Olympic Loop - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 54

Highway 101 skirts the cobalt blue waters of 600-foot deep Lake Crescent carved by Ice Age glaciers some 10,000 years
ago.
11. Lake Crescent
According to Indian lore, Lake Crescent was formed when nearby Storm King Mountain
became so furious at two warring tribes that it broke off a piece of itself and hurled it at
them,inadvertentlydammingastream.Butscienceoffersanotherexplanation,holdingthat
thelakewascarvedbyglaciersduringtheIceAge,some10,000yearsago.Howeveritwas
born,LakeCrescentisabeauty—asparkling,deep-bluegemwhosefreshwatersmirrorthe
surrounding wooded hillsides. About 12 miles long and more than 600 feet deep, the lake
is one of the largest bodies of water in Olympic National Park. Among the activities to be
enjoyed here are swimming, boating, camping, and fishing (anglers are especially fond of
the rare Beardslee trout found about 80 feet below the surface). Near the visitor center, a
short trail leads across a single-log bridge to 90-foot-high Marymere Falls.
12. Sol Duc Hot Springs
If miles of hiking or hours of sitting behind the wheel have made you tired or sore, the
warm mineral waters of Sol Duc Hot Springs may be just the tonic you need. Long cher-