Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fireplaces and some have either a kitchen or a Jacuzzi tub. Wide lawns slope
down to the lake, and most rooms and cabins have water views. In summer, you
can rent canoes for exploring the lake. A short trail leads from the resort to the
world's largest spruce tree.
516 S. Shore Rd., Lake Quinault, WA 98575.
&
800/255-6936
or 360/288-2535. Fax 360/288-2957. www.
rfrv.com. 28 units. Late June to Aug $90-$101 double, $132-$195 cabin. Lower rates other months. AE, DISC,
MC, V.
Amenities:
Restaurant (American); lounge; boat rentals; coin-op laundry. In room:TV.
CAMPGROUNDS
If you want to say you've camped at the wettest campground in the contiguous
United States, head for the national park's
Hoh Campground
(88 campsites)
in the Hoh River valley. Almost as wet is the national park's
Queets Camp-
ground
(20 campsites). This campground is 14 miles up the Queets Road from
U.S. 101. On Quinault Lake there are three campgrounds. On the north shore
is the walk-in
July Creek Campground
(29 campsites). On the south shore
are two national forest campgrounds—
Willaby
(34 campsites) and
Falls Creek
(31 campsites). East of Lake Quinault, up the Quinault River valley, are two more
national park rainforest campgrounds—
North Fork
(7 campsites) and
Graves
Creek
(30 campsites)—that provide access to a couple of the park's long-distance
hiking trails.
Campsites at
Bogachiel State Park
(42 campsites), on the Bogachiel River
6 miles south of Forks on U.S. 101, are set under huge old spruce trees. On the
banks of the Hoh River, the Washington Department of Natural Resources
operates four primitive campgrounds for tent users.
Hoh Oxbow Campground
(7 campsites) is right on U.S. 101 and is the most convenient. Heading up river
on the Hoh Rain Forest Road are
Willoughby Creek
(19 campsites) and
Min-
nie Peterson
(7 campsites). Down river on Oil City Road is
Cottonwood
Campground
(7 campsites), which is a good place to camp if you want to
explore the national park coast north of the Hoh River. An alternative here is to
hike
1
⁄
2
mile to the beach and camp there.
Along the peninsula's west side, there are also several beach campgrounds.
These include the national park's
Mora Campground
(94 campsites) on the
beautiful Rialto Beach at the mouth of the Quillayute River west of Forks. If
you're prepared to hike in with your gear, you can also camp on Second Beach
(half-mile hike) and Third Beach (1
1
⁄
2
-mile hike). South of the Hoh River, along
the only stretch of U.S. 101 that is right on the beach, you'll find
Kalaloch
Campground
(175 campsites), which is the national park's largest campground
and the only one that takes reservations. Make reservations by contacting the
National Park Reservation Service
(
&
800/365-2267;
http://reservations.nps.
gov). For general information on national park campgrounds, contact
Olympic
National Park
(
&
360/565-3130
). For information on nearby national forest
campgrounds, contact the
Olympic National Forest, Quinault Ranger Sta-
tion,
353 S. Shore Rd., Quinault (
&
360/288-2525;
www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic).
WHERE TO DINE
In the town of Forks, you'll find several basic diners and family restaurants, but
nothing really worth recommending. South of Forks, your best bets are the din-
ing rooms at the
Kalaloch Lodge
and the
Lake Quinault Lodge.
If you hap-
pen to be hungry up the Hoh River, don't miss the juicy burgers at the
Hard
Rain Cafe,
5763 Upper Hoh Rd. (
&
360/374-9288
).When you've just got to
have a bracing latte to chase away the chill and the damp, drop by the
Riverrun
Coffeehouse,
71 N. Forks Ave. (
&
360/374-7580
).
