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The Top 25 Highlights of Olympic National Park Summer Camp Backpacking

This Summer was our second running Summer Camp trips up in Olympic National Park in Washington and it was stellar! We changed things up a bit and split trips to be either Mountain or Coastal, and also offered our first 13-day backpacking trip where they did both! The young ones didn’t miss out either as we had three Young Adventurer trips go out on the coast. Whether walking along the beach or descending a steep ladder to get to a glacier at the base of Mt. Olympus, these kids went out and saw the many splendors that make Olympic National Park so amazing. 

Seven trips got to explore the coast, sometimes navigating on overland routes, other times navigating an early rise out of their sleeping bags to hike stretches of land before the tides came and swallowed them up. Some groups got some rain, but all groups got stunning sunsets and certainly enjoyed the swings at multiple campsites!

The mountain trips had some challenges of their own, sometimes navigating through snow, definitely hoofing it up some steep uphills, but the enchanted forests gushing with waterfalls and views of snow-capped peaks for miles made it all worth it!

Whether mountains, coast, or both, all these kids went out there and learned about overcoming challenges, the importance of Leave No Trace, the Native history, the geology of the area, and how tight a bond can get when a group of people spends a week in the woods together. 

We can’t wait until next Summer to share these special places with even more kids (could it be you?), but for now, we’re enjoying sitting back and reminiscing.

Backpacker looking at the scenery
Boy sitting on a rock in front of a lake
Backpackers on a trail above the clouds
Hiker descending a steep ladder in front of the mountains
Hikers breaking in front of the mountains
Hikers posing in front of mountains
Girl smiling in front of Blue Glacier
Brother and sister hugging in front of Blue Glacier
Hikers in fading sunlight in front of Mt. Olympus
Backpackers walking on the beach
Girl climbing a massive tree
Backpackers in front of Hole in the Wall
Hikers descending hill on the beach
Backpackers hiking on the beach
Young backpacker on beach
Young kids goofing off in front of the sunset
Kid enjoying the sunset on the beach
Kid in sleeping bag on the beach
Kid relaxing on a log while the sun sets
Kids enjoying the sunset on the beach
Kids in front of sea stacks for sunset
Girl swinging
Kid swinging in front of sun set on the beach
Kids in front of a campfire at the beach
Kids hugging in the woods

Trips by Destination

Trips by Type

Camping Programs
Lodge-Based Programs