Sol Duc Hot Spring is a great place to focus on nature

  • By Linda Jenkins Special to The Herald
  • Friday, April 10, 2015 12:33pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

I have the camera focused tightly on the rushing, icy clear water below.

They told us at check-in that there was an early salmon run on the Sol Duc River; a guest had spotted 10 fish the day before. I rushed my family to the Salmon Cascades, where a viewing platform is built over the river a few miles north of Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort in Olympic National Park.

I steady the lens, hopeful for a prized photo of salmon leaping through the air. My 5-year-old twins are with me, and like all kindergarteners, waiting isn’t their natural state. The two of them are moving around, kicking the dirt, giggling and running their hands over the rough, damp wood around the platform.

Leaning over the railing with the camera up to my eye, I hear my son’s delighted squeal, alerting me to stop and really look. In my line of sight, no more than what would be a few strides away, a majestic bald eagle glides low and swiftly over the water, eyeing the river like us.

Three million visitors a year come to Olympic National Park to experience its 1,400 square miles of glaciers, mountain and forest trails, wildlife, rivers and scenic beaches. Olympic National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. The park is a source of pride for Pacific Northwest residents and a must-see natural wonder for travelers from around the world.

We’ve come to the north side of Olympic National Park in springtime to visit Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. It’s one of the park’s lodge properties, open early in the year to welcome the first warm-weather visitors. Sol Duc’s location and updated amenities make it a popular choice for families.

“Sol Duc” comes from a Quileute Indian phrase that means sparkling water. The naturally heated springs are said to be made from the hot tears of dragons, defeated in a battle over the valley.

In more recent times, the area was developed as a luxury resort in 1912, before a fire consumed it all a few years later.

Today’s Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort has a large riverside suite and 32 comfortable cabins, some with kitchens. None of the cabins has a phone, television, internet or Wi-Fi, making them a perfect base for getting kids outside.

Sol Duc Hot Springs is a popular destination for those seeking the purported healing properties of the mineral pools. “They come for therapeutic reasons,” Sol Duc Hot Springs manager Jay Vincent tells me. “People believe in the healing power of hot springs.”

I find that after a long day of exploring the park and accounting for my excited twins, my soak in the 100-degree water of the hot springs provides a relaxing escape from the aches and fatigue that can go along with family travel.

My water-loving kids don’t mind the sulfur smell, swimming and floating for as long as we’ll let them, meeting other kids and fitting right in with the groups of resort guests and day-trippers enjoying the pools. There is a large unheated freshwater pool for breaks from the heat — in the cool springtime mist that lingered in the Sol Duc Valley on our visit, only the hardiest swimmers spent much time there.

The pools were tidy and well-maintained. The quietest time to go was the first hour they opened in the morning, when resort guests have exclusive use of the facilities. Throughout the day, we saw families walking toward the hot springs, heading outside in all weather to spend time together.

The Sol Duc Valley is a good base for exploring a number of Olympic National Park’s most famous sights and activities. At the end of Sol Duc Road is the trailhead for the Sol Duc Waterfall Trail, a well-maintained nearly mile-long hike through thick forest and across bridges.

As we walk the trail toward Sol Duc Falls, my twins ask me to repeat their favorite Bigfoot stories, tales I’ve made up to steer them away from straying too far from Mom and Dad in the woods. The trails can be slippery and I’ve read that there are black bears and cougars in the park — with Sasquatch’s help, my curious twins stay nearby on all our hikes.

From Sol Duc we do a leisurely drive to the Hoh Rainforest. On the Hall of Mosses trail, my daughter sees the white sheen of fairy wings in the flickering light that makes it down through the rainforest canopy. My son sees dinosaurs tucked in the swampy, moss-draped forest. All of us think the massive trees and decaying stumps look like giants, leaning in as if they could stand up, shake their tattered green cloaks and step into our world.

Heading back through the small town of Forks, we have the best kids’ meals we’ve had on the road at Sully’s Drive-In. I succumb to the Twilight frenzy and order a Bella Burger and Twilight Punch, complete with fangs. It’s the most fun I’ve had with food in a long while. I keep my plastic fangs to remember the visit, and tell my twins that vampires live in the woods, watching for any kid who gets out of bed before sunrise.

My family sleeps soundly back in our cabin. With no TV or Wi-Fi, I stay up reading “How to Raise a Wild Child” and focusing on all that we’ve seen.

If you go

Go: Washington State Ferries run daily from Edmonds to Kingston, or from Coupeville to Port Townsend. 888-808-7977. www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. Drive 40 miles east of Port Angeles to Sol Duc Hot Springs.

Stay: Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, 12076 Sol Duc Hot Springs Road, Port Angeles. 360-327-3583. www.olympicnationalparks.com. 32 cabins, a riverside suite and an RV park. Campsites nearby are first come, first served.

Eat: Sully’s Drive-In, 220 S. Forks Ave., Forks. 360-374-5075. Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort has a poolside deli and a restaurant. Families should reserve a cabin with a kitchen — pick up provisions in Port Angeles or Forks.

Fees and safety: Get park information, passes and permits at the Olympic National Park Visitor’s Center, 3002 Mt. Angeles Road, Port Angeles. 360-565-3130. www.nps.gov/olym. Be prepared — check road and trail conditions, supervise children and bring proper gear.

Read: “How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love With Nature” by Scott D. Sampson. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

Linda Jenkins is a Pacific Northwest travel writer. She lives in Arlington. Follow her on Twitter @2win_mom and her blog twin-mom.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.