Tons of Fishing
Web Directories And resources!

Your loop begins from I5, exit 104 to . Highway 101. You'll travel west and then north on . 101, following the signs toward Shelton.

Many of the place names found along the loop are based on native terminology. Most Northwest Indians shared a common trade jargon, called Chinook. You'll cross the lands of the Squaxin, who depended heavily on salmon for their livelihood. The Squaxins' tradition leads to an annual ceremony honoring adition leads tribal son, who, ages ago, joined the salmon to be their scout.

Shellfish also play important roles in the area economy. Oyster Bay and a nearby adjoining inlet are home to the largest concentrations of shellfish in the world. This makes Washington the country's largest oyster producer outranking other oyster states, such as Maryland and Virginia. The Olympia oyster is the highly prized native. Only as big as a quarter, it was nearly wiped out by ecological indiscretions, but is now making a revival. Taste its unusual flavor in one of the area's many seafood eateries.

North of Shelton, a downgrade leads into the Skokomish Valley. That marks the beginning of the Hood Canal, a vast waterway you'll travel along for many miles. Hood Canal is actually an 80-mile-long inlet, greatly affected by tides. The canal is dotted with small settlements, most of which live or die on tourism and seafood harvests. Those of you who are crab and shrimp lovers should bring along good-size cooking pots; you can often buy saltwater-dwelling crustaceans at little markets along the highway.

The town of Potlach incorporates a state park of the same name. Years ago, the area was used by natives for their potlach ceremony. Here, materially prosperous Indians would give away much of what they owned to gain prestige.

Scuba divers make the litde town of Hoodsport a destination. You may see rubberclad folks preparing to make their descent into the cold, clear waters of the canal. Hoodsport is also a jumpingoff point to the Olympic National Park and Wilderness via Lake Cushman Road. En route is Lake Cushman State Park, offering pull-throughs and utility sites for larger rigs in its lower campground. Farther up the road is Staircase, a national recreation area. Backpackers and hikers use Staircase as their trailhead to the quiet backcountry. Staircase Campground lends itself to smaller rigs.

Recreational fishing abounds along the canal. Salmon and other sport fish require a license to catch, but many shops along the way sell them. If you'd like to fetch your own shellfish, stop at Dosewallips State Park. It is one of the few places along Hood Canal where the public can harvest the giant clams known as geoducks. Giant? You bet your bivalve. Geoducks can be as large as 2 feet across and weigh 20 pounds or better. While "ducks" are seasonal in nature, a visit to Dosewallips is good any time of year. In autumn, you might see salmon migrating up the Dosewallips River to spawn.

With Dosewallips behind you, you'll meet a steep grade and your last views of Hood Canal. You'll soon reach Mount Walker Road with its viewpoints 2,760 feet above sea level. On a clear day, you'll see miles across water and land to the Seattle skyline. Imposing Mount Rainier breaks up the horizon. A western viewpoint gives incredible views of the Olympic Mountains. In spring, the Mount Walker Road is wild with rhododendrons, the Washington state flower. Leave your rig in camp. The road to the top is a narrow onelaner. But if the day is clear, unhitching the trailer is worth the effort.

Continuing north on . 101, take advantage of pullouts if you travel slowly; Washington law mandates their use if five or more vehicles stack up behind you. The road grade gets better at Quilcene, and for history buffs or fans of funky museums, Quilcene's Historical Museum is a best bet.

In addition to the usual mementos from your great-grandfather's day, some of the best treasures are the museum's volunteer hosts. On my stop, Dodee Brown gave me her cook's tour. In the replica schoolroom she proudly pointed out her own eighth-grade graduation certificate, issued in 1935.

"I was the best speller in the whole school," Dodee told me with pride. The marks on the certificate confirmed it; she garnered 99 out of 100 points possible on the subject.

North from Quilcene, State Highway 104 junction marks the jumping-off point to Port Townsend, a Victorian-era town filled with bed-and-breakfast inns and the shops of artisans and craftsfolk. Not far from the junction, chambermusic buffs enjoy summer weekend concerts at the Olympic Music Festival.

But . 101 continues on to the next big water, Discovery Bay, the first trace of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The strait runs out to the Pacific, separating the United States from Canada. You'll soon enter the driest part of western Washington - the Sequim Prairie.

Limited rainfall is caused by the rainshadow effect of the Olympic Mountains. While rain may pound on the western slopes, the eastern edge gets only gentle showers. This effect may explain the high density of Sequim's retired folks, who immigrate here to dry out. A few cacti also make their home in this dry region, and lavender farms make up part of the area's new economy.

On a clear day, you'll be able to see across the strait to Vancouver Island. Ferries crisscross, and some RVers make the crossing to have a spot of old English hospitality in Victoria, British Columbia's provincial capital. The ferries depart from Port Angeles, your next major stopping point.

Recreation is a large draw for those who come this way. Some come to soak in one or both area hot springs. Olympic Hot Springs (seven miles west of Port Angeles) is primitive, muddy and hot - but free of charge. Visitors hoof it two miles to the springs from the parking area. Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort (54 miles west of Port Angeles) is a concession operation offering clear water in developed pools.

Heading west, the highway meanders through forests and alongside Lake Crescent. The lakeshore run is nearly 10 postcard miles. Pull-offs allow photo and lunch stops.

. 101 soon turns southward, leading to Forks, where residents call timber their economic king. Small shingle-andshake mills dot the countryside, and the Forks Timber Museum provides a colorful history. In spring and summer, local timber companies sponsor a free logging and mill tour, originating at the chamber of commerce. Tours of active mills and logging sites tell the story of a tough industry.

While still not in view, the Pacific Ocean's influence is clearly felt as you travel south. Twelve miles from Forks, the Upper Hoh Road leads 18 miles east to the Hoh Rain Forest, some of the finest undisturbed timber in the lower 48 states. Hoh is Chinook for "fast white water," and plenty of water falls here. At the highway junction, 100 inches of rain falls each year. At the ranger station, 18 miles inland, the totals jump to 142 inches, and the upper end of the Hoh River enjoys nearly 200 inches of precipitation annually. Fortunately, most of this falls between November and June, allowing many months for nature trail walking.

Trail walks range from a short, 3/4-mile stroll through tall trees, draped with thick, verdant mosses, to much longer hikes requiring backpacks and sleeping bags. Ferns, mosses and fungi make up the principal plant life, and birds, squirrels, deer and elk coexist in the animal kingdom.

A checkerboard of heavily wooded forests and bare clearcuts marks the road from the rain forest to the Olympic National Park Coastal Strip and views of the Pacific Ocean. The strip, about 13 miles long and barely a mile wide, hugs the coastline, with plenty of view pullouts and beach-access points. The first is Ruby Beach, worth a look-see. The beach trail leads to seastacks - huge. pillars of rock - that shoot up like mushrooms from a sandy beach. Seabirds often nest in the stacks, swooping down in search of dinner.

You'll want to fix your own dinner after you park at Kalaloch, an oceanfront national park campground. The most coveted sites are at the campground's north end. These offer fantastic ocean views, and they go fast. Try to get one early in the morning, midweek, and avoid the summer season. If the main campground is full, South Beach, a primitive campground on the dunes, may be open -just four miles farther south. Kalaloch is open - and popular - year-round.

. 101 turns inland just south of Kalaloch. About 25 miles east, you'll come to the Quinalt Rain Forest and Lake Quinalt. Here, old growth trees form a backdrop to another popular recreation attraction: sportfishing and boating. Forty more miles of forests and sparsely populated highway lead to Hoquiam and Aberdeen, towns made big by timber. They mark the eastern edge of Grays Harbor, a major ocean inlet.

Aberdeen is the end of the trail for our section of the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. You'll have to travel many miles to see the sights that a few days and 400 miles along the Olympic Peninsula loop have shown. The loop truly is much of America in microcosm.