Mount Angeles And Hurricane Hill

BOU AVENUE
Mount Angeles And Hurricane Hill

Zosia Zgolak and I ascended Mount Angeles and Hurricane Hill in Washington's Olympic National Park on 17 August 2024. I had previously wanted to ski up Hurricane Hill in the spring of 2023, but at the time, the access road was closed to the public. With the road re-opened this time and given a great weather forecast, I was willing to forego the ski ascent in favour of a simple walk-up. Since the hike up Hurricane Hill is rather short, I scrambled, so to speak, to find something else to do in the area, and Mount Angeles looked like an attractive option. An ascent route for Mount Angeles is described in Peggy Goldman's 75 Scrambles in Washington and starts from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (currently under rehabilitation), but we would use a shorter approach via the Switchback trailhead. Since Mount Angeles is the more challenging objective, we decided to tackle it first, but in retrospect, we should have given higher priority to finding parking at the Hurricane Hill trailhead first thing in the morning (more on this later).

From Port Angeles, head south on Race Street which becomes Mt Angeles Road past the junction with Park Avenue. About 350 metres south of the same junction, follow signs to the right for Hurricane Ridge Road. Drive 8.3 kilometres and pass the park entrance station (pay fee if necessary). Continue driving on Hurricane Ridge Road for 15.3 kilometres to a pullout for the Switchback trailhead (no facilities). The massive parking lot near the temporary Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (toilets available) is another 4.4 kilometres past the Switchback trailhead while the Hurricane Hill trailhead (no facilities) is at the very end of the drivable road another 1.9 kilometres past the west end of the Visitor Center parking lot. Hurricane Ridge Road is paved all the way to Hurricane Hill trailhead and is suitable for 2WD vehicles.

Starting at the Switchback trailhead, Zosia and I hiked the well-maintained trail which zigzags uphill for about a kilometre to a signed junction. Turning left, we then traversed about 800 metres across the lower south-facing slopes of Mount Angeles to an unsigned junction with the longer approach trail coming from the Visitor Center. Instead of heading toward the Visitor Center though, we turned right to climb up a steep spur trail which ultimately leads to the bottom of some cliffs guarding the upper mountain. The continuation of the route is initially not obvious at the cliffs, but we basically scrambled upward and to the left along the line of least resistance. Further up, we ascended a very steep and slippery chute--in my mind, this was the crux due to the tenuous footing here. After clearing this crumbly section, we climbed through a rocky gap through which we could see a striking pinnacle. We dropped down slightly on the other side of the gap and then circled to the right before scrambling up the last few metres to the summit.

For our descent, Zosia and I pretty much retraced our steps down the mountain. We descended the crux chute without any spills, and despite a few route-finding mistakes on my part, we managed to get off the cliffs and back to the spur trail safely. The remaining walk back to the Switchback trailhead was straightforward and uneventful.

	True to the trailhead's name, the trail rises via a series of switchbacks and gains about 200 metres of elevation over the first kilometre.
	Sunlight hits the top of Mount Angeles as Zosia traverses across a steep open slope.
	Zosia continues to traverse across the steep south-facing slopes of Mount Angeles. Visible at left is the connecting ridge that leads to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (currently under rehabilitation).
	Taking a spur trail, Zosia climbs steeply toward the base of rugged cliffs guarding the top of Mount Angeles.
	Zosia arrives at the base of the rugged cliffs.
	Zosia follows the easiest route through the initial lower section of the cliffs.
	Thistles add some colour along the ascent route.
	The route goes up the very steep chute at left which is full of loose rocks.
	Zosia climbs through a rocky gap toward a striking pinnacle.
	Zosia scrambles up the last few metres before the top. In the background at left is the lower east peak of Mount Angeles.
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the summit of Mount Angeles (1974 metres).
	The Strait of Juan de Fuca blends in with some cloud cover to the northeast. Part of Port Angeles can be seen at far left while Dungeness Spit is clearly visible at right. Poking above the cloud cover on the horizon beyond Dungeness Spit is Mount Baker.

Tremendous view!

The view to the southwest includes the main bulk of Hurricane Ridge in the foreground.

	This is looking west from the summit of Mount Angeles. Hurricane Hill is at left.
	Here is a zoomed-in view of Mount Baker above the cloud cover.
	Zosia carefully retraces her steps down the mountain.
	Total Distance: 6.6 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 3 hours 51 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 554 metres GPX Data

Upon completion of our trip up Mount Angeles, Zosia and I drove further along the road all the way to the Hurricane Hill trailhead. As we passed the parking lot for Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, I was alarmed by the sheer number of people milling about there. I already knew that Hurricane Ridge was a popular hub for hiking and sightseeing, but I seriously underestimated how busy it can get especially on a Saturday. Many hikers were also walking the remaining two kilometres of road to the Hurricane Hill trailhead which suggested that parking spots would be scarce there especially in the middle of the day. There are two other parking lots about half a kilometre before Hurricane Hill trailhead, and both were completely full as we rolled past. When we arrived at the Hurricane Hill trailhead, the parking loop was unsurprisingly full. It appeared that we would have to return to the Visitor Center parking lot and start hiking from there. Tacking on an extra four kilometres to the round-trip distance would not have been the end of the world, but given our distaste for crowds, it would have been easy to simply forego Hurricane Hill that day and exit the park. In typical fashion though, I made a second pass through the loop, and--miracle of miracles--a family had just returned to their vehicle and were preparing to leave! The family certainly took their sweet time to depart, and I ended up blocking some vehicles behind me for several long minutes before I was finally able to pull into the vacated parking spot.

Compared to the hassles of finding parking, the actual hike to Hurricane Hill is almost anticlimactic. This is, without a doubt, the busiest trail on the Olympic Peninsula if not the entire state of Washington, and it is easy to understand why. Access to the trailhead is along a paved highway, the starting point is high ensuring a short ascent with great views throughout, and the trail is also paved all the way to the top which makes it ideal to walk in simple running shoes or even sandals. Of course, the hordes of people made it feel like we were walking in a busy municipal park instead of an alpine wilderness, but that probably appeals to those who are attracted to festivals or who wish to avoid bear encounters. In any case, there was nothing remarkable about our ascent of Hurricane Hill. Zosia and I were merely two over-equipped hikers among a steady stream of people ascending and descending the 2.5-kilometre long trail. Even the panoramic views from the top seemed muted since we had already seen much of the same from the summit of Mount Angeles.

When we completed our hike to Hurricane Hill, Zosia and I drove back to the Visitor Center parking lot and stopped for an extended break there before finally exiting the park.

It's pretty much an urban hike! A paved pathway runs all the way up Hurricane Hill.

You could hike this one with bare feet even! Convenient benches offer hikers a chance to rest their sore feet while climbing Hurricane Hill.

I'd love to ride my ebike up this pathway! Zosia marches up the final few switchbacks before the top (centre).

Second summit of the day! Zosia and Sonny sit on a rock outcrop near the high point of Hurricane Hill (1760 metres).

Doesn't look so intimidating from farther away!

Here is an unobstructed view of Mount Angeles to the east from the top of Hurricane Hill. Shiny white Mount Baker is also visible on the left horizon.

	The deer on Hurricane Hill like to hide in the shade of the trees in the vicinity. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	On this day, grasshoppers are found in abundance virtually everywhere on Hurricane Hill.
	Cloud cover increases as Zosia heads back to the trailhead later in the day.
	Here is one last look at Mount Angeles from Hurricane Ridge.
	Total Distance: 5.5 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 2 hours 34 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 195 metres GPX Data

	A paved pathway runs all the way up Hurricane Hill.
	Convenient benches offer hikers a chance to rest their sore feet while climbing Hurricane Hill.
	Zosia marches up the final few switchbacks before the top (centre).
	Zosia and Sonny sit on a rock outcrop near the high point of Hurricane Hill (1760 metres).