Trip Tip: Parks are reporting high traffic during peak season since the pandemic. Plan to visit off season (Spring & Winter) or mid-week for the best possible experience. Practice physical distancing on trails.
Although the tallest peak, Mount Olympus, only reaches 7,965 feet, the steep manner they rise from the ocean gives the mountains the illusion of great height. In 1788, the explorer Captain John Meares named the tallest peak Mount Olympus in honor of the Greek explorer Juan de Fuca who had first passed by the mountain and named it Santa Rosalia in 1774. Since then the range has become associated with the ancient home of the Greek gods in name.
OLYMPICS: A RICH & STORIED
PLAYGROUND Despite their jutting appearance, the Olympic Mount Range are not volcanic. This is surprising given the proliferation of volcanic ranges in the Pacific Northwest, for example Mount Baker and Mount Rainer. As evidenced by the marine fossils found in the summits of the range, the Olympic Range once was part of the ocean floor. Approximately 120 million years ago, the Pacific Tectonic Plate crashed into the North American Plate and created the Olympic Range.
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