Ranger station · Olympic National Park
Tide charts, friendly coastal advice, and a park passport stamp.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Olympic Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Olympic National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Olympic audio tourRecorded for this place
Kalaloch Lodge: Seafood Above the Pacific“You're coming up on Kalaloch Lodge, on the bluff above the Pacific.”
Plays as you drive up to Kalaloch Ranger Station in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Kalaloch Ranger Station is a small, seasonal visitor-information stop beside US-101 in Olympic National Park’s Kalaloch area. When it’s open, stop for a tide chart before beach walks or tidepooling, ask about the coast and the west side of the peninsula, or pick up the park passport stamp. Maps and books are sold here, and staff offer park information. It opens intermittently in summer, generally from Memorial Day weekend through September 30, so check the schedule before making a special detour.
A whale skull sits outside the building, and a wooden canoe is displayed under a roofed shelter. They’re the station’s most distinctive features, and both are right at the stop; inside, you’ll find exhibits and information.
The building is listed as wheelchair accessible, though details about the approach aren’t available. Visitors have mentioned a restroom, but its type and seasonal availability aren’t clear, so don’t rely on it outside the station’s open season.
Wildlife
710 sightingsOlympic MarmotMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
30 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
23 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
71 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
306 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Olympic. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyKalaloch Nature Trail1 mi · 36 min · 0.5 mi awayMossy forest and a creek view on this easy Kalaloch loop.
EasyKalaloch to Browns Point Trail3.2 mi · 2 hr · 0.8 mi awayTree roots and tide pools along an easy beach walk.
EasyBeach 2 Trail0.2 mi · 30 min · 0.8 mi awayA steep forest path drops to a driftwood-lined beach.
EasyBeach 1 Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 1.7 mi awayA short spruce descent ends on a shore piled with drift logs.
EasySpruce Burl Trail0.2 mi · 18 min · 1.7 mi awayA tiny forest loop with big spruce burls to spot.
ModerateBeach 3 Trail0.3 mi · 45 min · 2.8 mi awayA steep forest stairway drops to tidepools and rocky shore.
ModerateBeach 4 Trail0.4 mi · 45 min · 3.5 mi awayA stairway to Kalaloch tide pools and a rugged Pacific beach.
Lodging · 0.2 mi awayKalaloch LodgeStay beside the Pacific in a lodge built from driftwood timber.
Beach · 0.6 mi awayKalaloch BeachWalk a driftwood-strewn shore and watch Pacific surf.
Campground · 0.8 mi awayKalaloch CampgroundSome sites face the Pacific; others sit among the trees.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayTree of LifeA Sitka spruce with roots stretched above a bluff cave.
Beach · 0.9 mi awayKalaloch Beach 2A short, steep walk leads to burl-marked spruces and a tiered beach.Beach · 1.8 mi awayKalaloch Beach 1A short spruce trail drops to a beach where driftwood rules.Campground · 2.5 mi awaySouth Beach CampgroundSleep with Pacific surf rising from the beach below.Beach · 2.8 mi awayKalaloch Beach 3Low-tide pools reward the short, steep path down to the coast.Parkwolf’s Olympic ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
