Early in our marriage my wife and I spent a night at the Quinault Lodge. What I remember most about our time was dinner. During dinner we were suddenly told that we needed to evacuate the dining room because of a fire in the kitchen. We all went out onto the back lawn standing around until the staff finally instructed us to return to our tables. Now over 40 years later we would return to the area to see what it has to offer.
Having been blessed with another beautiful day for our visit to the rain forest, we drove up to the Quinault Lodge and parked at the nearby Visitor Center. The south side of the lake is part of the Olympic National Forest. The north side and farther east is part of the National Park.
At the visitor Center we looked over the trails and decided on a plan. Our hike lead us right away to the lodge. We walked out onto the back lawn, and then went inside. As I looked around some of the elements seemed exactly the same. It is a rustic old lodge with elk antlers over the fireplace, much like the one at the Lake Crescent Lodge. After a short look around, we continued on our way.
The trail follows along the edge of the lake. What surprised us was the number of private homes along the lake shore. We thought this was part of the national forest so we didn’t think private ownership was allowed. Nevertheless there are private homes and some private docks as well.
The trail is fairly narrow. We had to walk single file. It is rocky in places but not particularly difficult. Eventually we came to a very nice campground beside the lake. Camping spots include a parking space, tent space, and a picnic table. Some have the lakeside view to enjoy as well.
From the campground the trail turns inward away from the lake. We crossed Willaby Creek, which has a nice little waterfall, and continued on the trail which was part of the Rain Forest Nature Trail, a short loop trail. We did not do the entire loop, however. When we came to a fork in the trail, we turned left. The sign indicates it is the Quinault Loop Trail, but on the map it is named the Cedar Bog Trail.
This part of the trail runs through a variety of landscapes. There are some very tall trees as well as areas of thick underbrush. Part of this trail is on a boardwalk which is probably over the bog for which the trail was named. Another interesting feature is a type of fern growing here. The leaves are very fine, and it almost looked like some of the fronds were new growth which was surprising for October.
We also followed or crossed some creeks and streams on the trail. I wasn’t always sure which stream it was. However, we eventually came to another trail connection, and we began to follow the Cascade Falls Trail which runs along the Cascade Creek. There are a series of falls at the top of the trail, but unfortunately the trail does not allow clear views of the falls as trees blocked the view. We finally finished the hike back at the lodge.
I had read a blog post that indicated one could drive around the lake. I hadn’t really checked that out, but just figured it was accurate. After our four mile hike, I thought we would begin to drive around the lake. Driving along the south side of the lake, we saw a surprising number of homes and small farms in what we thought was a national forest.
Eventually we came to a place where the pavement ends, and the road becomes a dirt road. I had read this was still a very drive-able road. However, the sign posted there indicated the road continues as a one lane road. That made me nervous so we stopped there by the river to eat some lunch and then turned around.
As we drove back, we passed a field and to our amazement discovered that in the short time since we first drove by it, the field had attracted a large herd of Roosevelt Elk. There were probably about 40 elk busily eating grass. For the most part they seemed unperturbed when we stopped to take photos. I actually wanted them to look up at me, but most didn’t. I didn’t want to do anything too drastic to get their attention so heads down it was.
Continuing on our way we decided that we would go out to the highway and drive over to the north side of the lake. We drove up to a Ranger Station. There we took a short loop hike that was quite interesting. There are a lot of huge maple trees in this area, and many are covered in moss. Moss sometimes hangs down like the long beards of the old timers. For me this was actually a more interesting area for moss than the Hoh Rain Forest and the Hall of Moss.
The other unique aspect of this trail is it goes by an original homestead in the area built by the Kestner family. Apparently the park service is trying to restore the buildings so they don’t look as old as one might think. However, there are definitely some older things around. I personally liked the old wooden fence that was teetering back and forth as you looked down the row.
After the homestead the trail led back through the forest and more mossy trees. Again I think the fall colors really add to the beauty of the moss. Near the parking lot the trail follows along Kestner Creek.
When we finished this hike we continued on down the road. We had passed a mileage sign for a bridge earlier. I had read something about a bridge in a blog post so I thought this must be a rather unique bridge. Heading toward the bridge, the road eventually becomes a dirt road. It’s not a difficult road to drive, but it is narrow. I was particularly nervous on the blind curves afraid a car would come barreling from the other direction and hit me. Fortunately on the whole drive we only passed one car.
Just before we reached the bridge, the road becomes paved again for a short section. And the bridge, well it is simply the uninspiring bridge over the Quinault River that would take us over to the south side of the lake. Since we were there, we decided to go ahead and follow it back. The south side road is wider, which I liked, but it also has more pot holes to try to avoid. However, we eventually made it safely back. We had done the loop after all. We passed the elk again and then drove down to Highway 101 and back to our hotel.
For dinner that evening we took the short trip over to the planned community of Seabrook. We went to a pizza place there. Great food. Then it was time to head back to our room for a good night’s sleep.
There’s only one more post from our visit to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Join me next week as we finish our tour of this unique area.
That Lodge is impressive!
Yes, it’s quite the place. However being so old I think the rooms are pretty small as I remember.