Hurricane Ridge Road

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

Hurricane Ridge Road begins at the south edge of Port Angeles, Washington, where Race Street becomes Mount Angeles Road and enters Olympic National Park. It ends at the day-use area at 5,242 feet, seventeen miles up. The Heart O' the Hills entrance station sits about five miles in.

About seventeen miles from Port Angeles to the Hurricane Ridge day-use parking. The drive takes thirty to forty-five minutes at posted speeds. It is the only paved road into the high country of the central Olympic Mountains.

From sea level on the Strait of Juan de Fuca to 5,242 feet at the day-use area. That is a gain of about 5,200 feet over seventeen miles of paved road, or roughly 300 feet of climb per mile on average.

Limited access. The road opens Friday through Sunday and federal holidays from December through March, weather permitting. Tire chains may be required. The road closes during and after major storms while National Park Service plows clear it. Daily access typically resumes by late May.

Hurricane Ridge Road was completed in 1957, nineteen years after Olympic National Park was established in 1938. Construction took most of the postwar decade and required blasting three tunnels through hard rock to keep the grade reasonable. The route follows much of an earlier wagon road.

Yes. Three short tunnels punch through ridges on the upper section of the road. They are not lit; headlights stay on through the park as standard practice. The tunnels are tall enough for standard RVs, though wide vehicles should drive the centre line.

Yes. The road enters Olympic National Park, and a standard park entrance fee applies at the Heart O' the Hills entrance station about five miles into the climb. An America the Beautiful annual pass covers the entry. Current fee rates are posted on the NPS website.

Yes. The drive up Hurricane Ridge Road is a kind of ritual for people in Port Angeles and Sequim, the climb out of the lowland rain into the meadow. A Medium or Large reads at the scale of the long ascending view. The Coaster or Keepsake works as a quieter memento.

The greens of the climb and the cool blues of the high ridge sit well in mountain-modern, Pacific Northwest, and Scandinavian interiors. Natural wood — Douglas-fir, cedar, oak — pairs naturally with the palette. The piece also reads cleanly in Japandi rooms that want a strong vertical landscape.

Yes. Current Pacific Northwest design favours art that names a specific drive or named place over generic mountain imagery. Hurricane Ridge Road is one of the most recognised scenic drives in Washington, and the artwork brings the specific palette of the climb into a room.

A single Large reads cleanly above a console or a queen headboard. Above a standard sofa, a four-tile Mural fills the wall; in larger rooms with high ceilings, the nine-tile Mural becomes the field the rest of the room sits inside.

Yes. Order the tile in our Dura Satin or Matte finish, both scratch-resistant and built for steam and grease. Glossy is reserved for framed wall pieces. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so splash and shower spray will not affect it.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water handle everyday dust. For kitchen splatter or bathroom mineral residue, a drop of mild soap is fine. Avoid abrasive pads and any cleaner with bleach or ammonia; both can dull the surface over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work by Reid Wender, hand-finished in the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. The visual language is ours, no licensing, no stock imagery. This Hurricane Ridge Road piece exists nowhere else.