Washington`s Wild Coast By Susan Lanier

6/3/2016
Home & Away Magazine - Washington’s Wild Coast
Washington’s Wild Coast
Land and sea meet at Olympic National Park, which also boasts rivers,
mountains and old­growth forests.
By Susan Lanier-Graham
The majesty of
Washington’s Olympic
National Park is
immediately evident when
pulling into the parking area
of Kalaloch Lodge at
sunset. The rugged coast—
filled with stretches of sand,
massive redwood logs and
large black boulders—
shimmers as the sun’s rays
dip behind the Pacific. The
call of an elk, screech of an
owl, and cry of an eagle
welcome visitors to
Washington’s Wild Coast.
Exploring the Coast
Olympic National Park
covers nearly 1 million
acres and protects an expansive 73 miles of scenic coastline, making it one of the country’s
best outdoor playgrounds. Visitors can hike, picnic, go fishing or watch wildlife in the park,
which ranges from coastline and rivers to massive old-growth forests and the glacier-capped
Mount Olympus.
Once home to major lumber operations, the area was over harvested in the late 1800s. In
1897, President Cleveland designated it the Olympic Forest Reserve, which protected the
land but not the wildlife. In 1909, President Teddy Roosevelt set up part of the reserve as
the Mount Olympic National Monument. Following a visit there in 1938, President Franklin
Roosevelt established the Olympic National Park, which became a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1981.
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Nature lovers thrill to the
diversity in the park, with
more than 300 species of
birds and 70 species of
mammals. It’s quite
common to see enormous
elk strolling through the
campgrounds. Hiking along
the coast, visitors can
explore small colorful sea
stars while watching for
whales on the horizon.
The national park ends at
the low tide line, where
three national wildlife
refuges and the Olympic
Coast National Marine
Sanctuary take over protecting the area, extending about 135 miles along the Washington
coast and 20 to 40 miles offshore. This special protection gives visitors a unique chance to
see marine life at the park. Whales and dolphins are often spotted just off shore, while
harbor seals and sea otters also call the area home. Watching the antics of the furry otters, as
they play and fish in the chilly ocean, is a favorite pastime of park guests.
Historic Kalaloch Lodge
One of the best stops in Olympic National Park is at Kalaloch Lodge. Kalaloch, which
means “a good place to land” in the native Quinault language, is precisely that. The lodge
itself sits on a bluff overlooking the point where the Kalaloch Creek meets the Pacific
Ocean.
The historic lodge, built in 1925 by Charles Becker, was constructed from lumber that
washed on shore. Becker’s Ocean Resort, as it was originally called, sat just outside the
national park boundaries. It was a favorite vacation spot for years and even served as a
Coast Guard encampment during World War II. The land was added to the national park in
1953 and the National Park Service purchased the lodge in 1978.
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Today, Kalaloch Lodge contains Creekside
Restaurant, 10 rooms and a gift shop. It
includes a campground and series of small
cabins, many hugging the bluff with
unobstructed ocean views. Those cabins
define charming seaside vacation. There are
many options, with no two cabins alike.
Some have multiple bedrooms, kitchenettes
or wood-burning stoves. The 22 bluff
cabins are magical places. Sitting outside
on one of the Adirondack chairs, tucked
into one of the Pendleton blankets in each
room, with a steaming mug of coffee in
hand while watching the sunset or waking
up to a mystical world of fog and rolling
ocean waves just beyond the front window
creates life’s best travel memories.
Visitors at Kalaloch can hike along the
beach, discover sea life in the tide pools,
and explore the 0.8-mile Kalaloch Nature
Trail that starts at the campground and
winds through coastal rainforests. A perfect
end to the day is drinks and dinner at
Creekside Restaurant. This green-certified
restaurant serves local, fresh, organic meals
alongside some of the world’s best sunsets.
Hiking the Rainforest
There are dozens of hiking trails throughout Olympic National Park, but some of the most
scenic are in the nearby Hoh Rain Forest. Hiking the Hoh is like stepping into the pages of a
Dr. Seuss novel. The forest normally gets up to 12 feet of rain annually, creating an oasis
with massive conifers and plants called epiphytes that make everything look like something
out of a fairy tale.
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The moss, ferns and big-leaf maple are a
brilliant green in spring and summer with
shades of gold and red each fall. The area
surrounds the 50-mile-long Hoh River,
which gets its start in the high mountain
glaciers and is fed by snowmelt as it winds
it way 7,000 feet to the Pacific. Visitors to
Olympic National Park can experience the
rainforest in a variety of ways depending
on skill level and length of time they want
to hike.
The 0.1-mile mini-trail is a paved walk past
beautiful old-growth trees. The Hall of
Mosses is a popular hike along an easy but
beautiful 0.8-mile loop through the
temperate rain forest. The Spruce Nature
Trail is a 1.2-mile loop to the Hoh River.
For the most experienced hikers, the 11.8mile South Snider-Jackson trail offers a few
river crossings and steep descents through
the forest.
A guided tour with a naturalist gives
visitors a closer look at the ecology and
animals while weaving in the area’s rich
history. The experience of this magnificent
park and its lush rainforest becomes even
more impressive when an expert points out
a tiny banana slug, a giant mushroom hugging the side of a tree, or explains about the
“nurselogs” that lived a thousand years ago and today serve as the life support for newer
plants and trees dating back “only” several hundred years.
Planning Your Trip
Visitors to Olympic National Park can explore the varied activities online at
nps.gov/olym/index.htm. There is a great list of day hikes available at
nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/dayhikes.pdf. Reservations need to be made several
months in advance for Kalaloch Lodge, which can be done online at thekalalochlodge.com.
All Points Charters & Tours at goallpoints.com offers tours of throughout the park.
Susan Lanier-Graham is a freelance writer based in Arizona.
Published: Jun 01, 2016
2016 © H&A Media Group ­ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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