Dinner at the Bushwacker Restaurant in Port Angeles. Dinner at 5:00 p.m. should give us plenty of time to eat before heading to our sunset location. Bushwackers is known for great seafood and is at 1527 E. First Street.

Sunset at Ediz Hook Spit. We'll leave from the Bushwacker Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. and take a very short drive to Ediz Hook Spit in Port Angeles where we'll shoot sunset from spit. We'll have opportunities to shoot the strait and views of the city as the sun goes down.

Sunday Itinerary

Unnamed Stream, Sol Duc

Sunrise on Hurricane Ridge road. For those wanting to shoot Sunrise, We'll meet at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, at 4:00 a.m. and head up towards Hurricane Ridge stopping at turnoffs such as Lookout Rock and others. About a mile before reaching the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center is a turnout with an outstanding view of the high alpine country.

Sol Duc Forest and Falls. The highlight of our trip will be Sol Duc. We'll meet at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, at 8:00 a.m. From here, we'll caravan to Sol Duc. We'll stop for breakfast at Granny's Cafe then proceed to Sol Duc road. We'll make a quick stop at Salmon Cascades on the way. Then head to the Ranger Station and campground. There are several trails we can take from here, but most likely we'll head out toward Sol Duc Falls. Along this trail we'll come across a wonderful unnamed stream with magnificent moss covered rocks. We should plan on bringing lunch with us so we can eat at Sol Duc Falls. After lunch more ambitious hikers can continue up the Canyon Creek Trail. Others may want to head back home or take some down time. This will likely be the last part of the trip for those needing to go back to work on Monday.

Sunset at Second Beach. If you're staying over Sunday night, please join us for a trip out to photograph the sunset at Second Beach. We'll meet at Gordy's Pizza & Pasta at 3:00 p.m. for a bite to eat before heading out to the coast. Second Beach near LaPush, a Quileute Indian village is on the extreme west coast of the Peninsula. The Second Beach Trail goes 0.6 miles to a sandy beach with tide-pools and views of sea stacks called Quileute Needles. This is an excellent sunset destination and a dramatic area to photograph waves. We'll return to Port Angeles later in the evening.

Places to Stay

Second Beach

This can be a busy time of year in the Olympics so plan to book your accommodations as soon as possible.

For hotel accommodations we suggest the Olympic Lodge, 140 Del Guzzi Dr - Port Angeles, WA 98362.

Another option in Port Angeles is the Port Angeles Inn.

Here's a link to other Lodging in Port Angeles.

Campers may want to book into the Campgrounds List for a variety of camping accommodations. We recommend Heart 'o The Hills Campground because of its location.

Here's a comprehensive list of RV Parks.