Hurricane Ridge
Perched at nearly 5,200 feet in Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge offers sweeping subalpine meadows, jagged peaks, and on clear days a dramatic panorama stretching north toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island. The open ridgeline gives you wide compositional freedom, whether you are shooting with an ultra-wide to capture the full sweep of the mountains, or a telephoto to compress distant peaks into layered silhouettes. In summer and early fall, blacktail deer graze close enough to the visitor area that a mid-range zoom is all you need for wildlife portraits with mountain backdrops. Arrive at sunrise for the best light and thinner crowds, when alpenglow catches the Olympic peaks to the south. The road from Port Angeles takes about an hour and can close in winter storms, so check conditions before heading up. Polarizing filters help manage the bright sky against the green meadows in midday light. (Olympic National Park, Washington, United States)
