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Some of the most iconic views in Olympic National Park are the moss-covered trees, especially on the western side of the park. Washington’s Olympic Peninsula is incredibly diverse and home to four temperate rainforests, including the Hoh, Quinault, Queets and Bogachiel.
If you only have time for one trail in the Hoh Rain Forest (pronounced “Hoe”), I would make it the Hall of Mosses. This easy, one-mile loop is one of the park’s most popular trails, and it gets you up close to the towering moss-covered trees that make this rainforest so unique.
While dogs are not allowed on the trail, the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center has wheelchair rentals which makes it a little easier for more visitors to experience the rainforest.
As we were walking through the forest, it was easy to see why the Olympic Peninsula inspired legends like Bigfoot.
Are you ready to explore the Hall of Mosses? Because you bet your Yeti, we’re ready!
The Scenic Drive to the Hall of Mosses
The drive to the Hall of Mosses took us along some beautifully winding roads with some amazing views. From Forks (check out our guide to the Twilight locations!), it’s about 30 miles and takes around 50 minutes. Since we stayed at Mossquatch Resort which is farther west of Forks, our drive was closer to 40 miles and took about an hour and 10 minutes.
If you’re planning to spend the night nearby, you can check out places to stay in and around Forks.
You enter the rainforest as soon as you turn onto Upper Hoh Road. As we drove deeper and deeper into the forest, we kept pulling off more and more for pictures and to take it all in. Moss covers every tree, ferns are spread across the ground and you are just surrounded by green!
We loved the drive! But the thing is that we decided to explore the Hall of Mosses too late in the day, and also got distracted with all that green. Thinking it wouldn’t be crazy busy towards the end of July, we left our tent around noon.
By the time we reached the Hoh Rain Forest sign, we hit a traffic jam that didn’t budge. It was so slow moving that it would have taken us over two hours to make it past the entrance. Turns out that the Hall of Mosses is extremely popular, and parking lot fills up fast.
If you’re planning to visit, don’t get there late like we did. Try to get there as early as possible. The later you arrive, the more likely you are to face a 1-3 hour wait just to park.
Since the line wasn’t moving, we decided to turn around and leave Hall of Mosses for tomorrow. Instead, we made the most of our day by exploring more of the Washington coast. We hiked the trails at Mossquatch Resort and brought our pups to the dog-friendly Rialto Beach.
The next morning, we woke up at 7am and made it to the Hall of Moss by 9am (a much better plan!).
If you do end up stuck in line, we saw a couple porta potties along the side of the road before you reach the park entrance. Though, those may not always be there.
Where to Park
After you make it through the park entrance, you’ll come up to the visitor center on your left and the parking lot on your right. Even though we got there pretty early (around 9am), the parking lot was already full. We had to turn around and park along the side of the road instead.
A few things to keep in mind about parking:
- Get there early: We arrived around 9am in late July and the main lot was already full.
- Roadside parking is allowed: Just make sure you’re parked in one of the designated areas.
- Expect a little extra walking: Parking along the road adds a few minutes before you even reach the trail.
Once you’ve found your parking spot, you’re just a short walk away from the Hall of Mosses Trailhead.
Hiking the Hall of Mosses
Before you even reach the trailhead, you’ll pass by the visitor center, which is open daily throughout the summer. When we visited, there were plenty of families out exploring the trail with us. Just make sure to leave the pups back at your hotel / Airbnb. Dogs are not allowed on the trails in the Hoh.
Since this is such an easy walk, we left most of our hiking gear in the car. But you’ll definitely want to bring your camera for some Hall of Mosses trail photos! With the trees being so massive, I found myself using our wide-angle lenses on our phones the most. It’s hard to fit everything into the frame otherwise.
If you get to the trail around sunrise or sunset, you can probably capture some beautiful shots of the sunlight filtering through the trees!
The Hall of Mosses Trail isn’t so much a hike as it is a self guided walk through the rainforest. This one-mile loop takes about 25 minutes to walk, with benches and plaques explaining the plants and trees around you.
With the Hoh Rainforest receiving up to 170 inches of rain a year, the ground is covered in ferns, and the trees are absolutely draped in moss! Though, when we visited towards the end of July, we were surprised that we had more rain along the coast than in the rainforest. But that’s probably just down to coincidence.
One of the most memorable moments was when we heard another visitor shout, “You need to see this MASSIVE slug!” And sure enough, there was a HUGE banana slug sitting on the ferns. Speaking of wildlife, while we didn’t spot any salmon during our visit, you can sometimes find them swimming in Taft Creek, especially when crossing the footbridge.
The short hike really was beautiful. There was even a point where we passed under a tree that formed an arch over the trail.
What Else to See in the Area
If you’ve got some extra time, there’s more to check out nearby. You can hike the Spruce Nature Trail or the Hoh River Trail, which are both right around the corner. And while you’re in the area, you definitely want to explore La Push, Kalaloch’s Tree of Life and Ruby Beach, too.
Our Takeaway
Even after seeing photos online, nothing really prepared us for just how massive the trees were or how much moss covered literally everything. This was one of our favorite and most memorable stops during our 2.5 weeks exploring the Olympic Peninsula.
If you’re planning your visit, our biggest bit of advice is to get there early. We learned the hard way after getting caught in the long entrance line and needing to turn around on our first attempt. Coming back early the next morning made our second try so much better, even if we still ended up parking on the side of the road.
If you’ve visited the Hall of Mosses, we’d love to hear about your trip in the comments below! And if you’re planning a trip to Olympic National Park, check out our other trail guides and road trip itineraries!
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