America’s Most Beautiful National Park? | Olympic, Washington

In the far northwest corner of Washington, mountains, rainforest, and ocean all collide in one extraordinary place. Here, snow-capped mountains rise above ancient forests. Rivers disappear beneath trees covered in moss, and beyond them, the land eventually gives way to a coastline that feels almost completely wild. This looks like a dream right now. I absolutely love this lighting. There is nearly a million acres of wilderness stretching across Washington's Olympic Peninsula and one of the few places where you can travel from a temperate rainforest to alpine mountains to the edge of the Pacific Ocean all within the same park. But what makes Olympics so interesting isn't just how beautiful it is, it's how different each part feels. The western side of Olympic receives nearly 14 feet of rain every single year, creating one of the most pristine temperate rainforests in North America. But just across the mountains, much of that moisture gets blocked, creating a landscape that feels completely different. And surrounding all of it is more than 70 miles of wild Pacific coastline filled with sea stacks, driftwood-covered beaches, and places that feel almost untouched. We all live on the same planet under the same sky, but there are still places that make you feel like you've stepped somewhere else entirely. And over the next few days, I wanted to see just how many different worlds could exist inside this one. Just about three hours away from the airport, and you get views like this. Our journey starts here on Hurricane Ridge, one of the most popular places in Olympic National Park, where the road climbs high above the forest and opens up to some of the best mountain views in the entire park. It's pretty nice that you're able to just drive here and get these views instantly. You don't really have to go on a crazy hike. I think the elevation up here is pretty high, so the air is a thinner because I'm already starting to feel kind of gassed. Whoa. Wind speeds here can gust over 75 miles per hour, which is why this place earned its name Hurricane Ridge. And it's pretty crazy to think that it can be that chaotic because right now it's so serene and peaceful. It's brutal. I got a heavy bag. Is it easier walking it backwards? Feels a little bit easier, yeah. The views are only getting better and better though. There's a Japanese practice called shinrin yoku, coined back in 1982 in Japan, which means forest bathing. It's basically the act of slowing down and fully immersing yourself in the forest. And studies have shown that spending time this way can help lower your stress, slow your heart rate, and relax your nervous system. And part of that may come from the trees themselves. Trees release natural compounds into the air called phytocenes. And when we breathe them in, research suggests that they may contribute to some of the stress-reducing and immune-supporting effects that we experience from being in nature. And maybe that's why I'm so naturally drawn to being in nature all the time. Supposedly, a lot of bears out here. But they're black bears, so. Black bears? I thought, oh yeah, the black bears are the peaceful ones, right? They say they're much more shy and timid. They're a little bit more scared of humans. Which is good because we're all so scared. I've never seen a bear, ever. So if we see one, I think it'd be pretty special. We didn't get to see any bears, which maybe was a good thing, but we did get to see some deers, which is pretty common on this mountain. I want to say we got up around 4 a.m. and now it's like 7 p.m., so over 12 hours of traveling. And now, doing a quick little hike. Yeah, because we came here originally to do Hurricane Hill, but it's closed, so. Kind of a letdown. Yeah. I think you were relieved. You like kind of smiled. No, but honestly, I feel like it wasn't fortunate. We just didn't know it'd be closed today. Yeah. If your energy level is out of 100, what are you at right now? Yeah, 20 to 30 percent, I would say, right now. Sure you're still dead? Sunset. We haven't got sunset yet. Still need another hour or so. We kept making our way through the trail and ran into another couple who asked if I could help them take a photo. Yeah, and then you can write. Wait, is there a space where you can write down like this? Yeah, we write it in Sharpie. That's cool. Oh, my God. That looks really good, actually. But do you guys want one? That would be sick. I like how gigantic they are. Okay, say cheese. Cheese. All right, hope you guys didn't blink. Thank you. Yes, of course. Just put it in your backpack. It was really cool getting to share that same love for capturing moments, because I think that's one of the most beautiful things about photography, being able to freeze a moment in time and giving yourself something to look back on years from now. Oh, yeah, I love that film look. That looks so cool. What are you shooting on? I have the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Pro. I did get early access. The dynamic range is insane. Like, it blows my mind how good this footage looks. Because you also have the Pocket 3, right? Yeah, I have the Pocket 3, but honestly, this thing does not compare to the Pocket 3. This thing is way better. I love the zoom lens, and the 17 stops of dynamic range is really good. I'm actually shocked how good it is. I like that it does have two cameras, because the other one can't zoom. In the video, it just looks like... It's like Simba. Yeah, it was... It's 8 27, so in the next 30 to 40 minutes, the sun should be setting. So this is prime time now. We had no idea at first, but tonight just happens to be the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For one night, the sun takes its longest path across the sky, giving us more daylight than any other day of the year. The sun is just sitting there for so long. It's been sitting behind that mountain for at least like 20 minutes right now. It's pretty crazy. What are the chances that yesterday was literally the summer solstice too? We got an extra hour out here of daylight because of that. It officially marks the beginning of summer. Not a bad view for somewhere that you could drive to. This hike was probably like 15 minutes, honestly. Yeah, low effort, high reward location. I'm happy that we were able to come here and at least get a sneak peek as to what we're going to experience over the next couple of days. I'm excited to get cozy. We had a really long day. As the moon rose into the first night of summer, a deep blue hue saturated the sky as we walked back to our car. This is a really long sunset. I know, what time is it? Dude, it's 9 38 and it's still bright out. It's almost 10 and we're still outside. That's crazy. The next day, we headed over to a small city called Forks, which is known as the gateway to Olympic National Park and we arrived at this very unique location. What? This looks so cozy. They even have games for us and a coffee machine, a Keurig. I have this giant jackery here so we charge our phones and everything. This looks so good. Look at the sun. Oh my god. This might be one of the nicest campsites I've ever stayed in. I've never stayed in a dorm like this. This is definitely one of a kind. Oh, they even have cars for us. First aid kit, cleaning supplies, and it even comes with water. Crazy. I cannot believe we're here. I'm happy. I really like how well thought out this place is. There is no wi-fi, internet, really even electricity besides like this giant jackery. It's gonna be nice to sort of just unplug and really immerse yourself in the nature. So much of our lives is filled with constant stimulation and stress. Whether that's doom scrolling, hundreds of notifications, tight deadlines, being overly caffeinated, and the constant buzz of the city. So it felt really good to unplug and be surrounded by nature. No wi-fi, no cell service, and nothing to take us away from the present moment. And slowly the buzz and haze of all that noise started to fade away and it felt like clarity was setting in. Being in the forest felt like it was truly the remedy to that high dopamine lifestyle that is so common nowadays. And personally for me, it has helped me reset and recharge over the years many times. These trees are massive. Wow. This is definitely one of the most beautiful parks I've ever been to. Definitely a lot of people on the trail right now. This is a very popular place here in the Olympics so kind of makes sense. The whole rainforest is one of the wettest and most densely forested places in the United States, receiving around 12 feet of rain each year. That constant moisture allows moss to grow across almost every surface which is why this forest is so unbelievably green. Some of the trees here have been standing for hundreds of years with certain species being able to live for more than a thousand. You're gonna count the whole thing? My place. That's pretty crazy how this tree just like fell like this. Even when one of these giant trees falls, it still becomes part of the forest. As it decomposes, it turns into what's called a nurse log, creating a bed of nutrients where an entirely new generation of trees can grow. And because so much of this valley has remained protected, parts of Ho still looks remarkably similar to how it did a thousand years ago. After our time in Ho Rainforest, we wanted to cool off from the summer heat so we drove to a nearby lake that you have to visit if you're coming here. We're a little worried that the sun would dip behind the mountains and it'd get pretty chilly over here but still a lot of sun. Lake Crescent was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago and because there's barely any nutrients in the water, not much algae can grow here. That's why the water stays so insanely clear with that deep rich blue color. It feels really good now that the sun's out. You can feel the sun warming you up from the outside. Oh my hands are cold. But yeah, I'm happy we came. I think we needed this reset. This is peak lighting right now. At the time of recording this, today marked the official first day of summer and you can definitely feel it all around us. Right now I'm in Lake Crescent. It is freezing but this is nature's ice bath. That was a beautiful way to end the day. Very refreshing. Definitely feel a lot better now. All right, we have made it to the trailhead to second beach. This hike is going to be about 0.8 miles. I'm pretty sure this is where they shot some of Twilight. I don't remember that. Why do vampires sparkle? Because you know that scene where Edward is sparkling and she's like oh my god and he's like I know I'm ugly and then she's like you're sparkling. You're beautiful. Do I sparkle in your eyes? Sometimes. Imagine hiking back at night. What do you mean imagine? That's literally gonna be us later today. What time is it? 8 30. Okay we have like 40 minutes until sunset. But the sunset here is like literally an hour long so I think we're just chilling and walking there slowly. Oh they have some at the front. Really? Yeah they have some walking sticks. Imagine how cool I would be with the stick like that. Basically you have one though, your tripod. Well I guess that's true. I get a shot if you're using your tripod. Okay. Hey my name is Yuna. Cool. I actually did this in Yosemite and I broke my tripod. Is this the second tripod? The replacement tripod? Yeah. Fun fact it was snowing and raining while I was descending. I forget which hike it was but I'll throw up the footage over here. Imagine hiking down in pitch darkness at like 10 or 11 pm and it's snowing and raining. It was probably one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. Okay I'm gonna be so honest. I'm kind of happy I wasn't there for this experience. Dude Matt was there. He loved it as much as I did. Whoa. Oh there's even like people camping here. Wow. It's beautiful right? It's crazy to think that just a short walk through the forest an ocean like this is just waiting here for you. The beaches here in the Pacific Northwest are definitely very unique and has its own wildlife charm to it that I haven't really experienced anywhere else. But the sun is setting over there now. We're getting some really beautiful pink hues. This actually looks incredible right now. It's pretty incredible just how many different landscapes and sights you can experience here and I hope this video inspires you to get outdoors to unplug and recharge yourselves. Thank you so much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did making it. This is my third travel vlog now and I have a lot of exciting travel plans coming up in the next few months so lots more videos like this are on the way. Everything in this video was color graded with my cinematic LUTs and if you want to get similar colors with just a few clicks check out the link in the bio as it really does help support me to keep making videos just like this. Once again thank you so much if you have made it this far in this video. I really appreciate you guys and I'll see you guys very soon.