Camping '99 Destination Series: Olympic National Park

The interior wilderness area comprises 95 percent of Olympic's 922,653 acres-accessible only by foot. As Highway 101 circles this massive park, a number of spur roads lead to a diverse collection of park areas and visitor facilities. This scenic highway enters the park from the southwest at Kalaloch. Following the Pacific coastline, the highway runs past Ruby Beach, then along the Hoh River. The amazing Quinalt, Queets and Hoh Rain Forests are accessible along this section of the highway. Quinalt and Queets are south of Kalaloch, while the Hoh spur is about 25 miles north. In these primeval rain forests, tall Sitka spruce, western red cedar and western hemlock are draped with moss and surrounded by fern; the air is heavy with moisture and the world is displayed within a bright-green glow.

Continuing north of the town of Forks, Wa. Highway 110 runs west from 101 to the Mora area and fabulous Rialto Beach. Along the rugged coast, tide pools are teaming with a variety of fascinating sea creatures and waves thunder against the rocky shore during high tide. (On the far northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula, the Ozette area also has some great beaches with scenic shorelines. Ozette Lake offers some very good fishing and boating.)