Off to Forks & La Push!

[Keith Fleming]

My wife and I went out to Shi Shi in March of last year, and the last part of the trail was very muddy--we had to be careful to avoid having the mud spill over the top of our hiking boots.

Rain gear is a necessity out on the West End. The earlier comments about the rain forest are correct. For example, the rain guage on the lodge at Lake Quinault measures in feet, not inches.

If it turns out to be too wet out there, drive back to Port Townsend (the route back to Seattle comes close to PT anyway). We are in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and get about 1/10th the amount of rain as the Pacifici beaches. Lots of Victorian architecture, beaches, lighthouse, historic downtown, restored 19th century hotels, no big-box stores, and lots of good restaurants. The movie theater, the Rose Theater, even has an employee introduce each film. If you like massive concrete structures, then the old gun positions at Fort Worden State Park in PT will provide plenty of good material.

Having said this, I have to admit that the Pacific beaches are incredible places as people noted earlier.

Keith

[John Kasaian]

Thanks Keith!

[Colin Graham]

Thanks Keith for the update. I saw the conservation corps working on the Cape Alava trail last year, so I hoped they might be going up to the Shi Shi trail next. I started looking around on the Olympic NP site and found a page for current (dated 5/3/12) trail conditions if anyone is interested- http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisi...CP_JUMP_450765

[Joseph Dickerson]

John,

Ann and I took the grandkids (10 &13 at the time) to Forks for the same reason (Twilight fans) and were concerned they would be disappointed. They loved it. So don't worry. The town of Forks has mostly done a good job of keeping the Twilight thing from becoming too tacky. The visitor's center has a map of locations that were used in the movie and other things related to the movie franchise.

If you have time, come up the coast by going west after you cross the Columbia. The road on the south (Portland) side of the river is a major highway to Astoria, on the north side of the river, you're right next to the river on more of a country road. If I remember correctly, you go west at Longview, Washington. There's a lot to see as you travel north along the coast.

JD

[Stephen Lumry]

Shi Shi is famous for its boot sucking mud, sometimes it makes more sense to hike to the beach bare footed.

[Curt]

When you're in or passing through Forks there is a hamburger stand restaurant on the west side of the main highway in town that has the best tasting hamburgers I've ever tasted.

The Ho Rain Forest and river is excellent. Toward Port Angeles is the Sol Duc hot springs.

[John Kasaian]

John,

Ann and I took the grandkids (10 &13 at the time) to Forks for the same reason (Twilight fans) and were concerned they would be disappointed. They loved it. So don't worry. The town of Forks has mostly done a good job of keeping the Twilight thing from becoming too tacky. The visitor's center has a map of locations that were used in the movie and other things related to the movie franchise.

If you have time, come up the coast by going west after you cross the Columbia. The road on the south (Portland) side of the river is a major highway to Astoria, on the north side of the river, you're right next to the river on more of a country road. If I remember correctly, you go west at Longview, Washington. There's a lot to see as you travel north along the coast.

JD

Thanks Joseph!

[John Kasaian]

When you're in or passing through Forks there is a hamburger stand restaurant on the west side of the main highway in town that has the best tasting hamburgers I've ever tasted.

The Ho Rain Forest and river is excellent. Toward Port Angeles is the Sol Duc hot springs.

I'll have to give them a try (my doc says I've got iron anemia) I wonder how they'll compare to McWank's in Watson Lake BC? That was a memorable burger!

[Darren H]

Awesome area. Forks itself has about zero of photography interest but is a decent central location for "base camp".

Second Beach is awesome. Short 15 minute hike through the woods. Awesome at sunrise and sunset. First beach pales in comparison. Third beach is also neat but a longer hike. Agree Rialto is also very neat. All of them are around La Push and just a 15 minute drive from Forks.

Fave place to eat in area was 3 Rivers which is where the Rialto beach road splits off. They play up the Twilight theme there as the "treaty line", but food is tasty. Wife and I liked it much better than any place in Forks.

Lake Crescent is amazing and lodge is a primo place to stay.

Sol Duc Valley is also a must see. Hike to the falls. Could stay there too although we day tripped from Lake Crescent.

I was less impressed with Kalaloch as a location.

Take good rain gear , take rain covet for camera too., bring shoes for ocean too.

See some images from there on my website. WWW.wildernessphotographer.net

Have fun!!!

[domaz]

I enjoy Port Townsend a lot that being said Sequim is also in the rain shadow of the Olympics and is near the Dungeness Spit NW refuge. It's a good bet for a place to walk in the sun if other places are rainy and it's not quite as far of a drive from forks as Port Townsend. Also more on the Port Angeles side is the Elwha River entrance to Olympic NP. This is where they are taking down a dam and it's the biggest project in the country of it's kind. Check the park website for conditions, but I believe there is a couple nearby roads that you can walk in and see the bottom of the valley that had been flooded for almost one hundred years.