One Of The Best Small Beach Towns In America Is The Ideal Gateway To Olympic National Park

If you love beach vacations and visiting the National Parks in the United States, there's a town in Washington that is a delightful gateway to both: Port Angeles. In this charming small town, you'll find spectacular mountains meeting the sea and heaps of history right under your feet. With just under 20,000 residents, this picturesque town in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington is a hidden gem about two and a half hours northwest of Seattle by car. With a variety of things to do year-round for all kinds of travelers, you might need to add it to your next vacation wish list. You can view art in the woods, follow a mural trail, and even plan your trip around the Dungeness Crab Festival every October. 

There are also miles of beautiful beaches to comb along with its quaint harbor. Along these miles of beaches, you can choose from several different routes, such as a section of the Olympic Discovery Trail that takes you on a journey of 130 miles along the coast of Washington. Time it right, and you'll be able to watch for whales right from the sand from May to October.  

There are no bad views — or bad photo backdrops — in Port Angeles, with the Olympic Mountains towering above at nearly 8,000 feet. However, there's also something amazing to see beneath the town, as the entire community was lifted up in the early 1900s due to flooding concerns. The excellent Underground Heritage Tour takes you through hidden tunnels, storefronts, and even a movie theater. Running on Fridays and Saturdays, the tour lasts two and a half hours, with ticket prices starting at $10 for children and $20 for adults. Reviewers on Tripadvisor give the tour a lot of praise, with one reviewer saying that it was "right up there with our recent walking tours in Edinburgh."

With a healthy variety of farm-to-table restaurants, hotels, vacation rentals, and camping options, there's a budget-friendly option for everyone in one of the best small towns in America. If you're a seafood lover, you can enjoy fresh crab, fish, oysters, and more while dining right on the water at places like Downriggers on the Water or Moby Duck Chowder & Seafood. 

You can even make your visit to Port Angeles a two-nation adventure by hopping on a ferry from downtown to visit Victoria, British Columbia. With several departures and arrivals each day, you could head over to Canada for a few hours or an overnight stay, with or without a car. While you're there, be sure to grab brunch — Victoria is the brunch capital of Canada! 

Olympic National Park is one of many national parks in the Pacific Northwest and among the most visited in the United States. At over 1,400 square miles, it's a diverse landscape featuring glacier-capped mountains, alpine meadows, a spectacular coastline, and one of the largest ethereal rainforests in America. In fact, Olympic National Park is so diverse that it's been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO — the only one in the Pacific Northwest.

With so many miles to explore, it can be hard to know where to start. Lucky for us, the Olympic National Park Visitor Center is in town, right off a major roadway. You can even snap that iconic photo at the National Park "Welcome" sign on your way there. Inside the Visitor Center, you'll be greeted by park rangers who can help you plan your adventure. You can also watch a short film about the park called "Mosaic of Diversity," get your National Parks Passport stamped, and even tackle two short nature trails. The Visitor Center is open year-round (except Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Olympic National Park is a hiker's dream, with miles of trails for all skill levels. You can also go boating, fishing, tide pooling, snowshoeing, skiing, and other winter activities. Port Angeles and the visit to Olympic National Park would make a great vacation any time of the year, but the summer may be a great place to start — with temperatures highs hovering between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, it is a great option to beat the heat in summer.