USFS · Washington

Olympic National Forest

Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 628,115 acres (254,189 ha), it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, and Mason counties. The landscape of the national forest varies, from the temperate Olympic rain forest to the salt water fjord of Hood Canal to the peaks of Mt. Washington.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest697,411 acresUSFSWA25 campgrounds within 10 mi109 Forest Service sites115 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateWashington
Size697,411 acres
Forest Service code0609, region 06
Center point48.00° N, 124.14° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 7)

Boundary map

5 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Olympic National Forest30°40°50°60°70°January: 19.10 inches of precipitation, 3.1 inches of snowFebruary: 11.69 inches of precipitation, 1.3 inches of snowMarch: 14.31 inches of precipitation, 0.5 inches of snowApril: 9.43 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowMay: 4.96 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 3.69 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 2.05 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 2.77 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 4.77 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 11.71 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowNovember: 18.07 inches of precipitation, 1.0 inches of snowDecember: 17.39 inches of precipitation, 1.9 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 40.7°F averageFebruary: 42.0°F averageMarch: 44.4°F averageApril: 48.3°F averageMay: 53.6°F averageJune: 57.5°F averageJuly: 61.6°F averageAugust: 62.3°F averageSeptember: 58.8°F averageOctober: 51.2°F averageNovember: 44.0°F averageDecember: 39.8°F average0 in5 in10 in15 in20 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Forks 1 E, 10 miles from the center point at 350 feet, station USC00452914 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 120 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 8 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

16 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 9 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Big Creek Campground
First-come64 sites
FS · Inside
Brown Creek Campground
First-come20 sites
FS · Inside
Campbell Tree Grove Campground
First-comeWA
FS · Inside
Coho Campground
Reservable58 sites
FS · Inside
Collins Campground
First-come16 sites
FS · Inside
Dungeness Forks Campground
First-come10 sites
FS · Inside
Falls View Campground
First-come24 sites
FS · Inside
Hamma Hamma Campground
First-comeWA
Show 4 more

13 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 109

The Forest Service lists 109 recreation sites in this forest, among them 76 trailheads, 16 campgrounds, 4 cabins, 3 day hikings. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 49 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 115 named trails in this forest, 289 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
West Fork Humptulips ↗17.1
Wynoochee Lake Shore ↗15.2
Mt. Muller ↗11.3
Lower So. Fk. Skokomish ↗10.5
Tubal Cain ↗8.6
Sleepy Hollow ↗8
Dungeness ↗7.7
Tunnel Creek ↗7.5
Dry Creek ↗7.4
Pyramid Peak ↗6.7

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 115 trails in Olympic National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Park · 15 mi
Olympic National Park
National Historical Reserve · 19 mi
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
National Historical Park · 27 mi
Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park
Affiliated Area · 27 mi
Wing Luke Museum Affiliated Area
National Register listings within 15 miles · 166 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Washington

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Backpacking Washington
    Douglas Lorain, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon and Washington
    Andy Selters, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Waterfalls in Washington
    Sawyer Scheer, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Washington's Fire Lookouts
    Amber Casali, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hikes in the Washington Region Part C
    Larry Broadwell and William Needham, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Olympic National Forest?

697,411 acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Olympic National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Olympic National Forest in?

Washington.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Olympic National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Olympic National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 48.003° N, 124.138° W. Olympic National Park is 15 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Which national parks are near Olympic National Forest?

Olympic National Park (15 mi), Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve (19 mi) and Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park (27 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Olympic National Forest?

The National Register has 166 listings within 15 miles, including Rose Theatre and Fort Worden Building 305 (Historic Quartermasters Office & Storehouse).

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Olympic National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.