Over the years, I’ve enjoyed traveling to faraway places, seeing and experiencing, cities, towns, and sights that were new to me, talking to new people, making new friends. But there are also places nearby that I’ve never seen.
The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
I was born in Washington State and have lived here for years and years, and yet there are still many parts of the state I haven’t visited. One of them, until this past Veteran’s Day weekend, was Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula.
I can see the Olympic Peninsula from almost any place in town, but it’s big, sparsely populated, and covered with tall mountains. To get to Lake Quinault on the west side of the peninsula, you either have to drive up around the north side of the mountains or down around the south side. There are trails through the middle, but no roads.
FUN FACT: People in Western Washington almost never go all the way to the Pacific Coast. If we want to hang out at a salt-water beach, we go to the Salish Sea—that great inland sea that includes Puget Sound, Hood Canal, the Strait of Georgia, the San Juan Islands, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (You may not be familiar with the Salish Sea. It wasn’t officially named until 2009.)
Lake Quinault Lodge
Saturday morning, after picking up Daughter Number Two in Tacoma, we took the southern route to Lake Quinault Lodge, which is 122 miles and a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Tacoma. Although it seems a remote spot for a lodge with 91 rooms, it was no problem for our adventurous ancestors who built it in 1926. They finished the job in 53 days, working through the night by the light of bonfires. So why the big rush? Well, with an annual rainfall of about 140 inches, they had to work hard to beat the rainy season.
The finished product was (and still is) beautiful, embellished with many unique decorative details designed by indigenous people and craftsmen and artisans from Seattle and Tacoma.
Distance and paralyzed legs didn’t keep Franklin D. Roosevelt away from this distant spot. He and his family visited the lodge and had lunch there in 1937.
My Son-in-Law’s Wish
My son-in-law wanted to stay at the Lake Quinault Lodge during the rainy season. Since it’s located in a temperate rainforest, he thought it would be appropriate to spend a few days reading and talking inside the lodge and just watching the rain fall.
The rest of us were happy he didn’t get his wish. Even though November is usually a rainy month, we had sunny weather the whole time.
We did spend some time reading and talking around the fire, but we also got out and explored some of the trails in the Quinault Rainforest.
I didn’t realize until this little trip that there are four Temperate Rainforests on the west side of Olympic National Park: Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets, and Quinault.
They exist in a zone that has 12-14 feet of rain per year, temperatures that stay above freezing and below 80 degrees, lots of ancient tall trees, moss, and ferns.
New places near or far are always fun. Revisiting a familiar place is also nice.
The vastness of America gets me every time. I’ve only ever lived in small countries. The Lodge looks beautiful and I’d be happy beside that fire. Coincidentally the rain has been pouring here too in the last couple of days. I opened the blinds this morning to see it streaming down. Fascinating because fleeting.
I see why you love Portugal with its bright blue sky so many days out of the year and its infrequent rainfall.
Yes. The United States definitely is vast. After having spent almost twenty years abroad, there are still many places in the US I haven’t seen yet.
I looked up some comparisons of US states with European countries. I couldn’t find a comparison with Washington state, but I did find Portugal. Portugal is about the same size as the state of Maine, but it has almost ten times the population. The strangest comparison is the UK and the state of Wyoming. Wyoming is a bit bigger, but it only has .5 million people. The UK has 67 million.
It’s funny how there are always places near you that you have yet to discover or visit. Lake Quinault looks like such a peaceful place to visit. The lodge looks cozy and at the same time those trails do look like they offer little adventures and wonderful scenery. Very nice you had sunny weather and were able to go out on a few trail – and nothing like a good walk in nature. Some of those trees are huge. Agree with you that some places are worth revisiting and this one seems one of them. Best wishes for the year ahead, Nicki 🙂
Yes, Lake Quinault was very peaceful and cozy. There’s so much to see in Washington–as I imagine there is in Australia. I’ve only been there once and found it charming. I suppose some people explore the world on their own. I often need a nudge from someone else. I find all kinds of outings more fun with friends and family. I’m glad my daughter suggested the outing. Best wishes, Mabel, for a happy and rewarding 2023.
This looks like a perfect place to visit. An inviting retreat with that fireplace and nature all around. I’ve never been to Tacoma [well Seattle but the city part] and it looks delightful. I’m glad you had a good time– and took some photos.
We can never see and do everything. But it feels good to have at least a general acquaintance with my own state. Lake Quinault and the Quinault Rainforest may be on my side of the state, but I’d never been there before, so it feels good to see and appreciate them. What is that desire? An urge for completion, I guess. Like finding some more pieces to a puzzle or finishing a book once you start it.
What a lovely lake and lodge!
Thank you, Jennifer. It’s fun to visit a place that has a little bit of history.
Just today, the Indian nation after which the rainforest was named, the Quinaults, has been awarded money by the federal government. Because of climate change, they need to move their town to higher ground.
That looks absolutely gorgeous. I have to admit being with your SIL, that fireplace looks like the perfect place to hunker down, read books, consume hot drinks, and watch the rain. But it sounds like you had a nice compromise that all of you could enjoy 🙂
I like new places, but re-visiting old favourites is rapidly getting higher up the list as I age!
That lounge around the fireplace was very pleasant. We read there and played cards. No need for rain. The fireplace set the mood. It had a combination gas and wood fire. I talked to the man who lit it. He said it was hard to dry the wood sufficiently, so they started the gas fire which eventually warmed the wood enough that it would be burning along with the gas.
I’m glad I’ve been able to do the more adventurous trips when I was younger so that now I can enjoy trips closer to home, many of them return trips.
How lovely! Both the trees and the lodge itself. And the sunshine, too.
There’s nothing more cheerful than a blue sky, especially when the weather is cool.
We too had sunny weather in this beautiful area. The maples and the moss along with giant cedars make it a true Northwest experience to be savored.
Sometimes November in the Northwest can be a bit dreary. This year it’s been gorgeous. I loved walking through the rainforest amidst giant moss-covered old-growth trees lit by shafts of sunlight.
Sounds like a nice place to explore ~ glad the sun shone on you.
The rain would have been interesting too, but the sunlight was much better. My sister likes to say that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. I see her point, but I prefer good weather.
We went the full loop for the first time in Sept. 2022. Lake Quinault is beautiful but all the other places in the park are also beautiful. I am just sorry I waited so long to make the loop.
I’ve spent more time on the northers part of the loop. Some of my favorite places in the world are Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, and the Hoh Rainforest. Once we took a very long hike in the Hoh Rainforest. But still, it seems strange that I’ve never gone all the way around.
I’m glad your son-in-law didn’t get his wish also! Beautiful photos of a beautiful landscape! And that lodge is gorgeous! I didn’t know about the rainforests in those areas! How wonderful! And best of all, you got to spend the holiday with your family.
I should have taken more photos of the lodge. Every time I turned around (or looked up at the beams), I saw another unique work of art. It was fun to spend time with two of my three daughters and my son-in-law. We even went swimming one night in the indoor pool. I hadn’t been swimming in a while. Fortunately my suit still fits.