Best Places to Elope in Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is one of our favorite parks in the United States for elopements, but also just in general. The park has it all! From rugged mountains, incredible mountains, lush forests, and so much wildlife.
We have explored over 100+ miles in this park in various landscapes on personal adventures and with our eloping couples. We are excited to share with you the locations we think are best and tips for choosing what is right for your elopement day!
This blog focuses on all things Best Places to go within the park for your elopement. If you are looking for a guide on how to plan your elopement in the park please visit this resource.
Top 5 Best Locations to Elope in Olympic National Park
The map below showcases the locations we talk about here, including the top 5 places to elope, wedding venues and others that get mentioned in the subtext.
Hurricane Ridge
Hurricane Ridge is the main access point to the mountain trails in Olympic National Park. A few areas to consider within Hurricane Ridge are:
- Obstruction Point
- Hurricane Hill
- Deer Park
Sunrise or sunset is stunning in the mountains! Though we tend to spend sunrise in the mountains with our couples.
The trails in the mountains range from an easy 1.5-mile hike to longer backpacking elopements.
It is best to elope in the mountains here between mid-June and the first week of October, but you can elope there typically year-round, pending certain road closures due to immediate snow.
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent sits between the mountains and the beaches in the park. It is a fantastic place to picnic, kayak, enjoy the Summer days or go for a chilly swim.
This location is not just about the lake! Here in late June, you can find a stunning field of wild daisies, usually with deer frequenting the area. You can also access Mt Storm King and Devil’s Punchbowl for hiking or cliff jumping.
This is usually the main location we recommend for ceremonies with family.
You can also stay on the lake at Lake Crescent Lodge giving you incredible access to the lake outside your front door.
Pro Tip: If you want drone photos or video coverage from your elopement, stay in an Airbnb on Lake Sutherland. Since this lake is not on NPS land we can fly our drone here with permission from the property owner to be there for coverage.
Rialto Beach
Rialto Beach is one of the most popular beaches in the park outside of Ruby Beach, which we also love it is just the farthest away beach to consider and typically more crowded.
This beach requires a bit of a hike to get to the most beautiful area, leading you to massive rocks jetting out of the ocean and even “hole in the rock” which, if the tide is allowed, creates a beautiful ocean arch for you to stand in at sunset.
You can have a fire at this beach, as long as there is not a fire ban, past Ellis Creek – so be prepared to hike in your wood! Don’t forget, you can also stay overnight camping on the beach if you get your permit ahead of time!
Special note: It is super important to be aware of tides if planning to hike out on this beach. At high tide, hiking back to the parking lot it can become dangerous, leaving you little shoreline to hike.
Second Beach
You may have not heard of this beach yet in your general search about Olympic National Park! However, this is the beach we photograph the majority of our elopements in the park! The hike is a little longer than the other beaches, but it goes through a beautiful forest. You will also find a little more privacy here than Rialto or Ruby.
Bonuses? You can camp here as well with a permit, and you can have a fire if there is no fire ban.
Early spring, the sun goes right through a keyhole in the rock, making for a magical sunset!
A lot of our couples like to stay out on the coast here until the sky is dark to stargaze at the Milky Way. This beach is a lot better than Rialto for that since there is less light pollution.
HOH Rainforest
Ahhh, the famous HOH Rainforest, a spot on the map that brings most folks to Olympic National Park. It is one of the largest temperate forests in the United States!
With that, it does attract large crowds. Often during the height of the season in Olympic, you can wait in line for 2+ hours to park at the trailhead. We recommend couples get here just about 30 minutes after sunrise for the best lighting and hopefully to miss the crowds.
During off season, it is less busy, welcoming more privacy and cozy vibes with the typical PNW weather from October to April.
The closest beaches to this area are: The Tree of Life and Ruby Beach. I would recommend doing your ceremony at one of those locations and then going into the forest for a walk and portraits or you could plan your first look or to write your vows in the forest for a fun activity!
Pro Tip: Olympic National Park is full of lush forests! There are several options you can consider that are way less busy than the HOH if you want privacy and are not set on this destination. A lot of these forest options are also closer to other locations like Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge.
Olympic National Park Wedding Venues
You may want to book a venue for your elopement wedding if your guest count exceeds 15 people due to LNT and location restrictions. Below are some of our favorite venues in the area.
Fern Acres
This wedding venue is located near Forks, WA, making it a perfect place to have your ceremony, celebrate privately with family and friends, and then head to Rialto Beach for a fire or to hike up Mount Storm King for sunset with just you and your partner! If you have always dreamed of a lush forest wedding, this would be the place for you!
PS – While Bella + Edward’s Twilight wedding was filmed in Canada, this venue looks the closest to what you see in the film.
Agate Beach Lodge
We have gotten to photograph a wedding here, and we fell in love! This lodge is perfectly placed near Port Angeles with private beach access and stunning sunsets. This is an easy venue to combine with your private adventure to the Hurricane Ridge area or Lake Crescent. Not only is it a venue, but you can also stay here with up to 10 guests. This venue books out 10+ months in advance, so be sure to book it early!!
The Elkhorn Ranch
This venue offers many accommodation options as it is connected with several lodges + resorts. One of those is the Lake Quinault Lodge. This venue is more on the South side of the Peninsula, closer to some of the beaches like Ruby Beach. If you are looking for that classic barn style wedding with mountain views, you have found it here!
Nature Bridge
Looking to have a much larger wedding? This venue can hold up to 120 guests! It is located right on Lake Crescent, complete with lodging. This is the perfect place to get married inside the park, disconnected from the rest of the world for the weekend, making memories with your loved ones. It gives that old Summer camp vibe, with a little forest romance.
How to choose where to elope in Olympic National Park
Since Olympic National Park is such a diverse and large area, deciding where to hold your ceremony can be a hard choice!
Most of our couples who elope in Olympic National Park tend to visit each ecosystem within a full-day or two-day elopement. So keep in mind that while you can only get married at one location, you can spend your time in more than one throughout the day!
The main factors to consider when choosing where you hold your elopement ceremony in Olympic National Park are:
- Privacy
- Accessibility
- If you will have guests
- Type of scenery
If you are seeking privacy in Olympic National Park, that may factor into the day, time of day, and location you want to choose for your elopement. Some locations in the park are very private, whereas others see a lot of traffic in general and/or for elopements specifically.
Some elopement locations in Olympic National Park are so accessible that you get out of the car, walk 100 feet, and you are there! Whereas others may require a 1-mile to 15-mile hike.
It is important to know that if you have more than 5 people in total in your group, you will need a permit from the park. With 5+ more people, it also means you will need to pick your elopement location from an approved list of locations.
When you really envision your ceremony, what type of scenery are you in? The mountains? Beach? Forest? Which location do you connect with the most? Feel the most grounded in?
FAQ: Olympic National Park Elopement Locations
What location is best for sunrise in Olympic National Park?
A lot of the locations and trails located in the Hurricane Ridge area are best at sunrise. These are can be busy during the day and sunrise, but in the morning it is quieter, giving more privacy and ability to possibly see the deers up close!
Alternatively, we would only recommend the HOH Rainforest close to sunrise to also avoid crowds.
What location is best for sunset in Olympic National Park?
Our favorite locations for sunset are by far any of the beaches, but also Mount Storm King!
The mountains can also be great for sunset views, just expect them to busier than they are at sunrise.
Really, the park is stunning at sunset in most locations!
Can I elope on Mt Storm King?
Speaking of Mount Storm King, yes, you can elope on Mt Storm King if you have less than 5 people total in your group. Truly, we only recommend it being just you two and the team, as the end of the trail is a smaller space.
We only advise this trail as an elopement location to couples who are not scared of heights and have scrambling experience. The reward is high for this more challenging trial!
Which locations in Olympic National Park offer the most privacy for an elopement?
Privacy in the park can be found at a higher possibility if you elope on a weekday and typically at sunrise.
However, there are some locations within the park that see less general traffic than others.
A great example of this is trading out the HOH rainforest for the Moments in Time trail. Both have lots of ferns and a beautiful forest, but one is much busier than the other.
We provide very specific locations to our couples in a location guide crafted for their day based on the level of privacy they desire and an ideal vision of the day. Some of these locations you won’t find on any public blogs or apps like AllTrails, they are just places we have scouted from our years of experience in the park!
Are there any waterfalls in Olympic National Park you can elope at?
Yes, there are waterfalls in Olympic National Park that you can easily access to take photos at. However, we do not actually recommend holding your ceremony at them since there are often other people coming and going.
There is one waterfall on National Forest land on the Olympic Peninsula, it is a short hike, not well known, and you could elope there. However, it is not very close to any of the destinations within Olympic National Park.
That being said, we do know waterfalls in the Mt Baker and Mt Rainier area that you could hold a ceremony at.
Olympic National Park Photographers + Location Guides
Hi! Traci + Bill here, owners of Adventure and Vow, an adventure elopement photography team based in Washington State.
Olympic National Park holds a special place in our team’s hearts. It is where Traci, founder of Adventure and Vow, had her first National Park experience and has frequented every year since. It is where we both trained for our own backpacking elopement in Mt Rainier. It is where one of our team members, Malachi, got married! And we have photographed countless elopements here in this park.
We love it.
Spending time here feels nostalgic, it feels special, and it is always beautiful.
We are thrilled to help couples plan their special days in this park.
We are with our couples each step of the way, helping them daydream, building a day that is intentional and reflective of their own relationship. We are there to capture the big moments, but also the small moments in between that really tell the story. Afterwards? By now, we are basically friends, but we are still here to support you in preserving your memories!
#1 BEST decision we made was booking Adventure & Vow for our elopement!!!
You can truly tell how much they care about making sure the day is all about you and making sure it is exactly the way you envision it to make your dream elopement come true! It was such a pleasure getting to share the most important day of our lives with Traci + Bill! They made it fun and most importantly they made it so easy to just be ourselves! We were overwhelmed with joy and excitement when we saw just the sneak peak photos and couldn’t believe how incredible they were!!! When the full album was delivered to us it brought tears to our eyes being able to relive our wedding day from start to finish through all the INSANELY talented jaw-dropping photos! We’ve gotten ENDLESS compliments on all the photos and can’t stop talking about how perfect our day was and how picking Adventure & Vow to plan and capture our day was hands down the absolute best decision we could’ve made!!!
Free consult for where to elope in Olympic National Park
Meet your team!
Hi – it is Traci, Bill and Malachi
Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of couples plan and document intentional, meaningful elopements in wild places.
Our blogs are where we share what we’ve learned—location guides, planning tips, real elopement stories, and advice to help you feel confident and inspired as you plan your own day.
Whether you’re just getting started or deep in the details, we’re here to support and inspire you. When you’re ready, reach out to book a free consult call and start planning your day with us.
