Enjoying the outdoors safely
Experience Olympic maintains a registered Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) allowing for 911 satellite communication. We are therefore not dependent on cell phone coverage, which can be inconsistent on the Olympic Peninsula. The Experience Olympic vehicle (for tours that include transportaiton) comes equipped with a first aid kit, tire chains (during the winter), and other emergency equipment. Your hiking guide carries the PLB in their backpack along with an additional first aid kit and has Wilderness First Responder training.
Olympic National Park and notably Hurricane Ridge weather can change rapidly and many people are caught unprepared. When we provide transportation in our vehicle, Experience Olympic brings extra clothing, which includes warm jackets, rain jackets, gaiters, hats, and gloves. Guide service does not include gear use so please make sure you bring extra warm clothing in your vehicle. Hiking is made safer, especially during seasonal icy and snowy terrain, with the use of hiking shoes, trekking poles, shoe traction devices, and snowshoes.
Read more about small and local Olympic Peninsula Tour Operator Experience Olympic.
Bring good shoes, wool-blend socks, and sunglasses
Part of the reason Experience Olympic tours are rated excellent is because of the equipment we are able to provide to the traveling hiker or naturalist when we provide tours with transit. We have created a more comprehensive list of items to help you pack for hiking in Olympic National Park but we can take care of many of the items on this longer list.
Do not wear cotton clothing if there is a chance of rain or snow
Wear hiking boots or the most supportive shoes you own
Please bring sunglasses
Additionally, please be prepared to carry a minimum of a liter of water.
Long hikes, snowshoeing and tidepooling tours
Do not wear cotton clothing (especially jeans)
Wear hiking boots with full ankle support
Bring extra wool-blend (non-cotton) socks.
Wear wool or synthetic (nylon) pants
Parents of young children
Please bring age-appropriate outdoor gear for your young naturalilsts as we might not have appropriate sized equipment, especially for children under the age of six.
Experience Olympic tour gear we provide on tours with transit
Experience Olympic provides personal use of stainless-steel water bottles, fixed "hiking" ski poles, shoe traction devices, snowshoes, and a torso pack or backpack. Additional Experience Olympic tour gear we bring on tours with transit includes backpack rain covers, various-sized raincoats, fleece jackets, fleece hats, ball caps, sun hats, gaiters, and gloves. It is important to have multiple layers of clothing and the concept of what we mean by "layers" is described in more detail in how to pack for Olympic National Park hiking. If hiring us for guide service, please be sure you bring as much of this personal equipment as possible.
Wildlife viewing on Experience Olympic Tours with Transportation
You will love use of optics! Our relatively lightweight binoculars are 8 x 42, waterproof, excellent close-focus capability, and come equipped with a shoulder harness for enhanced comfort while hiking (lack of neck strain). We will share our binoculars if you hire us for guide service but consider brining your own binoculars. Personal use of high-power binoculars can be a transformative wildlife viewing experience and an exciting addition to your Experience Olympic tour. Additionally, we are proud to carry around a spotting scope to make you feel closer to wildlife ideally seen from far away (like black bears). We do not bring optics on snowshoeing or tidepooling tours. Additionally, we generally do not to carry the spotting scope on long-distance or strenuous hikes.
Olympic National Park Tours with Experience Olympic, Port Angles WA 98362 is always looking to improve our tours with additional "loaner" tour gear on our tours with transit.
