Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
their own meat or prawns on a hot rock. With 24 hours notice you can also have
traditional Swiss cheese fondue or a lighter seafood fondue. To start your meal,
you might try the crabmeat Rockefeller or the sampler of house-smoked salmon,
scallops, oysters, and prawns. For dessert nothing hits the spot like the choco-
late mousse.
122 W. Lauridsen Blvd.
&
360/452-1952.
Reservations recommended. Main courses $18-$29. AE, DISC,
MC, V. Tues-Sat 5-10pm.
WEST OF PORT ANGELES
Outside of Port Angeles, the restaurant choices become exceedingly slim. Your
best choices are the dining rooms at
Lake Crescent Lodge
(open mid-Apr
through early Nov) and the
Log Cabin Resort
(open Apr-Oct), both located
on the shores of Lake Crescent. One other dining option on this lake is the
Fairholm General Store & Cafe,
221121 U.S. 101 (
&
360/928-3020
), which
is at the lake's west end and is open between April and October. Although all
you'll get here are burgers, sandwiches, and breakfasts, the cafe has a deck with
a view of the lake. Continuing west, you'll find food at the dining room of
Sol
Duc Hot Springs Resort
(open Apr-Oct).
Way out west, near Ozette Lake, you'll find
The Lost Resort,
Hoko-Ozette
Road (
&
800/950-2899
or 360/963-2899), a general store with a deli, espresso,
and a tavern serving lots of microbrews.
4 Olympic National Park West
Forks: 57 miles W of Port Angeles, 50 miles S of Neah Bay, 77 miles N of Lake Quinault
The western regions of Olympic National Park can be roughly divided into two
distinct sections—the rugged coastal strip and the famous rainforest valleys. Of
course, these are the rainiest areas within the park, and many a visitor has called
short a vacation here due to the rain. Well, what do you expect? It is, after all, a
rainforest. Come prepared to get wet.
The coastal strip can be divided into three segments. North of La Push, which
is on the Quileute Indian Reservation, the 20 miles of shoreline from Rialto
Beach to Cape Alava are accessible only on foot. The northern end of this stretch
of coast is accessed from Lake Ozette off Wash. 112 in the northwest corner of
the peninsula. South of La Push, the park's coastline stretches for 17 miles from
Third Beach to the Hoh River mouth and is also accessible only on foot. The
third segment of Olympic Park coastline begins at Ruby Beach just south of
both the Hoh River mouth and Hoh Indian Reservation and stretches south to
South Beach. This stretch of coastline is paralleled by U.S. 101.
Inland of these coastal areas, which are not contiguous with the rest of the
park, lie the four rainforest valleys of the Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets, and Quinault
rivers. Of these valleys, only the Hoh and Quinault are penetrated by roads, and
it is in the Hoh Valley that the rainforests are the primary attraction.
Located just outside the northwest corner of the park, the timber town of Forks
serves as the gateway to Olympic National Park's west side. This town was at the
heart of the controversy over protecting the northern spotted owl, and is still strug-
gling to recover from the employment bust after the logging boom of the 1980s.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
The town of Forks is the largest community in this
northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula and is on U.S. 101, which contin-
ues south along the west side of the peninsula to the town of Hoquiam.
