Olympic National Park, Washington


Olympic National Park
Photography Tour Details
Dates Jul 18–24, 2009
Leader Terry Eggers
Fee $2,395 from Seattle, WA
Deposit $300
Limit 8
Terms and Conditions

Of all the US national parks, the most diversified in character and climate is found in Washington State. Olympic National Park, which encompasses the Olympic Mountains and a great deal of the Olympic Peninsula, incorporates pristine seacoasts and ruggedly beautiful mountain peaks, rain forest and alpine tundra, tide pools and flowering meadows—all with swiftly shifting light and weather patterns. The western side of the park has the wettest climate in the continental US, soaking under nearly 12 feet of precipitation annually. But amazingly, the northeastern side of the park is the driest part of the Pacific Coast outside of southern California.

Olympic National Park Photography Tour - Ferns in Rainforest
Probably more art-calendar photographs of deer browsing in flower-carpeted meadows have been taken in this park than all of our other national parks combined! Olympic marmots, denizens of these same meadows, offer comic relief and excellent photo subjects. At Hurricane Ridge, scenic mountain panoramas are punctuated with stately alpine firs whose tangled roots are home to a marauding band of tourist-acclimated ground squirrels. Much of the wildlife in this exceptional park is remarkably unwary—including blue grouse, black oystercatchers, Clark’s nutcrackers, gray and Steller’s jays, common ravens and the ever-present banana slugs!

The western side of the park is part of the only temperate rain forest in the northern hemisphere and the exuberant growth of the vegetation reflects this feature. In the Hoh Rain Forest, moss-draped bigleaf maples,
Olympic National Park Photography Tour - Seastacks on Washington's Coast
towering Sitka spruce, hemlocks, Douglas firs and verdant fern hollows remain as President Franklin D. Roosevelt would have seen them on a visit in 1937 and will be exciting photo subjects. There is also easy beach access where we will explore some of the dramatic coastline and towering sea stacks of the area.

Such diversity is the basis for five full days of photography as we explore a fantastic cross section of habitat of one of Washington State’s finest natural areas. Predictably good weather in July provides an excellent window of opportunity to capture the "flavor of the Northwest" with your camera.



Day 1 (Jul 18)
Participants fly to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and transfer to Port Angeles via van. We meet for an orientation and dinner at our hotel. (D)

Olympic National Park Photography Tour - Colorful Sea Stars
Days 2–3
We utilize the next two days by taking advantage of the best light and weather in specific areas of Olympic National Park. Much of our time will be spent at the higher elevations amidst a palette of floral hues punctuated by wind-sculpted mountain hemlock and Alaska cedar. At sunset we turn our lenses northward to watch the falling light dance across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, illuminating Vancouver Island as well as Mt. Baker in the North Cascades. (BLD)

Day 4
The allure of old growth forest and sculpted sea stacks draw us from the highlands to the rain forest and wild ocean beaches. On this day we drive to Forks, photographing along the way. (BLD)

Olympic National Park Photography Tour - Hurricane Ridge
Days 5–6
We photograph the easily accessible rain forest and beaches from our central location. (BLD)

Day 7 (Jul 24)
Participants return by van to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport today for afternoon flights.


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