Reddit mentions of Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula (Done in a Day)

Well, it depends on what you want to do. One advantage to Olympic NP is that there is a wide variety of environments -- you have rainforests, coastal areas, and mountains. However, there's really one road that goes all around, so it's not particularly great for car touring like Yosemite or Yellowstone would be -- it's more geared for hiking and backpacking.

So you'll want to pick up a guidebook and plan out your trip, and be aware that weather on the peninsula is completely unpredictable, and have alternate plans.

I like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Day-Hiking-Olympic-Peninsula-Washington/dp/159485047X

If I were planning on spending a vacation, I'd check out the following:

• Hike up Mt. Townsend. Relatively easy hike, pretty epic views. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgwizdak/267591342/
  
• Hike up Mt. Ellinor. A lot more strenuous. Watch out for aggressive mountain goats. My friend captured this image: http://www.somephotons.com/default.aspx?imgid=426
  
• Head to Hurricane Ridge. Pretty touristy during the summer, but I once saw a black bear there.
  
• Go backpacking at Shi Shi Beach. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgwizdak/sets/72157604905745236/with/2469347241/
  
• Check out 1st, 2nd, 3rd beaches along with Ruby Beach. Probably doable within a day or two.
  
• Enchanted Valley is a popular backpacking trip, you will probably see black bears though. Marmot Pass is also popular.
  
  If you were totally badass, you could hike from the Hoh Rainforest to top of Mount Olympus like this guy.
  
  But I wouldn't recommend that unless you're into mountaineering -- just a link to show how epic Olympic NP can be.
  
  
  
  

My SO and I referred to this book when we were planning our week on the Olympic Peninsula. We really enjoyed our hike on Rialto Beach and camping on Second Beach. Port Angeles was a good first stop for us when we arrived from out of town ~ allowed us to catch our bearings, and we headed to all the amazing sites counter-clockwise from there. You can PM if you have any specific questions...