More marmot images at http://www.pbase.com/ccraft/marmots/

I have to admit... these are my favorite critters on the earth. From Victoria, you'll need to hop on a ferry to Port Angeles. The ferry takes an hour and a half and customs takes about 45 minutes. During weekends in the heat of the summer the ferries get full so plan accordingly. The nice thing is that it's an extremely easy drive up the mountain to Hurricane Ridge where you have the best chance of photographing marmots in their natural alpine environment. You may even see some coyotes along the road on your way up (we did). Marmots are only around in the summer since they hybernate in the winter. July and August are probably the best times to see them. They're active throughout the day, so any time of day is good for a visit.

We asked at the ranger station and were directed to an extremely secluded area along where we sat for hours and watched a family of marmots whistle their way through an afternoon. We were told to look for holes around the hills near the alphine meadows. The holes were easy to spot and when we looked up we saw a marmot perched on a rock, observing us below.

There are apparently two spots where you can see marmots in the Olympic Mountains:
1) Around the picnic area in the short trails just after the ranger station.
2) There is a very rough dirt road off the main road just before the ranger station. The driving is a bit scary since the road is very narrow and it's a two way road. Drive for about 2.5 km until you start to see marmot holes. You'll have to park a distance away and walk since there are only a few turn arounds along the narrow road to park. If you reach a lake and trail head you've gone too far.

Do you have marmot watching advice? Please leave the season, time of day and directions.