Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bus service from Sequim to Lake Crescent, Neah Bay, La Push, and Forks
is operated by
Clallam Transit
(
&
800/858-3747
or 360/452-4511; www.
clallamtransit.com). Bus service between Forks and Lake Quinault is provided
by
Jefferson Transit
(
&
800/371-0497
or 360/385-4777; www.jeffersontransit.
com). There is service to Quinault Lake from Olympia and Aberdeen on
Grays
Harbor Transit
(
&
800/562-9730
or 360/532-2770; www.ghtransit.com).
VISITOR INFORMATION
For more information on this western section of
Olympic National Park, see “Visitor Information,” above, in section 3 of this
chapter. For more information on the Forks area, contact the
Forks Chamber
of Commerce,
1411 S. Forks Ave. (P.O. Box 1249), Forks, WA 98331 (
&
800/
44-FORKS
or 360/374-2531; www.forkswa.com).
FESTIVALS
Each year in mid-July,
Quileute Days
are celebrated in La Push
(on the Quileute Indian Reservation) with canoe races, traditional dancing, a
salmon bake, and other events.
EXPLORING THE PARK'S WEST SIDE
If you want to learn more about the area's logging history, stop by the
Forks
Timber Museum,
south of town on U.S. 101 (
&
360/374-9663
). The museum
chronicles the history of logging in this region, but it also has displays on Native
American culture and pioneer days. It's open from mid-April to October, daily
from 10am to 4pm; admission is by donation.
Also in the Forks area, there are quite a few artists' studios and galleries. You
can pick up an
Olympic West Arttrek
guide and map to these studios and gal-
leries at the Forks Chamber of Commerce (see above for contact information).
West of Forks lie miles of pristine beaches and a narrow strip of forest (called
the Olympic Coastal Strip) that are part of the national park but that are not
connected to the inland, mountainous section. The first place where you can
actually drive right to the Pacific Ocean is just west of Forks. At the end of a spur
road you come to the Quileute Indian Reservation and the community of
La
Push.
Right in town there's a beach at the mouth of the Quillayute River; how-
ever, before you reach La Push, you'll see signs for
Third Beach
and
Sec-
ond Beach
, which are two of the prettiest beaches on the peninsula. Third
Beach is a 1
1
⁄
2
-mile walk and Second Beach is just over half a mile from the trail
head.
Rialto Beach
, just north of La Push, is another beautiful and rugged
beach; it's reached from a turnoff east of La Push. From here you can walk north
for 24 miles to Cape Alava, although this is also a very popular spot for day
hikes. One mile up the beach is a spot called
Hole in the Wall,
where ceaseless
wave action has bored a large tunnel through solid rock. On any of these
beaches, keep an eye out for bald eagles, seals, and sea lions.
Roughly 8 miles south of Forks is the turnoff for the Hoh River valley. It's
17 miles up this side road to the
Hoh Visitor Center
(
&
360/374-6925
),
campground, and trail heads. This valley receives an average of 140 inches of
rain per year (and as much as 190 in.), making it the wettest region in the con-
tinental United States. At the visitor center you can learn all about the natural
forces that cause this tremendous rainfall. To see the effect of so much rain on
the landscape, walk the .75-mile
Hall of Mosses Trail,
where the trees, prima-
rily Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and western hemlock, tower 200 feet tall.
Here you'll see big-leaf maple trees with limbs draped in thick carpets of mosses.
If you're up for a longer walk, try the
Spruce Nature Trail.
If you've come with
a backpack, there's no better way to see the park and its habitats than by hiking
the
Hoh River Trail,
which is 17 miles long and leads to Glacier Meadows and
