Courtesy of Washington State Tourism Division
Wildlife forage in the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. During the Olympic Peninsula's rainy season, rain forests glisten and crowds are lighter.

Olympian file photo
Downhill skiing and snowboarding areas are available just above the parking lot at Hurricane Ridge.

Courtesy of Washington State Tourism Division
Salt Creek Park near Port Angeles features trails along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as hikes to an overlook 1,000 feet above the strait.

From rain to snow

On the Olympic Peninsula, you decide which season it is

JOHN DELEVA, FOR THE OLYMPIAN

For some, seasons don't change; equipment does. Bikes go on the rafters, skis come down; hiking boots go into storage, snow shoes usurp their space.

On the Olympic Peninsula, you can accept or reject this change of seasons and equipment.

Here, you can hike and bike year-round. You can fish, golf, white-water raft or kayak in January as you could in July. Sure, you might need rain gear and an extra layer of clothing, but adventure calls year-round between Forks and Port Townsend.

Keep the boots on

The best time to visit the rain forest is during the rainy season. Trail time is limited by the shorter days, but there's a reasonable trade-off: thinner crowds and eerier forest. Ferns glisten, moss droops, banana slugs parade.

The Hoh River Rain Forest gets the headlines, but the Bogachiel's soggy jungle is a hidden gem. It takes four miles of relatively level hiking to enter the ancient rain forest, but once you arrive in the land of towering cedar, hemlock, and Sitka spruce, you'll agree it's energy well spent.

Two U.S. extremes beckon less than an hour west of Forks. Both can be reached by cedar boardwalk and well-groomed trail.

Cape Flattery, overlooking the forbidden 18-acre island known as Tatoosh, holds the distinction of being the most northwesterly point in the Lower 48. Seven Makah tribal members used federal grant money to learn construction skills and plank together a secure half-mile route to a stunning lookout. Watch pounding surf or scan the horizon for migrating gray whales.

Sixteen miles south of Cape Flattery, Cape Alava exposes itself to the full winter force of the mighty Pacific. It's three gentle miles through fern and salal, beneath towering fir and hemlock, from Lake Ozette to the Cape. The westernmost point of the contiguous United States isn't just a geographic anomaly, either. It was here - more than half a millennium ago - that a wall of mud collapsed, covering the ancient Makah whaling village of Ozette.

The village stayed nearly perfectly preserved until 1970, when tidal erosion exposed what has been described as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in North America. More than 55,000 artifacts have been recovered and cataloged. Many of those are on display at Neah Bay's Makah Museum, a worthy diversion that'll cost you little more than a latte.

Atop the fresh water

You don't need a guide to help you find winter steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula. They're thrashing about in virtually every river and stream from January through early April.

Bank access is limited, however, so if you want to catch some of those record-setters, consider reeling them in from a swivel bucket seat atop a heated drift boat.

Atop the wild whitewater of the Calawah, the murky Hoh or the meandering Bogachiel, steelhead can be caught with fly fishing equipment, bait fishing rigs, spinners and spoons, or plugs and plastic worms.

"Besides the fish, the most amazing thing around here is the diversity of the rivers," avid angler Gordon Gracey announces. "Look on a map; they're almost right on top of each other. But all nine of the major steelhead rivers vary greatly in character offering every condition imaginable."

For those that want to experience the rivers but don't care to carry a pole, white water trips are available as soon as the brown water passes. Heavy rains fill the raging waters with mud and debris, but locals claim once that passes and the river plateaus, the Class 2-4 rapids on the Elwha, Calawah and Sol Duc are fabulous.

Atop the salt water

A water-top journey in a kayak can become a Broadway-quality performance. Beside Sequim's Dungeness Spit or off Port Townsend's waterfront, in Discovery Bay or beside Bird Island, sea otters will continuously one-up each other for your attention.

You may see porpoises hurdling wakes in tandem or threesomes. Above you, watch gulls, herons, maybe a bald eagle spying on you. Beneath you, sea stars and sand dollars sit on the sandy bottom, while comical puffins put on quite a show literally flying underwater after food.

18 or 36 holes?

The way the eagle glides, Sequim rests just 62 miles from Forks. The two are a world apart in rainfall data, though. Sequim's position in Washington's banana belt offers golfers the longest season in Washington -- 11-plus months.

Dungeness Golf and Country Club is one of the peninsula's premier courses. Sunland is private, but the charming links offer reciprocating play to outside private club members.

Winter if you want it

Enough about summer sports in winter? You want to take down (or rent) snowshoes and cross-country skies. Seventeen twisting miles of blacktop above Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge offers views so stunning from your car it's hard to believe they'll get better on the trail.

A little time on the Hurricane Hill Trail ups the ante, with Vancouver Island rising above the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north and two dozen jagged Olympic peaks stretching to the sky to the south.

For more information

- Forks Chamber of Commerce: 800-443-6757 or www.forkswa.com

- Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce: 888-365-6978 or
www.ptguide.com

- Sequim Chamber of Commerce: 800-737-8462 or www.cityofsequim.com

- Olympic National Park: www.nps.gov/olym

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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