Summer wildflowers blanket meadows along Hurricane Ridge, and black-tailed deer graze within feet of trails. From the top of the ridge, the Olympic Mountains, Strait of Juan de Fuca and Canada seem just out of arms reach, www.olympic.national-park.com/.
Ancient cathedral-like rainforests on the Olympic Peninsula are home to vibrant green mosses, delicate lichens, fungus and ferns all flourishing in the temperate ecosystem of the Hoh Rainforest.
Just off easily accessible trails, herds of Roosevelt elk can be seen grazing amongst giant old-growth cedars, hemlocks, and firs.