Olympic Peninsula: Hoh Rain Forest, Ruby Beach & Lake Quinault

Tuesday, 19.6. Port Angeles - Hoh Rain Forest - Lake Quinault (179 miles)

A sparse breakfast awaits us in a breakfast room with 16 chairs for a complete hotel. We sit in the car at 8.30am and drive Highway 101 westward. It is the only road that practically circles the Olympic Peninsula. First stop is at Lake Crescent, which would look even more beautiful if the sun were shining.

Lake Crescent

The lake was formed by a glacier, which also explains its great depth of up to 190 m. It is extremely low in nitrogen, which prevents algae growth and makes it particularly clear and green. It is also one of the deepest lakes in Washington. But we can't really see that, because the sun is hiding from us again, so the water certainly doesn't look as green as it could. We observe three black-tailed deer near a ranger station at the lake, which can be photographed nicely.

We continue on Highway 101 and pass through the town of Forks, which is famous for the Twilight Saga. The town is extremely run-down and offers muddy streets, social hotspots along the main road, half-decayed houses, rundown shops, and if it weren't for references to this film and book series everywhere, Forks would still be what it used to be - an incredibly ugly village. Now there is "Twilight Firewood" and "Twilight Café" and soon we are out of this town so quickly that we didn't even take a photo (and that means something!).

Contrary to almost 99% of all teenagers, our destination today is not Forks but the Hoh Rain Forest. We are now on the western edge of the Olympic Mountains, which, however, we cannot see today because of the low-hanging clouds. But here, the annual rainfall can reach up to 6,350 mm, and that's why ferns and mosses thrive abundantly. The western slope of this mountain range is one of the wettest areas in America.

Shortly before noon, we reach the rainforest, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage and a biosphere reserve, and is part of the Olympic Mountain National Park.

The approach to the park is incredible: the road is lined with thickly moss-covered tall trees. Air roots and moss hang several meters from the branches. Many trees seem to be choked by the moss and show completely moss-covered branch stumps.

All shades of green reveal themselves to us. We take photos, walk the Hall of Moss Trail, and have all shades of green in mind as we continue driving towards the coast.

Ruby Beach is our first stop on the famous Pacific coast of the Northwest and simply stunning! The sun is finally shining as we rush down to the "beach," which is a kilometer-long collection of rounded stones on which numerous logs lie that were washed up here. In front of us, there are big rocks in the water, and inevitably, a great vacation feeling spreads as we sit on a log and look at the surf, bathed in sunlight from above! Wonderful!

Ruby Beach

But we still have to go further and drive above this dream coast through the forest. It looks beautiful above the sea, but on the other side - where the 2,428m high Mount Olympus is supposed to stand - we only see low-hanging clouds.

In Kalaloch (pronounced: Kay-lock, because that is an indigenous name), we find the old Kalaloch Lodge and sit outside in the sun for an early dinner with a view of the Pacific, the beach, and plenty of driftwood.

Dinner with a view

After dinner, the sun disappears again, and we quickly get back in the car and continue south.

The beaches, creatively named "Beach 1