Road Trip: Washington Peninsula

So, our trip north to Forks, Washington wasn’t 100% focused on seeing sets from the Twilight movies. The peninsula is a destination in its own right and we were determined to see as much of it as we could. 400 miles in one day? We’re crazy like that.

Humptulips, WA

Humptulips is a Salish word that describes how hard the river is to navigate, and has nothing to do with humps or tulips or any combination of the two. Read more here. It was on the way, so we stopped to check out the grocery store (lots of cool fishing supplies) and gander at the river (lovely.) Once those five minutes were over, we hopped back on the road to the next destination.

Lake Quinault

On the southern edge of the Olympic National Park is lovely Quinault Lodge situated on Lake Quinault. It’s a launching point for the fishing, hiking, and camping in the area, and, it seems, sipping fancy cocktails before the cotillion. Loved it, though not my scene.

Off the nearby road is a small trail that eventually leads to the lake and the world’s largest Sitka Spruce tree. This arboreal champion is 191 feet tall and is estimated to be over 1,000 years old. All I know is, it makes me look small.

We continued up the 101, and stopped along a few of the beaches and trails that dot the highway. There were some great spots for whale watching, hiking, and getting the heck away from other human beings. Between the parks, forests, and tribal lands, there are plenty of opportunities to get away.

Lake Crescent

After Forks, we continued east towards Lake Crescent, which has a fancy lodge like Lake Quinault. The lake here is one of the clearest in the area, and I’m sure there are plenty of fish in its crystal clear depths though they’d have just as good a view of you. We stopped by the lodge, got some drinks, and sat at the end of the dock.

It was a fine, fine spot to spend some time in the sunshine. I think, in part, because there were virtually no motorized boats on the lake. Why don’t more lakes limit access? It’s an amazing change. The lake, btw, has a history of suspicious drownings, but what’s interesting is how the cool temperatures preserve the bodies. I find it interesting, anyways.

We had a dinner in Tokeland a few days prior to the trip, and the dinner there was fine but we were really taken with the beer. The chef had picked up a nice sour from Propolis Brewing in Port Townsend. Since we were headed that direction anyways, we drove the extra twenty minutes to pick up more brews.

The brewery focuses on what I’ll call softer sours. While the offerings here are not as in-your-face as I generally like, there was a huge range of fruit-based sours to choose from. We picked up red huckleberry, and a few others and scooted off to find dinner and wind our way home.

We continued back on the opposite side of the peninsula, but didn’t have much left in the (figurative) tank to explore. I think the plan is to do this trip in reverse so we can stop off at every point of interest like we did on the way up. It’ll be epic.