Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center

This small visitor center sits at the end of Upper Hoh Road, in the Hoh Rain Forest. Stop for orientation, exhibits and a bookstore, then give most of your time to the surrounding old-growth forest; the building is modest, and two short self-guided nature loops begin nearby.

The Hall of Mosses is a 0.8-mile loop beneath old-growth trees, with bigleaf maples draped in club moss. The 1.2-mile Spruce Nature Trail travels through old and younger growth beside Taft Creek and the Hoh River. The longer Hoh River Trail also starts in this developed area.

When the building is open, staff can help you get oriented. There are educational exhibits, brochures, passport stamping and a small bookstore. The developed area has flush toilets, accessible toilets, drinking water, picnic tables and parking; the center is wheelchair accessible.

Reach the center on Upper Hoh Road from Highway 101 south of Forks, then continue to the road end. The wider Hoh area is open year-round, but the center follows a seasonal schedule and closes during part of winter. There is no food service in the Hoh, and the nearest gas station is 31 miles away, so plan food and fuel before heading in.

The Hoh averages about 140 inches of rain each year. Sitka spruce, red cedar, Douglas-fir and bigleaf maple form a dense canopy, with mosses and ferns covering branches and trunks. Frequent winter rain sustains the lush understory.

When a giant tree falls, it opens a patch of light and its decaying trunk can become a nurse log where seedlings take root. Look for straight rows of younger trees or gaps between root systems, clues that the forest is growing over an older log.

The center, trails, campground, picnic areas, amphitheater and approach road were laid out as one Mission 66 era developed area. The plan concentrated access and visitor facilities while limiting impacts on the wider forest.

Roosevelt elk, black bears and river otters are among the wildlife often seen in the wider Hoh; the old-growth forest also supports endangered northern spotted owls. The name “Hoh” has no settled translation: several Indigenous-language origins have been proposed, but the original meaning is considered lost.