Olympic Loop - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 52

kinds of birds. A half-mile trail from an adjacent campground leads through woodlands to
the base of the spit and then continues beyond a bluff to the tip, where lighthouse lovers
can visit an 1857 beacon.
Star Route
COASTAL ROUTE 112
A few miles west of Port Angeles, Scenic Byway Hwy. 112 veers off from Hwy. 101
for a 62-mile side trip to Neah Bay. After crossing the Elwha River, the drive weaves
past wooded hills, then hugs the shore as it approaches Neah Bay, where the Makah
Cultural and Research Museum houses thousands of prehistoric Indian artifacts. A
hikealongacedarplankboardwalkleadstoCapeFlattery(thenorthwesternmostpoint
in the lower 48 states), where a bluff overlooks the Tatoosh Island lighthouse and the
entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
8. Port Angeles
Port Angeles is not only the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula, but also the gateway to
Olympic National Park, which dominates the peninsula like a great, gorgeous centerpiece.
The park owes its existence to one of its inhabitants: the Roosevelt elk. Much of the nearly
1millionacresthatnowmakeupthesprawlingparkweredeclaredaforestreservein1897
by Congress. In 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt designated the area a national monu-
menttoprotectalocaltreasure—asubspeciesofelk(renamedtheRooseveltelkinhishon-
or). Some 30 years later, his cousin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, made the monument
our 28th national park.
At the park's main visitor center, located on Mt. Angeles Road, visitors can learn about
its natural history and receive information on camping, hiking, fishing, and accommoda-
tions.SkirtedbyHwy.101,theparkisaccessiblebynumerousspurroads,butnoneofthem
extend into its core. More than 600 miles of trails pick up where the roads end, helping to
keep this enchanted realm as unspoiled as ever.