Olympic National Park in January

Olympic National Park in January is a wet lowland-forest and coast visit, with Hurricane Ridge a separate winter-access decision. Choose the beach from tides and ocean conditions.

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Hikers sit and watch the sun set behind snow-capped mountains.
Mountain SunsetNPS Photo
Orange sea stars on a rocky coast.
Tide Pools of the Olympic CoastNPS Photo/Bill Baccus

Conditions

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Check before you go

What to see and do in Olympic in January

Choose a January outing that fits the route, weather and effort involved.

A trail through ferns and moss-covered trees in the Hoh Rain Forest.
Hoh River Trail · NPS photo

Hoh Rain Forest

Winter is the wet season: choose short forest loops, waterproof layers and a flexible approach-road plan.

January · Hoh Rain Forest

NPS Hoh Rain Forest guidance
Meadow at Hurricane Ridge with snow-covered mountains beyond.
Hurricane Ridge meadows · NPS Photo / C. Bubar

Hurricane Ridge snow

A winter snow outing depends on the limited seasonal road schedule and weather. Carry chains as required; do not treat an open park as daily ridge access.

January · Hurricane Ridge snow

NPS Hurricane Ridge snow guidance
Orange sea stars on a rocky coast.
Tide Pools of the Olympic Coast · NPS Photo/Bill Baccus

Olympic coast

Storms, tides and large waves shape the visit. Tidepooling is only an option when tide and ocean conditions suit; stay well back from surf and logs.

January · Olympic coast

NPS Olympic coast guidance

Olympic weather in January

January’s normal high is 41°F and low is 33°F, with 8.87 inches of precipitation. Elwha Ranger Station at about 360 ft describes a low-elevation north-side valley. Olympic's coast, rain forests and mountains have different weather. These averages do not describe Hurricane Ridge or the much wetter western rain forests. Check the forecast for each destination.

Cooler Hotter
Jan
High41°F
Low33°F
Precip · in8.87
Feb
High44°F
Low33°F
Precip · in6.14
Mar
High50°F
Low35°F
Precip · in6.94
Apr
High56°F
Low38°F
Precip · in3.28
May
High63°F
Low43°F
Precip · in1.91
Jun
High67°F
Low47°F
Precip · in1.39
Jul
High74°F
Low51°F
Precip · in0.74
Aug
High75°F
Low52°F
Precip · in1.14
Sep
High68°F
Low48°F
Precip · in1.63
Oct
High56°F
Low42°F
Precip · in5.85
Nov
High46°F
Low36°F
Precip · in10.06
Dec
High41°F
Low33°F
Precip · in9.92
NOAA climate normals · 1991-2020NPS weather and forecast

Olympic crowds in January

January averages 81,950 recreation visits, 13% of the peak monthly average in August.

LowestLowModerateHighPeakAverage month: 256,681January
NPS visit averages · 2021–2025Full crowd calendar

Tips for your January visit

Check the approach before choosing the rest of the day.

Olympic road approaches Olympic has separate access roads from Highway 101 rather than a road across the mountains. Choose a base for each side. Mountain roads have different snow seasons from the coast and rain forests. Lettered points are the reviewed entrance or access-area locations. They do not mark every road, trail or gate. Port Angeles Gateway (Olympic National Park Visitor Center)A Elwha EntranceC Hurricane Ridge EntranceBN
APort Angeles Gateway (Olympic National Park Visitor Center)BHurricane Ridge EntranceCElwha Entrance
  • Park boundary
Park boundary: NPSUSGS topographic basemapNPS park mapsCampground / visitor-center coordinates: NPSSelected approach points: OpenStreetMap and NPS
Olympic overviewVisitation history

How we built this page.

An independent guide using official data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.

Crowds
2021–2025 monthly averages. NPS recreation visits, compared with the park’s own busiest month. Visits are not unique visitors or a count of people on a trail.
Weather
1991-2020 climate normals. NOAA’s Elwha Ranger Station, WA station. These describe typical weather at the station, not every part of the park or a forecast.
Roads & lodging
Normal seasonal schedules. NPS guidance and official operator information. Confirm access, hours and availability before you travel.
Historical records and data-quality checks
  • Visit history: 1979–2025 NPS monthly recreation visits.
  • Weather history: 1942–2025 daily observations, separate from climate normals. We average daily highs and lows and total the rain for each month.
  • Complete months only: every day must pass our quality checks for that metric. Missing or incomplete records stay blank; we never interpolate.
  • Excluded measurements: flagged, presumed-zero and lagged values. Trace rain counts as zero measurable rainfall.
NPS recreation visit dataNOAA climate normalsNOAA daily weather recordsNOAA data documentationNPS park information and conditionsOlympic annual visit history