Blog | Experience Olympic

Five woman in a line at the edge of an eddy in the Elwha River smiling at the camera and dipping their barefeet in the water

8-Day Guided Hiking & Nature Tour Packages

We are offering 8 day/7 night guided tour packages focusing on wildflowers (June 5-12), birds (July 10-17), or tidepools (August 15-22).

A Pale Swallowtail butterly (Papilio eurymedon) has landed on a western red cedar tree branch with its wings spread out showing its beautiful yellow and black pattern with small decorations of red and blue

Swallowtail Butterfly Explosion

2023 was a good year for all three species of swallowtail butterfly on the Olympic Peninsula. The Pale Swallowtail is the one photographed on a cedar branch.

Remains of Hurricane Ridge lodge that burned down in May 2023 that shows two brick chimneys, the remains of a brick wall, and exclusion fencing and a trail around the charred remains with the Olympic Mountains looming in the background

RIP Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge

The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge burned down on May 7, 2023, limiting access and natural interpretation of subalpine ecology at Hurricane Ridge.

Close up of a log covered in light green thallus coating with pink apothecia spots

Fairy Barf Lichen, Hoh Rainforest

A common name for this pale green with pink poka dot lichen (Icmadophila ericetorum) is Fairy Barf. Can you imagine Tinkerbell with an upset stomach?