Forks Washington on the Olympic Peninsula

It's encouraging to see that the West End now has a paved 6-mile section of the Olympic Discovery Trail in place. Although it's still "closed for construction," this first-class section of trail extends through the forest from the Camp David Jr. Road end of the Spruce Railroad Trail, on Lake Crescent, to the top of Fairholm Hill. The Olympic Discovery Trail itself will eventually go the entire 100-mile distance from Port Townsend, through Sequim, Port Angeles, Joyce, Forks and LaPush, to the Pacific Ocean.

Words cannot describe our excitement about the progress being made carving out more singletrack on the Adventure Route section of the Olympic Discovery Trail! The Olympic Discovery Trail itself will eventually extend from Port Townsend through Forks and to LaPush and the Pacific Beaches. For those not familiar with the Adventure Route, it’s an off-road trail for mountain bikers, equestrians and hikers, basically connecting the Elwha River, near Port Angeles, and Lake Crescent, where it joins the Spruce Railroad Trail and heads west.

Can’t decide how to spend your time in Forks–Geocaching or Twilighting? You know who you are! Here’s the perfect solution: Forks’ newest Geocache has a Twilight theme!! If you’re not familiar with Geocaching, it’s basically a worldwide hide-and-seek game played with GPS receivers. It’s easy (and free) to get started with Geocaching.
This particular cache takes you on a tour of local Twilight hot-spots–gathering clues along the way that lead to the final cache. We haven’t tried the cache yet, but it looks like it will be lots o’ fun. (We’re waiting for it to be even rainier before we try it . . . .) If you do the cache–especially if you’re new to caching–remember to leave the cache in better condition than you find it–watch for muggles, re-hide well and trade up. TFTC Blue Power Ranger!

When people are asked to name one of the world’s finest trails, they often think of National Scenic Trails, such as the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail. Now, after an effort spanning nearly 40 years, the Pacific Northwest Trail has achieved National Scenic Trail status as well.

Forks and the entire West End of the Olympic Peninsula extend hearty “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” wishes to world-famous mountain-climbing twins Jim and Lou Whittaker, who turned 80 yesterday!! This article in today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer (written by David Andriesen with photo by Scott Eklund) touches on some of these local heroes’ incredible life achievements. While, in the interest of the family’s privacy, we’re not going to say much, we’re proud to say that Jim and his wife, Diane Roberts, are Olympic Peninsula residents and have ties with Forks and the West End. It would be difficult to imagine anyone, more than Jim and Lou, embodying the true spirit of the Pacific Northwest–fun, adventure, health, appreciation of the outdoors, entrepreneurship, statesmanship, philanthropy, leadership–and so much more. We’re hoping we can keep up with them for the next few decades. Here’s to many, many more!!

While whales in general have received quite a bit of media attention in the West End over the years, whale watching has pretty much been limited to a shoreside activity. That is until now. Our friends at the Quileute Oceanside Resort in LaPush (about 15 mile west of Forks, right on the Pacific Ocean, at the mouth of the Quillayute River) just announced they are partnering with Pacific Coast Charters to offer whale watching excursions starting April 1st and extending through May 15, 2009. With package pricing starting at $210 for 2 people, including overnight, oceanfront, accommodations and a “3 hour tour” aboard the Ali Lynn with Captain Anthony Demorest, we suspect there will be strong interest in this popular outdoor activity. For more information, contact the resort now at 1-800-487-1267.

Most cyclists are familiar with the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT), which will extend from Port Townsend, right through Forks, and out to LaPush and the Pacific. However, only a few elite mountain bikers have, as of yet, experienced of the outstanding ODT Adventure Route.

One of our finest local hikes, the Hoh River to Third Beach route, was recently featured in Backpacker magazine. While not for beginners, this hike offers access to some of the most stunning beach scenery in the world.