Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest

United States National Forest

National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...

 located in Washington, USA. With an area of 633,677 acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s (2,564 km²), it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. U.S...

 and the Olympic Mountain

Olympic Mountains

The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...

 range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor

Grays Harbor County, Washington

Grays Harbor County is a county in the state of Washington, in the United States of America. As of 2010, the population was 72,797. The county seat is at Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. The county is named after a large estuarine bay near its southwestern corner...

, Jefferson

Jefferson County, Washington

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington, named after Thomas Jefferson. As of 2010, the population was 29,872. The county seat is at Port Townsend, which is also the county's only incorporated city....

, and Mason counties. The landscape of the national forest varies, from the temperate Olympic rain forest

Temperate rain forest

Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive high rainfall.-Definition:For temperate rain forests of North America, Alaback's definition is widely recognized:-Global distribution:...

 to the salt water fjord of Hood Canal

Hood Canal

Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.-Geography:...

 to the peaks of Mt. Washington

Mount Washington (Olympics)

Mount Washington is a peak in the Olympic Mountains of Washington state. The mountain is in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness.-Climbing Information:...

.

Annual precipitation averages about 220 inches (5.6 m), giving rise to streams such as the Humptulips River

Humptulips River

The Humptulips River is a river in Grays Harbor County, Washington, in the United States. Its main tributaries are the East Fork Humptulips River, about long , and West Fork Humptulips River, about long . After the forks join, the main river is approximately 20 miles long.The Humptulips has a...

.

Olympic National Forest was originally created as Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897, then renamed to Olympic National Forest in 1907. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was 266800 acres (107,970.2 ha). It is administered in two ranger districts: the Pacific Ranger District on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula

Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...

, and the Hood Canal Ranger District on the east side.

Forest headquarters are located in Olympia

Olympia, Washington

Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...

, with ranger

National Park Ranger

National Park Service Rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and/or the President of the United States...

 district offices in Forks

Forks, Washington

-Government:The City is organized under Washington State law as a Non-charter Code City. Its structure is that of an elected Mayor and a five member elected City Council...

, Quinault

Quinault, Washington

Quinault is an unincorported community in Washington in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. Quinault is located on the Olympic Peninsula....

, and Quilcene

Quilcene, Washington

Quilcene is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 591 at the 2000 census.The community is located on the scenic Olympic Peninsula along the seawater-filled glacial valley of the Hood Canal...

. The former office in Hoodsport

Hoodsport, Washington

Hoodsport is an unincorporated community in Mason County, Washington, United States. Hoodsport is located along the Hood Canal, at the intersection of U.S. Route 101 and State Route 119. Lake Cushman is nearby. Hoodsport is the gateway to the Staircase area of Olympic National Park.The first...

 closed in 2005, and now houses a local Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

, which still sells Northwest Forest Passes.

Other Washington towns near entrances of the forest include Port Angeles

Port Angeles, Washington

Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...

, Sequim

Sequim, Washington

Sequim is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The 2010 US Census counted a population of 6,606. Sequim is located along the Dungeness River near the base of the Olympic Mountains...

, and Amanda Park

Amanda Park, Washington

Amanda Park is an unincorporated community located in the Olympic Peninsula in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, along U.S. Route 101. Olympic National Park and Lake Quinault are directly to the north....

.

Points of interest

• Lake Cushman
  Lake Cushman
  Lake Cushman is a lake and reservoir on the north fork of the Skokomish River in Mason County, Washington. The lake originally was a long narrow broadening of the Skokomish River formed in a glacial trough and dammed by a terminal moraine from the last ice age, during the Vashon stade.The lake was...
  
  
• Quinault Rain Forest
• Wynoochee Dam
  Wynoochee Dam
  The Wynoochee Dam is 28 miles north of Montesano, Washington. It is owned by the city of Aberdeen, Washington, and was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1972. The dam regulates the flow of the Wynoochee River, creating Wynoochee Lake....
  
  
• Seal Rock

Wilderness areas

• The Brothers Wilderness
  The Brothers Wilderness
  The Brothers Wilderness area is located in the Olympic National Forest on the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula south of Buckhorn Wilderness and north of Mt. Skokomish Wilderness. The area was created in 1984 and now includes . The Brothers wilderness is named after The Brothers peaks which...
  
  
• Buckhorn Wilderness
  Buckhorn Wilderness
  The Buckhorn Wilderness is a mountainous wilderness area on the northeastern Olympic Peninsula in Washington, USA. Named after Buckhorn Mountain , the wilderness abuts the eastern boundary of Olympic National Park which includes nearby Mount Constance , Inner Constance , Warrior Peak , and Mount...
  
  
• Colonel Bob Wilderness
  Colonel Bob Wilderness
  Colonel Bob Wilderness is a 48 km2 protected area located in the southwest corner of Olympic National Forest in Washington State. It is named after 19th century orator Robert Green Ingersoll. Lake Quinault lies about 15 miles to the west. Elevations in the wilderness vary from 300 to 4,509...
  
  
• Mt. Skokomish Wilderness
• Wonder Mountain Wilderness
  Wonder Mountain Wilderness
  Wonder Mountain Wilderness is a designated wilderness area encompassing Wonder Mountain in the Olympic National Forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington in the United States. The wilderness was established in 1984 and comprises . It borders Olympic National Park and is administered by the US...
  
  

External links

• Official web site