Large trees and ferns inhabit the temperate forests of Olympic.
With its incredible range of precipitation and elevation, diversity is the hallmark of Olympic National Park. Encompassing nearly a million acres, the park protects a vast wilderness, thousands of years of human history, and several distinctly different ecosystems, including glacier-capped mountains, old-growth temperate rain forests, and over 70 miles of wild coastline. Come explore!
Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest will reopen the Staircase developed area and its access road, FS-24, on July 8. The area has been closed since the human-caused Bear Gulch Fire ignited in Olympic National Forest on July 6, 2025.
The lightning-caused Mt. Tom Creek Fire is burning on a remote mountain slope on the west side of Olympic National Park. Fire management officials have ordered aviation and ground resources to respond to the fire, including Type 1 and Type 2 helicopters, enhanced reconnaissance aircraft, wildland fire engines, and hand crews. The fire was reported by backpackers on June 24 after a lightning storm moved through the area on June 23.
Olympic Interagency Fire Managers have declared the start of fire season due to hot and dry weather conditions. In the last three weeks, firefighter crews have extinguished several small fires that spread from abandoned campfires.
Human remains discovered in Olympic National Park in 2000 have been identified as Joseph Louis Serrao Jr. Following a decades-long collaborative investigative effort that included the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office and advanced genetic testing and analysis conducted by Othram, a laboratory specializing in forensic genealogy.
Olympic National Park is seeking proposals to provide visitor concession services at Kalaloch Lodge. The new concessioner will provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, campground (group site), firewood, and other related services over a 10-year term. Proposals must be submitted electronically by Aug. 3, 2026.