July 18, 2025 - Driving from Alaska to Maryland
Olympic National Park
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This morning we departed Port Angeles and headed west along Highway 101. Today was Day Two of our visit to Olympic National Park.
Our first stop was at the Marymere Falls trailhead, on the south side of big Lake Crescent.
The trail would be an 1.8-mile hike through old-growth forest to a 90-ft waterfall.
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Looking out over Lake Crescent.
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| Old growth forest. |
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Here we go! There weren't many people on the trail which was nice.
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| But you have to watch out for the wildlife! |
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| The Bridge over the River Kwai. |
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Scary narrow bridge.
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| Maryrmere Falls. |
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Top of the falls.
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| Heading back. |
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Barnes Creek.
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| Old growth forest. |
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| Back at Lake Crescent. There is a Lodge -- built in 1916 -- you can stay at, or cottages. |
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The Lodge area has great views of the lake.
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We continued west down Highway 101 and stopped for another short hike.
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| A small waterfall. |
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| Checking out the falls from this bridge. |
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We wanted to go to Cape Flattery which is the northwest tip of the United States. But it definately off the beaten path. We turned north off Highway 101 at an intersection called Sappho onto Route 113. From Sappho it was 45 miles to Cape Flattery. And then you had to come back the same way! But we did it. Why not?
We drove north to Callum Bay, then drove west along the coast on Route 112.
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| The Big Salmon resort at Neah Bay. |
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Just before reaching the Cape Flattery trailhead we got hit up by the Makah Indian tribe for 15 bucks. We paid it. Gotta pay to play.
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| It was about a mile or so down to the observation deck. Much of it was this narrow, winding boardwalk. Fortunately for us, there weren't that many people on the trail. |
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It was a pretty hike through the trees.
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| We reach the observation deck area for some beautiful views. |
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| Looking north. |
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| Looking west at small island which has a lighthouse on it. |
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WWW
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WWW
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| WWW |
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| P54 |
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P55
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| P56 |
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P57
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| P58 |
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| We checked out the beach area -- Hobuck Beach -- just south of Cape Flattery. |
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Cape Flattery justs out into the Pacific at left.
Then it was time to drive the 45 miles back to Sappho intersection, get back on Highway 101 heading west, then another 11 miles to the town of Forks, where we would spend the night.
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We stayed in the deluxe Far West Motel in Forks.
As you might be thinking, Forks is a small town -- population 3,335 -- in a remote part of Washington. That said, it is really the only substantial town on the west side of Olympic NP.
For much of the 20th century, the city's economy was fueled by the local timber industry. Forks later became a tourism destination for visitors to Olympic NP, recreational sport fishing in nearby rivers, and fans of the novel series Twilight and films, which are set in Forks. There are a couple of prisons here too.
The local timber industry boomed from the 1950s to 1970s, earning Forks the self-proclaimed title of "Logging Capital of the World." Changes in environmental policy led to a significant decline in the timber industry in the 1980s and 1990s. They have a Forks Timber Museum I wish we would have had time to visit. It's right across Highway 101 from Forks Airport!
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| Our room was on the top level of this small building. It was your basic motel room; we had no complaints. |
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We had dinner just down the street at the Longhouse Cafe which was creatively decorated with local art and served native American-styled food.
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