Breathtaking, stunning, natural - a real treat Ruby Beach!

If you want to take your family to a beach this is one the good options. Checkout the Ruby beach, Olympic National Park, Washington. This is an very nice place to visit. You can spend hours of your day just walking the beach viewing the amazing view of the ocean. Planning is suggested, as tides can be dangerous and you don't want to hike out further than you can return before the tides trap you.

Ruby Beach is not the place to find bikini beauties and tons of sun block nor the beach to find vendors hawking everything from hotdogs to sandals. It is truly an inspirational mecca where you find yourself alone with your most innermost thoughts - regardless of how many people you may be with. It surely is a must visit for you when you are anywhere in the area.  There are restroom facilities. .

We went down the trail that leads to the beach. You have to climb over driftwood to get to the beach. Cedar creek opens into the ocean as you come out of the trail. It isn't that deep, but the current was rather swift until it spread out across the beach. We made our way out onto the beach after observing the creek.
 

While my son frolicked in the water and sand, I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of the sun, Abbey Island and the surrounding area. This beach has many different sized cobbles. I didn't see any wildlife.

There is also a lighthouse in the distance. I could barely make it out, but I'm certain that is what it was. The tide came in rather fast. It had covered the beach about 20 minutes after the sun had set. We had a wonderful time exploring and wandering around. Beautiful sunset and beach.

Family fun with Animal Interaction - Olympic Game Farm

This place was so much fun. I would go back all the time if it weren't so expensive ($11 for me, my 2.5yo was free), or if they had some sort of annual membership deal. My son thought it was hilarious when the yaks and llamas ran in front of my car to make us stop and then shoved their noses against the windows. I found it a little scary, and had zero interest in rolling down my window to give them bread, but that didn't stop them from trying. 

I think my son was more interested in the roosters, peacocks, and rabbits that were everywhere than anything else, but I the bears were the most fun for me. One was hanging out right near the fence and I am pretty sure he waved to us. 

On thing i didnt like about that place was carnivores in small cages but would recommend this place if you are in the area.

Unique, calming, and scenic place - Hoh Rainforest, Forks

Unique, calming, and scenic place - excellent for a short day trip! It's about two hours from Port Angeles.

We came during the summer and there wasn't any rain, just some clouds. There are two main trails, Hall of Mosses and the Spruce Nature Trail (empty, very little people). We hiked the Spruce Nature Trail first and had lunch next to the Hoh River on some fallen trees, a nice and memorable experience! After lunch, we walked the Hall of Mosses, where you can spot trees and organisms that are literally covered in mosses, nice for photos.

I guess for us, it was a lot more fun hiking and walking through the temperate rain forest than taking photos - everything starts looking the same (green) after a few photos. Hall of Moss area of this park was a easy hike which is kids friendly . It took about an hour, but my kid age 3.5 was able to do it without problem. 

Kudos as well to the staff in the visitor center -- they were friendly, informative, and helpful. Even more informative was the antiquated display/exhibit on the history of the area, which also explained how and why the total rainfall was near 6 feet (who knew climatology and meteorology could be so much fun?).

Special note: the road from 101 into Hoh is about 17-18 miles of beautiful scenery -- be sure to stop along the Hoh River and check out the steel-gray waters as the waterway cuts through the Hoh valley

Be warned, Highway 101 is where the Police Academy trains their rookies - the speed limit is strictly enforced and we almost got a ticket.... we were warned by our hotel staff as well. 

Picture Perfect - Hurricane Ridge, WA

We spent one full day in Olympic Nation Park and hit all three elements (Hurricane Ridge-mountain, Hoh Rain Forest-rain forest, Rialto Beach-ocean). Hurricane Ridge was our first stop out of three.

Hurricane Ridge is about an hour and a half drive up the mountains from Port Angeles. I'd consider the drive to be mountain driving, it's slow but very beautiful. The visitor center at the end of the road had plenty of park rangers, a nice gift shop, but was also very crowded. We spent about two hours here wandering the trails, and the views were almost too beautiful to be true. We visited in August and even then the Olympic Mountains were snowcapped.

 I'd definitely return to Hurricane Ridge, and I'd recommend you visit for yourself. In fact, of all the places that we visited in the Olympic National Park , this was probably my favorite.