Pacific Northwest Trip — Day 1

Olympic National Park

May 2023

My husband, Chuck, and I had a Pacific Northwest Road trip on our bucket list for a long time. In January 2023 we decided to pull the trigger and finally do it. We put together our itinerary and made reservations for May travel.

We had a list of places and sights we wanted to visit. Logistics can be a challenge, so Chuck used google map and put pins on every destination we hoped to visit. That way we could see how to plan our road trip. We discovered that several of the places were too far out of the way, so we decided to weed out the spots we didn’t have time to visit. This also helped us decide how long our trip would be which ended up 11 days with 2 days of flying. (How to add the pins is in the Tips section of this blog.)

We picked up our rental car at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We took U.S. 101 through Tacoma and Port Angeles and into the north side of Olympic National Park.

There are 3 parts of Olympic National Park that make it unique: mountains, forests, and the coast.

Day 1

Lake Crescent Lodge https://www.nationalparkreservations.com/lodge/olympic-lake-crescent-lodge

3 nights

Lake Crescent Lodge, built in 1915, is situated on the south shore of a glacier-carved lake (Lake Crescent). The lake is a beautiful blue color surrounded by old-growth fir and hemlock trees.

There are several options for accommodations including contemporary guest rooms, cottages, and cabins with fireplaces.

We stayed in a spacious comfy Marymere room with a couple of chairs outside allowing us to relax, drink wine and watch the sunset over the lake. Room 106 has a good, unobstructed view advantage. There’s nothing fancy about the room. You’re paying to be inside the Park.

There are a few trails around the lodge which I recommend at the end of your day. Easy walks.

Tips:

• How to add pins to your google map:

  • How to Save a Location on Google Maps

• Costco had the best price for rental cars. We booked but as it got closer to our departure date, Chuck checked the price of the rental car and it had dropped by $400 so he rebooked. It’s a good idea to check periodically before your travel date.
• We used our Alaska credit card to book our flight to Seattle, WA which has a companion fare.
• Once inside Olympic National Park there are no gas stations. Be sure to fill up in a surrounding town.
• Lake Crescent Lodge is seasonally open so check and make reservations in advance.
• Once at the lodge there are no food options (unless you bring in food) except in the lodge dining room. You need dinner reservations. Be prepared for the meals to be pricey, even breakfast.
• Check for closings on roads and hikes before you make reservations. We wanted to hike Hurricane Ridge, but the trail was closed due to fire.

Adventures:

1. Cape Flattery

Since Hurricane Ridge was closed due to a lodge fire, we decided to leave early one morning and drive up to Cape Flattery. It’s a popular destination due to its spectacular views and also because it is the most Northwestern point in the contiguous U.S.

From Lake Crescent Lodge it took approximately 1.5 hours driving along twisting roads. You’re constantly shifting side to side in your car seat. Not an enjoyable drive by any stretch of the imagination.

There’s a parking lot by the entrance to a short ¾ miles trek through the woods to a viewing platform perched on a cliff. A $20 Makah Recreation Use Permit must be purchased and displayed on the dashboard of your vehicle. This is because you’re on Makah tribal land.

The views of the rocks and jade-tinted water of the Pacific are stunning.

The area was named Cape Flattery by Captain James Cook who was searching for a Northwest Passage.

Tips:

• If you’re planning on driving down the Oregon coast as we did, then I’d skip this site as you’ll see many beautiful sights of the Pacific on your drive south. (Unless, of course, you want bragging rights that you have been to the most northwestern point in the contiguous U.S.)
• Just beware you’ll be driving a total of 3 hours on twisty roads.
• Have $20 in cash to pay the entrance fee.

2. Hiking Spruce Railroad Trail

We had time after Cape Flattery to do a short hike, so we trekked part of the Spruce Railroad Trail (the total length of the trail is 11.2 mile out-and-back). We just hiked to Devil’s Punchbowl.

The Spruce Railroad Trail is a waterfront trail along the Northern shoreline of Lake Crescent. It’s an easy paved walk as it once was, as the name implies, a railroad bed. About 1 mile from the Eastern Trailhead, you’ll be at Devil’s Punchbowl and the bridge. We were surprised at the crazy people jumping in the cold glacial-fed water and swimming.

You’ll walk through the McFee tunnel. It’s a short tunnel but dark in places.

The best part of the walk (it’s not really a hike) is that originally the railroad was built to haul Spruce timber for WWI aircraft. Since it was completed in 1919, it was too late to help in the war effort since WWI ended in November 1918.

 Tips:

• This is an easy walk. Great for biking (I haven’t a clue where people got their bikes), dogs galore and crazy people who jump off a bridge (or cliff) Spruce Railroad Trail into glacial water.
• If you’re here at lunch time, bring food and drinks. There’s nothing around to help you out if you get hungry.