Vacation 2005: Hoh Rain Forest – Visitor Center

2005 Summer Vacation – August 3rd – Day 5

After breakfast we headed to the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center (wiki) which is 19 miles inland from Hwy 101 under a canopy of ever-thickening, moss-draped trees.

12 feet of rain a year would probably create a rain forest anywhere! This is not a tropical rain forest though, since we are no where near the tropics. Instead, it is a temperate rain forest with ferns growing the size large shrubs and trees as tall as skyscrapers.

We missed the guided walk by 15 minutes so did the self guided tour around the 3/4 mile Hall of Mosses trail loop.

The trail was a nice easy walk through a hundred shades of green. Moss, lichens) liverworts, and licorice ferns hang or sprout from just about everything. The exposed roots of huge trees eerily provide evidence of having rooted in fallen trees that have long since rotted away, these ‘nursery trees’ sometimes causing natural rows of trees to grow in this otherwise chaotic scene.

There are many cleverly named businesses on this road. Places like the Hoh Hum Ranch and Westward Hoh. We stopped in at the Hard Rain Cafe just to take a peak at what they had inside. Besides food and overpriced t-shirts (any t-shirt costing more than $3.00 is overpriced) there was not much reason to stop or shop.

More Photos:

• Hoh Rain Forest
• 2005 Summer Vacation