Olympic Peninsula Hot Springs

Looking for a great weekend getaway this spring? Come to the Olympic Peninsula! Along with charming waterfront communities and beautiful landscapes, we also have natural hot springs.

There are two different places where you can bathe in Hot Springs on the Peninsula. One is easily accessed and built up into a resort style destination. The other requires about a two mile hike into the woods and is significantly more rustic.

Sol Duc Hot Springs

Sol Duc Hot Springs offers three mineral hot spring soaking pools and one freshwater pool. Temperatures vary between the pools, so you can find the perfect one for you preferences. Relax and soak in the hot mineral baths, then jump into the cool freshwater pool for an exhilarating experience!

Each mineral pool is closed twice daily to allow for a ‘resting period’. During this time the pool is being tested to ensure health and safety requirements are met. All of the mineral hot springs are drained nightly, cleaned and then fill again naturally.

Olympic Hot Springs

One of the ‘abandoned’ Olympic Hot Springs

Note: These pools frequently fail water quality standards for public bathing, so use them at your own risk. That said, I’ve bathed in them, enjoyed it and I’m still here, no worse for the wear.

There was once a hot spring resort tucked deep in the Olympic Mountains. It burned to the ground in 1940, but of course the springs remain. The road that led to the resort is now a pleasant 2 + mile hike.

The Olympic Hot Springs consist of 21 seeps on the bank of Boulder Creek, a tributary of the Elwha River in Olympic National Park. Water temperatures vary from lukewarm to 138 degrees. Most of the springs have been modified by bathers in some way – lined with stones to help collect water into deeper pools, or dug out a bit to let you soak more of yourself in the waters.

You know what else is Relaxing? A Glass of Wine

Hot springs were heralded as healing places at the turn of the 19th century. Many still believe they hold curing properties. But what we know for sure about natural hot springs is that they are relaxing.

A little wine while cooking dinner, after a hard day at work or while socializing with friends is also a lovely way to relax. We hope when you visit the Olympic Peninsula, you will stop by one of our fine wineries and bring some Washington wine home with you.

Olympic Peninsula Tours: Hoh Rainforest & Rialto Beach

If you want to experience the isolated and dramatic Olympic Mountains, your visit will be incomplete without a visit to the remarkable and rare Hoh rainforest.

On the west slopes of the Olympic Mountains lies a misty and moist landscape of giant, big leaf maples, and a vast variety of shrubs and flowers. The weather systems coming out of the Pacific Ocean make this area a temperate rainforest. In the summer months of July and August and into September, little moisture is available for this dense forest. The Hoh forest receives the bulk of its moisture in the winter months, with constant rain and thick mists –up to 140 or more inches a year.

These conditions are ideal for Douglas fir, western hemlock and Sitka spruce.

This could be you!

Within a fairly narrow range of the rain forest, the largest recorded of these and other species exist. Their size is often exaggerated by heavy club mosses hanging in festoons from branches high above the forest floor. While it is certainly wetter here during the winter and spring months, it is no less impressive. You just need to wear boots and a rain jacket!

If you are leaving from Sequim, we recommend you get an early start – head towards Forks by 8:o0 a.m. and you will get to the Hoh by 11 a.m., or before. Take a walk on the deep forest trail: “Hall of Mosses.” With the exception of a short steep bit at the beginning, this is an easy walk with a number of stops along the way.

Pack a picnic lunch, or stop in Forks for a burger or something of the like before heading towards the coast and Rialto Beach. It will take you about 1.5 hours to drive there from Forks. Rialto Beach is just north of the mouth of the Sol Duc River and Quilleute Indian Reservation. Do some beach combing or sit on a beached log and contemplate the Universe.

After a big trip like that, some wine tasting on the way home will be the perfect way to end an exhilarating day on the stunning Olympic Peninsula!

2012 Juan de Fuca Festival

The Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts in Port Angeles is one of the most exciting events on the Olympic Peninsula. 2012 promises to be better than ever!

Two Man Gentlemen Band Memorial Day Weekend Port Angeles

The Two Man Gentlemen Band performs at the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts.

The festival begins on Thursday, May 24, with a Pre-Festival Kickoff Event: African Rhythms — Celtic Soul. Early festival goers will be treated to Baka Beyond, a highly original Afro-Celtic danceband. Band members come from six different European and African countries. Keeping still while you listen is not an option. This could be worth an extra long weekend.

Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts celebrates the arts in all its mediums, but it is music that takes center stage.

The 2012 lineup includes:

Allen Stone, the amazing 24 year son of a preacher man who is taking the world by the ears.

Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, known as the Lion of Zimbabwe.

Locarno, featuring Tom Landa and an exciting blend of Mexican, Cuban Son, Folk Music, Pop and Funk.

The Two Man Gentlemen Band, playing hot, raucous, retro swing.

(more…)

Find Inspiration in Mountains, Forests, and Wine

Winter can feel long in the Pacific Northwest. Endless days of grey ceiling skies can tamp down our souls and dampen our spirits. We sit and watch our creativity sink into the sodden earth with the rain.

That may be a bit melodramatic, but most of us have had days like that, during the winter, here in the Pacific Northwest.

The Dungeness Spit, shrouded in mist and fog; perfect.

We can wallow in it, or we can stand up, brush the moss from our shoulders, and head to the Olympic Peninsula.

It doesn’t matter if the skies are grey when you’re walking through a forest of towering Douglas Firs. It feels like they’ve reached up and tickled the heavens, and that the raindrops are really tears of mirth.

It doesn’t matter if the skies are grey when you’re bent into the wind, walking out on the Dungeness Spit, and the the spray from the Salish Sea jumps up to kiss your cheeks.

It doesn’t matter if the skies are grey when you’re curled up with a good book in a quiet inn, next to the person you love most in the world.

It doesn’t matter if the skies are grey when you’re sitting in a cozy restaurant, with a glass of Washington State Wine or Cider grasped in your hands.

So when you find yourself feeling that the rain has washed away your spunk, come to the Olympic Peninsula. Take a ferry if you must, and stand on the upper decks where the wind will blow some spirit back into you. Find a place to stay. Strap on snow shoes and explore the Olympic Mountains. Put on your rain jacket and head out to the Hoh Rain Forest. Watch a good movie at The Rose Theater in Port Townsend. And after a full day, sit down and drink a glass of Washington State Wine or Cider, made right here, on the Olympic Peninsula.

You’ll feel better.

Get Out and Admire the View

Early September is a fantastic time to visit Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. As of this writing, there is snow only at the highest elevations. Hiking trails are open and views are out of this world.

Good company, glorious views, and a bottle of Washington Wine from the Olympic Peninsula. Perfect.

Much of the summer was a bit of a disappointment, at least with respect to weather. Low clouds and a low snow line did not inspire hiking. These last weeks of warmth and sun have helped remedy that, and the coming weeks should bring more of the same.

Plan a trip to the Olympic Mountains. Hike if you like, or simply sit and enjoy the stunning views from the top of Hurricane Ridge. You’ll feel the mist clear from your mind. You’ll feel happy.

We suggest you never visit the Olympic Peninsula without stopping by one or more of our member Washington Wineries. Speak with the wine makers, taste some wine, and bring home a bottle of Washington Wine to enjoy as you remember your glorious time on the Olympic Peninsula.

Please visit Olympic National Park for up-to-date information about hikes and conditions.

Test Your Wine Knowledge!

The Wine Hub.com has a new 10-question quiz online that will help you to get the most out of your wine education. The URL follows — give it a shot! You will need to register first for a FREE membership. http://www.thewinehub.com/learn/quiz

Northwest Wine and Cheese Tour – Save the Date!

Mark your calendars for the Olympic Peninsula Wineries’ inaugural Northwest Wine and Cheese Tour! On April 18 and 19, each of the seven wineries will host a different northwest specialty creamery and pair handcrafted wines with a delectable selection of artisan cheeses. Participating cheese makers include Wild Harvest Farms located in Chimacum; Port Townsend’s own Mt. Townsend Creamery;Gotherberg Farms from Bow, WA; Fairaview Farm located in Sequim; from Montesano, Estrella Family Creamery; and Beechers Handmade Cheeses located in Seattle.

Tickets are $25.00 per person and include a special commemorative wine glass, complimentary wine tasting, and mouth-watering samples of northwest artisan cheeses. Purchase your tickets online at https://www.olympicpeninsulawineries.org/nwwinecheese.php (recommended) or at the door. The wineries will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.