Experience Olympic

I had a great day hiking, birding, snowshoeing, throwing snowballs, and sightseeing on the North Olympic Peninsula with Carolyn!
Contact tour guide Carolyn Wilcox at

To the Mountains! To the Olympic Mountains! This past Labor day weekend I had an itching to get out to Port Angeles for a weekend to experience the ecology of the Olympic Peninsula — and with naturalist Carolyn Wilcox as a guide up to Hurricane Ridge, the trip was lively, informative, the snacks delicious, and of course, the sunset hike was breathtaking.
And the wildlife was very much out and about — we saw five Columbian Black-​tailed Deer during the ~3 mile hike, 3 sooty grouse, Olympic marmot, red-​tailed hawks, and a variety of sub-​alpine wildflowers. With Carolyn interpreting the landscape, I was able to see the vertical shale formations juxtaposed with sandstone rock as part of the continuing story of the Olympics, learn about the ecology of the sooty grouse, and look over the Elwa River watershed and learn about the dam removal and restoration process — from an ecologist who used to study mammals in the Elwha watershed prior to the dam removal!
Carolyn’s background is as an ecologist and an environmental educator, and hiking with her is a joy — she gives you the depth of her knowledge of the Olympics in a compelling and accessible manner. And she is so quick with the spotting scope to ensure that a bird or raptor does not go missed. I’ll be timing my next trip to Olympic National Park to happen when raptors are migrating through the area, and contacting Carolyn — she has even worked on a raptor survey project in Utah!
Exploring a new environment is definitely a richer and more rewarding experience when travelling with an experienced local naturalist guide. On your next trip to the Olympic Peninsula or Olympic National Park, I highly recommend Carolyn at ExperienceOlympic.
N. Noell