The Olympic Peninsula - Washington State - page 233

or Lake Ozette. However, you will need a state punch card—available wherever
fishing licenses are sold—to fish for salmon or steelhead. For more information
on freshwater fishing in the park, contact Olympic National Park ( & 360/565-
3130 ). Boat rentals are available on Lake Crescent at Fairholm General Store,
the Log Cabin Resort, and Lake Crescent Lodge. Fly fishermen can pick up sup-
plies and equipment at Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters, 219 N. Oak St.,
Port Angeles ( & 360/417-0937; www.waterswest.com).
If you want to hire a guide to take you out on the rivers to where the big
salmon and steelhead are biting, try Diamond Back Guide Service ( & 360/
452-9966; www.northolympic.com/diamondback), which charges $225 per day
for two people; or Sol Duc River Lodge Guide Service ( & 866/868-0128 or
360/327-3709; www.solducriverfishing.com), which charges $380 per day for
two people—but that rate includes your room, breakfast, and lunch.
If you're more interested in heading out on open water to do a bit of salmon
or deep-sea fishing, numerous charter boats operate out of Sekiu and Neah Bay.
In the Sekiu/Clallam Bay area, contact Puffin Adventures ( & 888/305-2437;
www.puffinadventures.com). In Neah Bay, try King Fisher Charters ( & 888/
622-8216; www.kingfisherenterprises.com). Expect to pay from $100 to $160
per person for a day of fishing.
HIKING & BACKPACKING For several of the most popular backpack-
ing destinations in Olympic National Park (the Ozette Coast Loop, Grand Val-
ley, Royal Basin, Badger Valley, Flapjack Lakes, and Lake Constance), advance-
reservation hiking permits are required or highly recommended between May 1
and September 30 and can be made up to 30 days in advance. Reservations can
be made by contacting the Wilderness Information Center, 3002 Mount
Angeles Rd., Port Angeles ( & 360/565-3100 ). Both a Wilderness Use Fee ($5
for a group of up to 12 people) and a nightly camping fee ($2 per person per
night) are charged. Should you be doing the Ozette Coast Loop, you'll also have
to pay a $1-per-day trail head parking fee. For most other overnight hikes you
can pick up a permit at a ranger station or at the trail head. If in doubt, check
with a park ranger before heading out to a trail head for a backpacking trip. Also
keep in mind that some trails start at trail heads on national forest land; for these
trails, you'll need a Northwest Forest Pass. Also, should you be planning to back-
pack along the coast, keep in mind that some headlands can only be rounded at
low tide, and others cannot be rounded at all. These latter headlands have marked
(though often steep, muddy, and difficult) trails over them. In some cases these
“trails” consist of cable ladders or handhold ropes. Also be aware that you'll have
to ford quite a few creeks and even a river depending on which section of the
coast you plan to hike. Always carry a tide table.
Most of the best backpacking trips in Olympic National Park are long and
aren't easily turned into loop trips. If you want to do a one-way backpacking
trip, you can arrange a shuttle through Windsox Trailhead Shuttle, 406 W. E
St., Forks ( & 360/374-2002 ).
LLAMA TREKKING If you want to do an overnight trip into the backcoun-
try of the national park but don't want to carry all the gear, consider letting a
llama carry your stuff. Kit's Llamas, P.O. Box 116, Olalla, WA 98359 ( & 253/
857-5274; www.northolympic.com/llamas), offers llama trekking in the Olympic
Mountains. Prices, based on a group of six to eight adults, are $35 to $75 per
person for day hikes, $75 to $180 per person per day for overnight and multi-
day trips, with special rates for children. Deli Llama, 17045 Llama Lane, Bow,