Lake Quinault Loop Drive

Today, Saturday, May 31, 2008, we had unexpectedly fine weather. Mostly sunny and we all went around without jackets. My wife says it rained back home in the Seattle area. I had four boys with me: the twins, Austin and Konrad; their friend Scott; and little James - 5 years old next month.

This day we drove around Lake Quinault - an approximately 25 mile circuit. About 1/3rd of the time you are driving on narrow gravel roads. These are well-maintained without a single pothole - at least on this day.

Your first sight of the lake is at its western end from Highway 101. We started out on the North Shore Road for a clockwise circuit of the lake. Our first stop was for the Quinault Big Cedar. "Big" is an understatement. One might have said "ancient". The tree is barely alive - a few green branches can be spotted at the top. The outside of the tree is grossly gnarled and has lost all it bark - nothing like a young, straight cedar with the familiar strips of straight, red bark. The tree was entirely hollow inside. All five of us stood inside of it at once. Looking up within the tree you could see a patch of sky, so the hollowness extends clear to the top. It was a strange and fascinating sight.

On the way back to the car, the kids spotted a stream, and we played there for a while. The big boys climbed onto a large log fallen and suspended over the stream. Little James tries to follow them wherever they go, but the climb onto this log was a bit too challenging.

A few more miles down the road we stopped at the July Creek picnic area. One picnic table in particular has the finest view of any picnic table I know, with a commanding view of the lake and the hills behind. Directly across the lake you could just make out the historic Lake Quinault Lodge. There was a small beach here that the kids enjoyed.

Beyond the eastern end of the lake we stopped at the trail to the Kestner Homestead. The sign on the road says "Maple Grove Trail" and the ranger station is here (closed this day). This was a most enjoyable hike: flat, short (1.5 miles), and with varied scenery. The trail starts out by following a dry stream bed through the forest. The trees are mostly maples here, but this being the rain forest, everything was draped in moss. The kids found a way down to the stream bed at one point, and played among the rocks. Further on, you reach a bridge over the dry stream - some very old, very large maples are to be seen here. And then you come out of the forest to open farmland and the homestead.

The homestead was established around 1900 and the park service has recently begun to restore it. The grassy path, old wooden fences lining the fields, and the dilapidated farm buildings in the distance gave us all a sense of having stepped back into time by 100 years. Even the kids commented on it. The setting is lovely with forested, high hills in the distance and a peak of snowcapped mountains here and there. We found an old delivery truck, rusting away in place. The driver's cabin was entirely filled with vines. You could just make out some writing on the side: "local and long-distance" and a phone number. Beyond the old truck we settled into a meadow of tall grass for a rest.

After the homestead, the trail returns to the forest: maples and moss again, but even more lovely than before. The next noteworthy sight was a crystal clear pond, where a certain leafy green plant grew both below and above the pond surface. It was difficult to spot where the surface was - a kind of strange optical effect.

At least half of the drive around the lake leaves the lake and follows the Quinault River above the lake. We pulled the car over a few times for a fine view of the river and hills beyond it. Eventually, you reach a bridge and cross over to the South Shore Road. You'll pass three waterfalls visible from the road along this route.

There are many possibilities for hiking along the South Shore Road, but it was getting late, so we made just two short stops. We spotted a large sand bank in the river and the road widened just at this point, so I found a spot to park and we played down by the river. The boys threw rocks into the river, while I went off looking for a good vantage point for pictures. After that, they noticed a large rock - tall as a house - looming over the river, so they had to climb that and risk falling into the icy waters below. I helped James up after the big boys and we all found room at the top of the rock.

Our last stop was at the Lake Quinault Lodge for a drink. We found a picnic table behind the lodge and enjoyed our drinks, the sunshine, and the view of the lake. We had planned to rent a boat here, but it was too late in the day and the rental shack had closed down. Also, they didn't have a combination of boats that would work for one adult and four kids. We decided to go to Ocean Shores the next day to rent one of the electric boats that take up to 10 people. See:

http://www.oselectricboat.com/

The Quinault River Inn provides links to excellent maps that I used in planning our excursion:

http://www.quinaultriverinn.com/activities.htm

Check out the pictures of this trip at my website:

http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html

Hoh Rain Forest and Kalaloch Beach 2

I wanted to see what the furthest practical day trip from our beach house would be, so we headed this day for the Hoh Rain Forest. I had a four-year-old boy with me, so we had to make lots of stops to keep his interest up.

We headed north on First Street, north on highway 109, and then northeast on the Moclips Highway. The Moclips Highway is almost deserted, but after 15 miles you reach the Quinault Fish Hatchery. My little boy had never seen a fish hatchery, so I decided to stop. It was a big hit. He was interested in the little hatchlings, the water tanks, big pipes - everything about the place. It made a good bathroom stop too. The hatchery is open to visitors only until 3:00pm.

Shortly after the hatchery, you join highway 101, which you want to follow north in the direction of Forks. We stopped near the Quinault Lodge for gasoline - the most expensive I've ever paid for - and snacks. Both of these would have been cheaper if I had waited to reach Queets.

After Queets the highway follows the coastline and gives you beautiful peaks of the ocean. I had already been to Ruby Beach, the most spectacular beach along this route, so this time I wanted to see a different beach. The other beaches are named South Beach, Beach 1, Beach 2, Beach 3, and Beach 4. Somewhere I had read about "Second Beach", so I decided to stop at Beach 2; although, I now think that Second Beach is another area further north.

Anyway, if you had never been to any other beach, Beach 2 would delight you. A short walk through a pretty forest brings you to the driftwood pile. After clambering over the logs you come out on the wonderful, wide sandy beach. This sand runs almost unbroken down to Ocean Shores 60 miles to the south and perhaps as far to the north. My son enjoyed playing in a little stream that issued out from the base of the driftwood pile onto the beach. After that, we climbed on the largest driftwood log I've ever seen: it was probably a Spruce that I learned later in the Hoh Rain Forest grow up to 300 feet tall in this area. A bald eagle flew overhead. I was too slow with the camera to capture it.

After prying my little boy away from this beach, where he might have played all day, if left to himself, we continued on to the Hoh Rain Forest. It's an 18 mile drive from the highway to the visitor center. Up to this point you have been able to drive at highway speeds, but on this road you slow down to 30 to 40 mph. It's a very pretty drive between a range of hills on the north and the Hoh River to your south. Admission to the park costs $15 per passenger vehicle.

We walked the 3/4 mile Hall of Mosses trail. First, you cross a very pretty brook with crystal clear water. The ranger said we might see some silver fish there, but we didn't spot any. Up in the forest the main attractions are weirdly moss-covered trees - a grove of maples were particularly heavily draped - and enormous Spruce trees that grow up between 200 and 300 feet from the constant rain. The trail follows one fallen Spruce log for 190 feet, which the plaque says was not all of its original height. My little boy enjoyed the short hike a lot.

On the way home we stopped briefly at Ruby Beach for the view, and then we reached home in time for the sunset. The distance from our house to the Hoh Rain Forest visitor center was almost exactly 100 miles. Driving time without stops in each direction was about 2 1/4 hours.

This is the furthest northerly day trip you would want to make from our house. Another 20 miles north you reach the town of Forks, but there's nothing to see in Forks. Another 45 minutes beyond Forks brings you to some further beaches and sights. You might plan to circle up that way after departing our house and finding a place to stay between Port Angeles and Port Townsend.

See more pictures at:
http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html
(Vacation rental beach house built in 2007: great ocean view, short walk to beach, 3 king beds)