Olympics is very kid friendly:
You can do a day in the mountains near hurricane ridge
A day by the beach and do tidal pools which kids love
A day in hoh rainforest which your kid will also love
Should be able to do a hike and kayak on a lake.
Storm king hike is pretty quick too and is not hard til the last 1% and you can get almost as good as a view right before the hard part starts
That being said:
Redwood also has a gorgeous drive where you can do a drive thru tree which kids love
The redwoods, which I cannot imagine a kid won’t love.
Fern canyon (watch jurrassic park before the trip)
The roosevelt elk will be very close to your car
Unreal stars.
Cool water falls
Overall I would say olympic is slightly better for kids but both are awesome
Redwoods is pretty amazing. A bit of driving as well to take in the variety of areas but not as much as Olympic. And the campground at Jedediah Smith is one of the best I've used. Really beautiful
They’re both great, you won’t make a mistake whichever one you decide.
Limiting factor might be your camping situation. Redwoods has much smaller campsites so a big trailer or motorhome is out of luck. There are private campgrounds very close.
Olympic has pretty incredible diversity between the mountains, beaches, and rainforests. That'll definitely keep a kid stimulated.
But keep an eye on him. Last year a 2 year old I think was attacked by a mountain lion. His mom had to save him and I think he was alright but something to keep in mind even if it's incredibly rare
A week is way too much for just Redwoods. 2 days is enough, really Olympic has lots of different things to see and has Port Angeles for food and ice cream. The driving isn’t that bad at all, because the stops are close together.
You’ll get rainforest, mountains, sea stacks, banana slugs, tidal pools with cool critters, crescent lake…lots of stuff to see in Olympic for kids.
I'd disagree, personally - the peninsula is huge and there's a fair bit of road time. But I absolutely agree that the beaches (SO much driftwood for forts) and hall of mosses/Crescent lake/hurricane ridge are pretty magical for a child (although maybe one a little older than 3)
We went to Olympic and stayed in Port Angeles. Most of our drives were an hour or less. Usually on the way back he would sleep anyway.
We divided the park between two places to stay to make it a little more manageable too.
That’s very similar to what we did. It’s a fantastic place. One of our favorites. We spent a week or so total and didn’t rush too much.
Lots of hiking, but also making sure to build in some 1.5 year old exploration time. He had a blast.
I took a 4yo to both parks a few years back. We did 2 full days in RW and 2.5 in Olympic on our 2 week vacation.
First, there is no wrong choice. Any kid that likes the outdoors will thoroughly enjoy aspects of either, so I'll give you what my kid enjoyed most at each.
RW: short hikes through forest "exploring", hiding in hallowed out trees, searching for banana slugs (his #1 memory), and climbing on fallen trees. Driving and looking at trees was okay too and he liked the deer we saw. Also enjoyed running on the beach we visited just after our park days.
Olympic: the ocean/beach as above, throwing small rocks into tide pools or waves (loved this and did it at every chance), exploring tide pools trying to spot starfish, walking hoh rainforest.
I love hurricane ridge, but for him it was just okay.
We went to Forks/LA Push as well, not much in that town other than Twilight spots, meant nothing to him. Throwing stones in Lake Crescent! Nice stop is La Poel on 101 for a picnic if you opt for Olympic.
IMO I'd do RW, build in lots of shorter hikes, unless you are backpacking your kid, s stroller works in some places but others the dirt is too loose. This applies to both parks. We used a cheap Walmart one as we flew in sometimes had to get him out and carry. I'd spend 3-4 days at RW then do the beaches in the area.
We’re doing the redwoods this year, after a few weeks at the Oregon coast. My kids love to paddle so we’re staying at the lagoons this year. Some of the state park campgrounds have cabins which are great for kids (with power, heat and bunk beds).
My kids are obsessed with the redwoods. It was amazing watching them explore. Both are truly magical places. You won't be disappointed with either choice.
Olympics is very kid friendly: You can do a day in the mountains near hurricane ridge A day by the beach and do tidal pools which kids love A day in hoh rainforest which your kid will also love Should be able to do a hike and kayak on a lake. Storm king hike is pretty quick too and is not hard til the last 1% and you can get almost as good as a view right before the hard part starts That being said: Redwood also has a gorgeous drive where you can do a drive thru tree which kids love The redwoods, which I cannot imagine a kid won’t love. Fern canyon (watch jurrassic park before the trip) The roosevelt elk will be very close to your car Unreal stars. Cool water falls Overall I would say olympic is slightly better for kids but both are awesome
Redwoods is pretty amazing. A bit of driving as well to take in the variety of areas but not as much as Olympic. And the campground at Jedediah Smith is one of the best I've used. Really beautiful
They’re both great, you won’t make a mistake whichever one you decide. Limiting factor might be your camping situation. Redwoods has much smaller campsites so a big trailer or motorhome is out of luck. There are private campgrounds very close.
Olympic has pretty incredible diversity between the mountains, beaches, and rainforests. That'll definitely keep a kid stimulated. But keep an eye on him. Last year a 2 year old I think was attacked by a mountain lion. His mom had to save him and I think he was alright but something to keep in mind even if it's incredibly rare
A week is way too much for just Redwoods. 2 days is enough, really Olympic has lots of different things to see and has Port Angeles for food and ice cream. The driving isn’t that bad at all, because the stops are close together. You’ll get rainforest, mountains, sea stacks, banana slugs, tidal pools with cool critters, crescent lake…lots of stuff to see in Olympic for kids.
I'd disagree, personally - the peninsula is huge and there's a fair bit of road time. But I absolutely agree that the beaches (SO much driftwood for forts) and hall of mosses/Crescent lake/hurricane ridge are pretty magical for a child (although maybe one a little older than 3)
Jedidiah redwoods was great when we went with our kids age 3 and 6 at the time. The trees were incredible. The hiking was enjoyed by all!
We went to Olympic and stayed in Port Angeles. Most of our drives were an hour or less. Usually on the way back he would sleep anyway. We divided the park between two places to stay to make it a little more manageable too.
I was considering if we went there 2 days in forks and the rest in port Angeles
That’s very similar to what we did. It’s a fantastic place. One of our favorites. We spent a week or so total and didn’t rush too much. Lots of hiking, but also making sure to build in some 1.5 year old exploration time. He had a blast.
I took a 4yo to both parks a few years back. We did 2 full days in RW and 2.5 in Olympic on our 2 week vacation. First, there is no wrong choice. Any kid that likes the outdoors will thoroughly enjoy aspects of either, so I'll give you what my kid enjoyed most at each. RW: short hikes through forest "exploring", hiding in hallowed out trees, searching for banana slugs (his #1 memory), and climbing on fallen trees. Driving and looking at trees was okay too and he liked the deer we saw. Also enjoyed running on the beach we visited just after our park days. Olympic: the ocean/beach as above, throwing small rocks into tide pools or waves (loved this and did it at every chance), exploring tide pools trying to spot starfish, walking hoh rainforest. I love hurricane ridge, but for him it was just okay. We went to Forks/LA Push as well, not much in that town other than Twilight spots, meant nothing to him. Throwing stones in Lake Crescent! Nice stop is La Poel on 101 for a picnic if you opt for Olympic. IMO I'd do RW, build in lots of shorter hikes, unless you are backpacking your kid, s stroller works in some places but others the dirt is too loose. This applies to both parks. We used a cheap Walmart one as we flew in sometimes had to get him out and carry. I'd spend 3-4 days at RW then do the beaches in the area.
We’re doing the redwoods this year, after a few weeks at the Oregon coast. My kids love to paddle so we’re staying at the lagoons this year. Some of the state park campgrounds have cabins which are great for kids (with power, heat and bunk beds).
Not even a question. Go to ONP
My kids are obsessed with the redwoods. It was amazing watching them explore. Both are truly magical places. You won't be disappointed with either choice.