Hall of Mosses trail in the Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington

© James Randklev/Getty Image

A different kind of rainforest. Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington

Imagine spending the day hiking amid these moss-covered trees instead of frantically checking items off your holiday shopping list. Welcome to Green Friday, the environmental alternative to Black Friday. The aim is to encourage people to make ethical shopping choices—or to refrain from shopping altogether and embrace nature instead.

A good place to start is the Hall of Mosses at Olympic National Park, in Washington's Hoh Rain Forest. This fantastical landscape is a temperate rainforest with an enchanting loop trail through mosses gracefully draped over majestic spruces and hemlocks. Bring a jacket though; this forest is the wettest in the contiguous United States with an annual rainfall of nearly 130 inches. No wonder it's so green!