Olympic National Park in winter.

Hurricane Ridge Road in winter.

Hurricane Ridge, at 5,242 feet, sits 17 miles south of Port Angeles at the end of Hurricane Ridge Road, and entrance fees are collected at the Heart O' the Hills entrance station whenever the road is open. Its winter season is generally late November through the end of March. In that season the road is typically open to uphill traffic 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday and some holidays, weather and road conditions permitting, and it can open as late as noon. Storms or avalanche hazards can close it at any time, and NPS says high winds and blizzard conditions are not uncommon. All vehicles must be back below Heart O' the Hills by 5 p.m. The road is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

From November 1 through April 1, every vehicle traveling above the Heart O' the Hills entrance station must carry tire chains. That includes four-wheel drives, whatever your tires or the weather. There is no winter shuttle: the Clallam Transit shuttle to Hurricane Ridge runs only from May until September 1. For road status, call the Road and Weather line at (360) 565-3131, or the Olympic National Park Visitor Center at 360-565-3130, and check the NPS Hurricane Ridge in winter page.

The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge was lost to a fire in 2023. Temporary trailers now hold restrooms and a visitor contact station staffed intermittently Friday through Sunday. There is no indoor warming area, food service, or drinking water, and no snowshoe or ski rentals, so fill your water bottles before the drive and treat your car as the warming hut, with extra food, dry clothes, and blankets or sleeping bags. NPS is planning a new facility. The project is in the design phase, and NPS says construction may start in 2028 at the earliest.

Elsewhere, NPS says some roads, campgrounds, and facilities close or cut hours from October through May, while other roads and facilities stay open, weather permitting. The park posts current status for each road rather than a winter calendar, so check the NPS current road conditions page, and see our Olympic road closures page for every road. Cell service is spotty, and the Hoh Rain Forest and the beaches have little to no reception.

Snow, storms, and rain forest.

Hurricane Ridge has 15 to 20 miles of cross-country ski and snowshoe routes. No trails are groomed or marked, though two routes follow unplowed roads that are usually easy to follow. Flat beginner terrain is limited to the meadows above the parking area, and backcountry skiers head for the slopes and bowls. Be ready for steep terrain and avalanches, and check avalanche conditions first. The ridge also has downhill skiing and snowboarding at the Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area.

Sledding is free for children eight and under at the Children's Snowplay Area west of the parking lot. Bring your own tube or sled, but no sleds with runners. Tubing is open to all ages at the ski area's tubing park, with tickets from the ski area trailer in the parking lot and only the ski area's tubes allowed.

Last winter, rangers led snowshoe walks from December 26, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The walks lasted 1.5 hours, covered less than a mile with 130 feet of climb, and provided snowshoes, for up to 20 people meeting at the contact station at 1:00 p.m. They are canceled when the road is closed. NPS had not posted 2026-27 dates when we checked in September 2026, so call (360) 565-3130 before you plan around one. Overnight camping is allowed at Hurricane Ridge in the winter season, but not within half a mile of any trailhead, and wilderness campers need a bear canister.

On the coast, winter is storm-watching season. Rain, wind, and tides build big swells, while the beaches stay mostly free of snow, and a low-tide walk is a good way to see the tide pools. Winter also brings stronger tides and unpredictable waves. Several points along the coast are passable only at lower tides, so carry a tide chart (visitor centers and ranger stations have them), and stay off beach logs, which waves can roll, especially at high tide. The NPS beaches page covers each beach.

The Hoh and Quinault rain forests are good winter trips once a bit of the snow melts. Winter is their wet season, when the forest is at its greenest, and they average 12 feet of rain a year, so bring rain gear. For winter trips into the wilderness, NPS warns of heavy rain, snow, high winds, mud, and swollen creeks. For winter light, see our Olympic photography page.

Where to sleep.

Kalaloch Lodge, on the coast, is open year round. Lake Crescent Lodge's season on the NPS lodging page runs April 17, 2026 to January 1, 2027, so it is open into early winter. Ask the lodge about dates after New Year's. Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort's season ends November 1, 2026, and Log Cabin Resort's ends September 29.

NPS campground data lists Graves Creek, Heart O' the Hills, Hoh Rain Forest, Kalaloch, Mora, North Fork, Ozette, and Queets as open all year. Hoh Rain Forest, Kalaloch, and Mora take reservations only in their peak-season windows, and sites are first-come, first-served the rest of the year. Heart O' the Hills, on the way up Hurricane Ridge Road, becomes walk-in only during heavy snow, and some Ozette sites flood in winter. Our Olympic camping page has the details.

For a room outside the park, NPS names Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend as the largest towns on the North Peninsula, and Forks as the largest on the coast, with more lodging in La Push, Lake Quinault, Sekiu, and Neah Bay. NPS points out the park is very big and suggests Port Angeles as a base for Hurricane Ridge.

How quiet winter really is.

January is the quietest month at Olympic, averaging about 82,000 recreation visits against 626,000 in August. February runs 15% of August's visits, December 16%, March 21%, and November 28%.

So is Olympic good in winter? Yes, if you want snow on a weekend, storm watching, or a green, dripping rain forest with far fewer people. It's the wrong season for a weekday at Hurricane Ridge, a soak at Sol Duc, or a dry hike. The best time to visit Olympic page shows how winter compares with the rest of the year.

Daylight and cold.

On December 21 the sun rises at 8:01 a.m. and sets at 4:23 p.m. at the Port Angeles visitor center, per the U.S. Naval Observatory, which leaves 8 hours 22 minutes of daylight. By March 21 sunset is 7:28 p.m., on daylight time. With the ridge road closing to uphill traffic at 4 p.m. and cars due below Heart O' the Hills by 5, a winter day at Hurricane Ridge is short.

NOAA 1991-2020 normals at the Elwha Ranger Station (USC00452548, 360 ft), in the Elwha valley near Port Angeles, put January's average high at 41°F and low at 33°F. Treat those as preview numbers for the low north side only. Hurricane Ridge is nearly 5,000 feet higher, and NPS says thirty to fifty feet of snow can fall each winter in the park's subalpine country. NPS also warns that a sunny winter day can end with hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions, so pack for the worst of it.

Common questions.

Is Olympic National Park good in the winter?

It is if you pick the right side. January averages 13% of August's visits. Hurricane Ridge has snowshoeing, skiing, sledding, and tubing when the road is open, Friday through Sunday in season. The coast is in storm-watching season, and the rain forests are at their wettest and greenest. Expect short days, closed facilities, and few ranger programs.

Is Olympic National Park closed in the winter?

No. The park is open 24 hours a day, year-round. Some roads, campgrounds, and facilities close or cut hours from October through May, and Hurricane Ridge Road runs a limited winter schedule, typically Friday through Sunday and some holidays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitor centers and Hurricane Ridge Road close on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Is it a good idea to visit the Hoh Rainforest in winter?

Yes, with rain gear. NPS calls the Hoh and Quinault rain forests excellent destinations once a bit of the snow melts, and winter is their wet season, with an average of 12 feet of rain a year. Hoh Rain Forest Campground is open all year, first-come, first-served outside the summer reservation window. Cell reception there is little to none, so download maps first.

Where these facts come from

Hurricane Ridge's elevation, location, fees, winter season, road schedule, storm closures, 5 p.m. rule, Christmas closure, chain rule, the lodge fire, temporary trailers, rentals, ski and snowshoe routes, avalanche advice, sledding, tubing, and last winter's snowshoe walks come from the NPS Hurricane Ridge in winter page (last updated April 4, 2026). Storm watching, the rain forests, and the few winter programs come from the NPS Visiting in Winter page; the October-to-May closures, the Thanksgiving closure, and the phone lines from the NPS hours page. Lodge seasons and gateway towns come from the NPS lodging page; year-round campgrounds and booking windows from the NPS campgrounds data and the NPS camping page; tides and beach logs from the NPS beaches page; winter camping at Hurricane Ridge, bear canisters, and wilderness conditions from the NPS wilderness winter travel page; subalpine snowfall from the NPS subalpine page; the rebuild stage from the NPS day lodge reconstruction page; the summer shuttle from the NPS directions page; cell service from the NPS FAQ; road status from the NPS current road conditions page. Sunrise and sunset come from the U.S. Naval Observatory for 2026 in local clock time. Temperatures are NOAA 1991-2020 normals at the Elwha Ranger Station (USC00452548), a preview station. The road line is OpenStreetMap geometry routed by OSRM (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.