Closest airport to Olympic National Park, by road or ferry.

Which airport for Olympic?

NPS names two airports for the Olympic Peninsula, Sea-Tac and Victoria International, and calls Sea-Tac the closest major airport. They reach the park in different ways. From Sea-Tac you drive. From Victoria, in Canada, you take the Coho Ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles. Both routes here end at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles. The park is very big: NPS says it can take from half an hour to four hours or more to get between areas, so where you'll stay matters as much as where you land.

Every airport-to-entrance drive.

Both airport routes, with road miles and times. The Victoria line counts the 90-minute ferry crossing in its miles and time, but not the time you spend waiting to board. Vehicles have to be at the terminal 90 minutes before a Victoria sailing. The Coho doesn't sail from January 4 to February 3, 2027, its annual maintenance period.

Sea-Tac is the longer drive, 127 miles and 3 h with no traffic, around the south end of Puget Sound through Tacoma. NPS warns that rush hour around Seattle and Tacoma is intense and that Highway 101 is one lane each way, so leave extra time, especially for your flight home. Victoria is 43 miles, and 2 h 11 min with the crossing. The Coho sails at set times: through October 12, 2026 it leaves Victoria at 10:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and from October 13 at 10:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. It's an international crossing, so check the operator's ID requirements before you book.

Match the airport to your base and dates.

Hurricane Ridge and Sol Duc: NPS suggests a base in Port Angeles or near Lake Crescent. Both airport routes end in Port Angeles, so either works. Hurricane Ridge Road may open or close depending on road conditions and weather, so check current conditions before you drive up.

Hoh Rain Forest and the northern coast: NPS suggests a base in the Forks area. Forks and the Hoh are on the same side of the Hoh River Bridge as Port Angeles, so the fall closures don't cut them off from either airport route.

Kalaloch, Queets and Quinault, September 14 to October 13, 2026: these are south of the Hoh River Bridge. WSDOT closes the bridge overnight, 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., from September 14 to 22, and to all traffic from 5 a.m. September 24 to 5 p.m. September 29, 5 a.m. October 1 to noon October 6, and 5 a.m. October 8 to noon October 13. There's no detour across the Hoh, and going around the east side of the peninsula adds at least four hours. If your trip touches those dates, plan the north and south sides as separate legs. Our Olympic road closures page has every road.

October through May: some roads, campgrounds and facilities close or cut hours, and in winter Hurricane Ridge Road is typically open Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., conditions permitting. Our Olympic in winter page covers the season. If you haven't picked dates yet, start with the best time to visit Olympic page.

Sea-Tac or Victoria?

We don't publish fares. Sea-Tac is the big airport: its flight search lists dozens of airlines, from Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest and United to international carriers such as British Airways, Emirates and Lufthansa. If you're flying from elsewhere in the U.S., we'd check it first.

Victoria makes sense if you're already in western Canada or want to add Victoria to the trip. We couldn't capture Victoria International's airline list from its site, so look there. Plan around the ferry: sailings leave at set times, vehicles check in 90 minutes early in Victoria, and the Coho is out of service January 4 to February 3, 2027.

Two ferry systems come up when you plan this trip, and they aren't the same. The Coho Ferry, run by Black Ball Ferry Line, links Victoria and Port Angeles. Washington State Ferries, run by WSDOT, cross Puget Sound on routes such as Edmonds to Kingston, Seattle to Bainbridge Island and Fauntleroy to Southworth. Our Sea-Tac route doesn't use them; it drives around through Tacoma. We don't carry WSDOT crossing times or fares, so check its schedules if you'd rather ride across.

Rental cars, buses, and cell service.

NPS says most of Olympic isn't reachable by public transportation, and rental cars are an option. It adds a rental car warning. Cell service is spotty in the park, and the Hoh Rain Forest and the beaches have little to no reception. A rental car that unlocks with a cellular signal is a bad choice, NPS says, because you could be left unable to unlock or start it. Ask for a car with a regular key or fob.

At Victoria, Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty and National have counters in the arrivals area, while Alamo and Enterprise are off the airport and need a pickup arranged when you book, per the airport. BC Transit runs up to 28 departures between the airport and the McTavish Transit Exchange, with connections to downtown Victoria. We couldn't capture Sea-Tac's rental car list from its site.

No car from Sea-Tac? NPS names the Dungeness Bus Line, run by Olympic Bus Lines, from the airport to Kingston, Edmonds, Discovery Bay, Sequim and Port Angeles. In summer, from May until September 1, Clallam Transit runs a shuttle from downtown Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge. Beyond that, most of the park needs a car.

We don't carry live flight, ferry or bus schedules, or fares. Check them with the airline, Black Ball Ferry Line, WSDOT or the bus operator before you go.

Common questions.

How long is the ferry from Seattle to Olympic National Park?

No ferry goes from Seattle straight to the park, and we don't carry Washington State Ferries crossing times. WSDOT runs Puget Sound routes such as Edmonds to Kingston and Seattle to Bainbridge Island, and you drive on from the far side. Our Sea-Tac route skips the ferries and drives around through Tacoma, 127 miles and 3 h to Port Angeles. If you mean the Coho Ferry, that one runs from Victoria to Port Angeles and takes 90 minutes.

When does the Coho Ferry run in 2026?

Daily, year-round, apart from its annual maintenance period, January 4 to February 3, 2027. Through October 12, 2026 it leaves Victoria at 10:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Port Angeles at 8:20 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. From October 13 it's two a day each way: Victoria at 10:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Port Angeles at 8:20 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The crossing takes 90 minutes. Check Black Ball Ferry Line before you go.

Does this page show live ferry or flight schedules?

No. We list the published Coho sailings for fall 2026, but schedules and fares change. Check the airline, Black Ball Ferry Line or WSDOT for the day you travel.

Where these facts come from

The two airports, the Coho Ferry, the Dungeness Bus Line, the Hurricane Ridge shuttle and the basing advice come from the NPS Olympic directions page; the closest major airport, public transportation, cell service and rental car warning, travel times between park areas and rush hour note from the NPS Olympic FAQ; Hurricane Ridge Road conditions from the NPS current road conditions page; its winter hours from the NPS Hurricane Ridge in winter page; October-to-May closures from the NPS operating hours page; the 2026 Highway 101 closures from the NPS Hoh River Bridge closure page. Airport-to-park distances and drive times are computed by the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads and ferry ways (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with airport coordinates from OurAirports and the visitor center from the NPS API; last computed 2026-09-10. They are no-stop times, not live traffic, and the Victoria time includes the crossing but not boarding. Airline, rental and transit notes come from the airports' own pages: Sea-Tac and Victoria International's ground transportation page. Coho Ferry service, crossing time, check-in rule, 2026 sailings and the maintenance period come from Black Ball Ferry Line's home page and schedule, with ID rules on its travel info page; Puget Sound routes from Washington State Ferries. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.