Seeking your own Square Inch of Silence in Olympic National Park this winter? Sierra asked Bill Volmut, Sierra Club Outings leader for the North Olympic Group, for his suggestions. These low-elevation hikes will be generally free of snow, but you should be prepared for rain and cold conditions. Here are Volmut’s recommendations.

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I have several outings that readers might be interested in, all on what we call "the West Side"—west of Port Angeles, roughly an hour and a half drive on US 101, passing through Forks, Washington. It’s very remote country; on a light-pollution map, you only see a dot or two. 

To see the majestic Hoh Rain Forest that Castleman visited, take the Hoh River Trail, a superb, nearly flat 18-mile path along the river bottom that angles up to snow level for approaches to Mt. Olympus.

Less known is the Quinault Rain Forest area south of the Hoh, also off 101 not too far from Aberdeen at Amanda Park. The Quinault River-Pony Bridge-Enchanted Valley Trail is a beautiful walk with big trees and lots of wildlife, including elk sightings. The best spot to turn around is Pony Bridge about three miles in, but the trail goes on until it climaxes in the Enchanted Valley, where folks do hike and camp in winter.

Both rain forests offer many opportunities to camp if you’re up for it (it’s a bit cold for me). Daytime temperatures on a drizzly winter day will be around 40º to 50ºF if you're lucky.

Other commanding hikes on the West Side are in the Olympic National Park Coastal Strip. From Forks, drive west about 20 miles on Highway 110 to either La Push Second Beach, an incredible sandy beach reached after a beautiful forest hike, or Third Beach, an even more wild and remote beach with offshore sea stacks.

Alternatively, instead of going all the way to La Push, take a right down Mora Road and you're at Rialto Beach, a wild cobblestone beach with powerful breakers, best explored at low tide. You can hike 20 miles to Cape Alava, or farther on to Shi Shi Beach ("shy-shy"), which is also accessible by driving to Neah Bay off SR 112 from Port Angeles.

With the winter sun coming up around 9 A.M. and setting at 4:30 P.M., it's best to prioritize. Pick a nice sunny day—when temperatures may be in the 50s—to do your beach walk. Check the local weather, though. Even when it's drizzling in Seattle, incredible sun breaks happen on the coast here during the winter.