Kalaloch Campground - group — Olympic National Park

Site D37 at Kalaloch was a gem—perched on the bluff with its own little trail to unobstructed ocean views. My wife, our two pups, and I car camped in a Rivian R1S (anniversary trip + maiden voyage), with a Timber Ridge SUV tent as our kitchen/lounge. Camp mode in the R1S was fantastic, but the SUV tent setup proved more awkward than helpful: uneven pad, daily connect/disconnect routine, and questionable space efficiency. Lesson learned—we’ll stick to standalone tents next time.

That said, the site itself had personality. Two tucked-away clearings behind the fire pit offered privacy, though they became ponds during the inevitable coastal downpour—so maybe not ideal real estate. Bathrooms were clean enough, but BYO soap, towel, and disinfectant wipes unless you like to roll the dice. No showers (of course), but potable water was handy.

Despite quirks, this spot had the perfect mix of beach proximity, cliffside drama, and relative seclusion. We’ll definitely be back—just without the SUV tent.

This Olympic National Park Campground along the Washington coastal route is highly coveted, and frequently packed. If you’re lucky enough to get a reservation, or a cancellation (see the Dyrt Alerts), you’ll be treated to some of the best sunsets that the Olympic Peninsula has to offer, if you don’t mind a little traffic noise. 

Many of the campsites are tucked away under the spreading canopy of trees and moss, and little sunlight filters in. While others face the ocean and have more expansive views of the sky. We were lucky to grab one of the latter and had plenty of open sky for solar power and satellite internet. 

The bathrooms offer clean flush toilets and sinks, but no showers. The sites all have the typical picnic table and fire ring, but pay close attention to size limits within each site on recreation.gov because the sizes vary widely as does the space between sites. 

Activities abound in this park of the park, road cycling, nearby hiking in the forest, or miles and miles and miles along the wide sand beach. The shore is quite shallow here so the tidal flats are very wide. Many different beach access areas within a short drive bring you to different types of beaches, some with sea stacks, stellar tide pooling rocks and backcountry trails.  Head to the Kalaloch Lodge for a tasty dinner out!

Many NPS Park Ranger programs meet at these different beach locations. The Hoh Rainforest Visitor’s Center is about an hour and 20 minutes from the Campground. Also be aware of the traffic congestion at any of the visitor centers in Olympic NP, which can have you waiting for several hours to get into the park. 

The nearest town with groceries, laundry and restaurants is Forks, about 45 minutes away, but the nearby Kalaloch Lodge served an excellent table, reservations suggested.

This Olympic National Park Campground along the Washington coastal route is highly coveted, and frequently packed. If you’re lucky enough to get a reservation, or a cancellation (see the Dyrt Alerts), you’ll be treated to some of the best sunsets that the Olympic NP has to offer, if you don’t mind a little traffic noise. 

Many of the campsites are tucked away under the spreading canopy of trees and moss, and little sunlight filters in. While others face the ocean and have more expansive views of the sky. We were lucky to grab one of the latter and had plenty of open sky for solar power and satellite internet. 

The bathrooms offer clean flush toilets and sinks, but no showers. The sites all have the typical picnic table and fire ring, but pay close attention to size limits within each site on recreation.gov because the sizes vary widely as does the space between sites. 

Activities abound in this park of the park, road cycling, nearby hiking in the forest, or miles and miles and miles along the wide sand beach. The shore is quite shallow here so the tidal flats are very wide. Many different beach access areas within a short drive bring you to different types of beaches, some with sea stacks, incredible tide pooling rocks and backcountry trails.  Head to the Kalaloch Lodge for a great dinner out, then walk along the beach at sunset.

Many NPS Park Ranger programs meet at these different beach locations. The Hoh Rainforest Visitor’s Center is about an hour and 20 minutes from the Campground. Also be aware of the traffic congestion at any of the visitor centers in Olympic NP, which can have you waiting for several hours to get into the park. 

The nearest town with groceries, laundry and restaurants is Forks, about 45 minutes away, but the nearby Kalaloch Lodge served an excellent table, reservations suggested.

My campsite was nestle in the rainforest and even though I was close to my neighbors, it felt very secluded. The campgrounds are located near Kalaloch Lodge which has incredible dining at a reasonable price. Even better, it has a wonderful outdoor patio that overlooks the mouth of the HOH River where you can watch amazing sunsets or go explore beaches laden with driftwood the size of jetliners!! Be very careful though as driftwood this size can shift and be dangerous. Walk south down the beach and you’ll find the cabins, a gazebo and people flying kites or hanging around campfires on the beach. The drive north is beautiful and hugs the beaches. Explore them all but Beach No. 4 has the best tide pools full of sea life. It is imperative that you go while the tide is going out (Ebb Tide) as it is easy to get stranded out on the rocks when the tide comes in. Have a tide chart and know how to use it. This is an exciting place for children to explore. I guess I’m just a big kid. Ruby Beach is the next beach north and has incredible sea stacks. Continue driving north and the road turns inland and takes you to the HOH Rainforest. Hike The Hall of Mosses trail sprinkled with woodland poems and the Enchanted Valley up to the waterfalls. Driving south, visit Lake Quinault resort area with a plethora of things to do. This is a place with visiting again and again.

I lucked out and was able to grab a spot for one night only at Kalaloch. It was my first time there and I loved the tranquility of the forest coupled with the sound of the waves below the bluff. The spot I had was A0021, which faced the ocean but it was a teeny, tiny spot. I came with my two teens and we had two tents (a single and a double) and we were able to squeeze them into the spot, but it was tough to navigate between the two to get to the picnic table and fire pit. Nevertheless, we made do. Bit speaking of "do" or in this case "Doo" there was a lot of dog waste around our site and since it was hot and hadn't rained for a few days, the smell of dog pee was pretty strong. The other downside was that none of the bathrooms were open and operational due to a power outage, so we (the entire campsite) had to trek over to the Kalaloch Lodge to use the facilities. Other than that, though, the place was really magical and seemingly quiet despite a packed campsite. I would definitely go back again if I could grab the spot across the way from us (it was three times larger), but I think that might take a lot of luck and patience since Kalaloch seems to fill up pretty fast.