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Olympic Penninsula #2: River, Lake and Ocean

We had an excellent day exploring some of the beaches in Olympic National Park. Forks had been a good base, but we had done all the nearby hikes, eaten at just about every restaurant in town and been to the only tshirt shop. It was time to leave Forks and head south.

Our next goal was to complete some unfinished business from our trip last year. We had tried to do the Hoh River Trail and see the famous rainforest there, but had not even made it to the trailhead. It's a deadend road to the visitor center and there is only a small parking lot. Last year we went in the afternoon and traffic was backed up a long way at the park entrance station. When we saw the sign, quite a ways ahead of us, that said "one hour wait from this point" we decided to give up. Today we were back for another try and were determined to beat the crowd. We had about an hour drive to get there so we hit the very road early. It worked because we had no trouble getting in or finding a parking spot, although we definitely weren't the only ones there. We were on the trail at 8:30 am.

The Hoh valley has some of the most famous rainforest in the US. A trail runs beside the river for over twenty miles to its headwaters, deep in the Olympic Mountains. We didn't intend to go that far, but wanted to see the rainforest and hopefully get some views of the most remote peaks of the Olympics. The trail was easy. It follows the river and is very flat. The rainforest was indeed impressive. It was incredibly lush. Everything, everywhere, was green. Even the sunlight seemed to have a greenish tint. But we had seen a lot of rainforest on our hikes the day before. Unfortunately while we got to experience the forest, there were no views. The forest was too dense. We never saw the mountains. Even the river, sometimes only a hundred yards away, was still hidden by the dense forest. We could hear it but we couldn't see it. There was no specific destination, so we hiked for about three miles before turning around.

The trail was definitely worth doing. The rainforest was beautiful, but I probably won't come back to do the hike again. And we had the satisfaction of accomplishing our goal.

Back on US101, we continued to head south. After a while, the highway turned west all the way to the coast, where there was a turnoff and a parking lot for Ruby Beach. We decided to stop and check it out. It was a short walk down to the beach, only a couple hundred yards. Because it was so accessible, there were quite a few people there. I could understand. It was another perfect day and the scenery was fantastic. There were a number of sea stacks rising just off the beach. Behind them was Abbey Island, a rocky monolith with hundred foot high cliffs on all sides. Abby should feel honored to have it named after her.

A few miles past Ruby Beach, we took a short side road to the Kalaloch Big Cedar Trail. In just a few hundred yards it leads to a massive Red Cedar tree believed to be a thousand years old. And I thought that I was old. It used to stand 175 feet high but in 2014 a storm split it in half. While the collapsed section is decaying the remaining portion of the tree is still alive. The trail continued for another half mile, making a loop that went past a number of other large cedar trees.

Continuing our drive south, our next stop was at Kalaloch Beach. From the parking area it was only a hundred yards to the beach, but it was definitely a steep descent. It was another fantastically beautiful beach. I have to admit that it was gettin hard to keep track of all of them. Considering the short distance from the road, I was surprised that there was hardly anyone there. Quite a change from the crowd at Ruby Beach.

We made one more stop at Kalaloch Lodge. We wanted to check it out as a potential place to stay on a future trip. There was a main lodge building and also some individual units, all of which were on the edge of the bluff overlooking the ocean. We decided that it would be pretty cool to stay there sometime. Then our real reason for stopping came out. We got snacks and Diet Cokes at the lodge store. Then we were ready to continue on to the Quinault River Inn, where we were going to spend the next two nights.

There is a magnificent old lodge at Lake Quinault. We had passed by the previous year and thought that it would be really cool to stay there. When we were planning this trip, rooms were available but were really expensive. Add to that the fact that while it is cool to stay in old national park lodges, the rooms are often small with few amenities. We've done it at Mt. Rainier and Yosemite and Glacier and sometimes it isn't that comfortable.

We opted instead for the Quinault River Inn, a small lodge just a few miles away. It's right next to the Quinault River and only has eight rooms plus a few RV spots. They have a nice patio the whole length of the building that faces the river and the rooms looked large and comfortable. We went with them and it turned out to be a good choice. We enjoyed sitting out on the patio in the evening with the river flowing by. It reminded me of the Redfish Riverside Inn in Stanley, a favorite of ours that we go to almost every year.

Next day the excellent weather continued and we did a hike at Lake Quinault. There are a number of interconnected trails on the mountain slopes above the lake. The hike that we pieced together was seven and a half miles long with 800 feet of elevation gain. It was a healthy hike but not overwhelming. We started from a parking area near the lake and climbed up the mountain on the south side of the lake. Once again we were hiking through rainforest. It was impressive but since we were inland, not quite as striking as what we had seen on our other hikes the past two days. By this point in our trip, the bar was pretty high for rainforest. It was a good hike, but with no views, after a while it was a bit monotonous. After a long traverse, we did pass a pretty waterfall before descending back to the lake. We stopped at the Lake Quinault Lodge for drinks and a snack before continuing. The last stretch was right along the lakeshore and was by far the prettiest part of the hike. There were lots of wildflowers, and at one point, there were quite a few tiger lillies beside the trail. It's one of my favorite flowers but I don't see them very often. Overall, it was a good hike but not great.

After our hike, we had pizza at Dino's Pizza and Grill, just a two minute walk from our hotel. Then we had another pleasant evening on the patio, watching the river flow by, admiring the mountains in the distance, and drinking wine. Next morning we had breakfast at the Quinault Internet Cafe, another two minute walk from the lodge. Then it was time to hit the road. It had been a good stop at Lake Quinault. We really liked the lodge. There were good restaurants and a small general store right next door. We had a good hike. Now it was time for the last portion of our trip.

It wasn't far to Ocean Shores, where we would be staying for the next two nights. We only had about an hour drive, so we were in no hurry. Instead of taking the most direct route, we cut over to the coast at Moclips and drove along the ocean. We were curious to see what the coastline and towns in that area were like. It only added an extra fifteen minutes of driving time.

Turns out it was uninspiring. Sure, the ocean was right there, but the coastline was not dramatic. I admit that we had been spoiled by the beaches in Olympic National Park, with all the beautiful scenery we had seen there. Here there were no steep cliffs or sea stacks. There were no hotels or lodges or restaurants with views looking out over the water.

When we reached Ocean Shores we checked in at The Canterbury Inn. The year before we had stayed at the Lighthouse Inn, and although it was right on the water and was...ok...it was definitely a little tired. The Canterbury was a much better choice this time. And it got extra credit for being only a five minute walk from Sharkey's, one of the best tshirt shops in town. It was also right next to the ocean, so after getting settled we went for a walk on the beach. We were in town for a day and a half and spent our time walking on the beach, eating, or shopping for tshirts.

The town of Ocean Shores is built entirely on the Point Brown peninsula, a narrow spit of land that extends far to the south from the "mainland". It encloses part of Grays Harbor. A similar spit extends from the south leaving only a narrow entrance to the bay. Ocean Shores is at most half a mile wide and is very flat. The whole place seems like it's at an elevation of about six inches. I know that's an exageration, but that's how it feels. In reality, it averages about ten feet above sea level and its highest point is fifty feet above sea level. It seems like one big wave coming in would sweep all the way across to Grays Harbor. When it receded everything would be gone, the town, even the peninsula itself. I don't think I would like to live there. I certainly wouldn't want to be there in a big storm.

Hotels line the road that is closest to the ocean. Behind them is about a 500 foot stretch of sandy scrubland. It seems like it is just beach that is out of the reach of high tide, allowing grasses and shrubs to colonize it. Beyond that is the beach. It is impressive. It is about 200 feet wide and very flat. It extends out of sight in both directions. It's quite a contrast from the beaches we had been on just a few days before, which were backed by cliffs and steep forested slopes. At Ocean Shores there are just no features anywhere, on the beach, behind the beach, or inland.

Although not as scenic as some others, the beach at Ocean Shores is a great place to look for sea shells. Sandy always takes a bag with her on our walks and usually finds a few good ones to take home. The most prized find is an intact Sand Dollar. We always find lots of them but they're always broken. In all our trips to the beach, I think Sandy has only found two intact Sand Dollars.

That changed on one of our walks. Sandy was very excited when she showed me that she had found a completely intact Sand Dollar. That was an awesome find. Then a few minutes later, she found another one. Then another one. And another one. Within half an hour, on that one walk, she found ten intact Sand Dollars. Something unusual must have happened to wash them all up in one place at one time without any of them being damaged. That was unbelievable. It was an epic find, that on its own made the whole trip worthwhile.

When we weren't walking on the beach we were checking out the shops. They were in easy walking distance. I found a couple of tshirts and an inexpensive jacket with "Ocean Shores" on it. I like to show off my world travels. Sandy bought some souvenirs too, for herself and for the grandkids.

There were several restaurants we could walk to as well. One night we had some good fish and chips at Bennett's Fish Shack. You have to eat seafood at least once when you are right next to the ocean. Another night we had pizza at Dugan's Pizza. There must be a fun run in Ocean Shores every summer that they sponsor. All along the wall there were tshirts for "Dugan's Run", every one from a different year, going all the way back to 1985. That's my kind of pizza place. To top it off, we even found ice cream nearby at Murphy's Candy & Ice Cream.

That was about it for our trip. The next morning we had a good breakfast at Our Place Restaurant before heading out. We had a ten hour drive and were home that evening. Another excellent trip was in the books, and now is on the Dog Blog.