Road Trips

A Scenic Drive Through The
Olympic Peninsula Leads to a Wild World

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILL MATSUDA

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To wade into the Olympic beach scene, consider Kalaloch Campground, ocean-facing with 175 campsites. Rain Forest Resort Village on Lake Quinault puts you in the woods.

Updated

13 Sep 2024

Reading Time

3 Minutes

A short Olympic Peninsula jaunt unites two mighty landscapes.

THE DRIVE
Dramatic haystack rock spires make RUBY BEACH an icon along OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK's wild Pacific shore. Starting there, Highway 101 loops southbound through the Quinault Indian Nation’s lands, headed into mossy forest terrain.

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TALL TREES, UNTAMED WAVES
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK and the Peninsula are an Earth-y collage. Snow gleams from peaks, waves toss wild beaches and rainforest explodes with green.

HISTORIC STOP
A quick diversion to LAKE QUINAULT LODGE hits an all-timer among rustic retreats, designed in the 1920s by Robert Reamer, definitive National Parks lodge architect. Easy loop hikes access the Quinault Rainforest.

INTO THE MIST
Take a hard left, eastbound and up, on Donkey Creek Road. You’ll hit gravel; keep adventuring on National Forest roads to reach CAMPBELL TREE GROVE CAMPGROUND. The West Fork Humptulips Trail promises serious rainforest immersion.

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