Has anyone stayed at the Lake Quinault Resort in Amanda Park? I checked the Kalaloch Lodge since everyone seems to love this place but the cabins are very pricey.

Has anyone stayed in the lodge rooms at Kalaloch? What about the Lake Quinault Lodge? I'm not much of a lodge person since they always seem to be so old and run down. Maybe these places are fine.

Thanks for any help!

I have stayed in the Kalaloch Lodge rooms, and while it was fine for us, it sounds like you would not be happy - the rooms are indeed 'rustic'.

I've only stayed in the Klaloch cabins (and cliff side are worth the extra $$). Keep trying; they do have cancellations.

Patti5, you've discovered the horrible truth about staying in the Pacific coastal part of Olympic NP and nearby. Expensive, scarce accommodations, heavily booked. If you think that's bad, wait till you see the restaurant choices.

The Lake Quinault Resort is certainly fine. Kalaloch gets my vote for most over-rated place, although the setting IS magnificent. The Lake Quinault Lodge would be my choice, but it's an "historic" lodge, meaning floors that creak and plumbing that you can sometimes hear. Still a classy operation, though.

If you can't find anything terribly close by, I'd suggest you look to the south rather than to the north, meaning the Ocean Shores area rather than Forks or beyond. There are also a couple of good places at Lake Crescent on the north edge of the park, but that's a schlep from Quinault etc.

The Quinault Tribe's hotel/casino complex is close to Ocean Shores - that might be an okay fallback. Not much atmosphere, unless you love the sound of money changing hands. Good beach access, though. http://www.qbr1.com/

Thanks to everyone for their help. I think I will try at the Lake Quinault Lodge. Maybe I will even like it.

I urge you to check you Crescent Lake Lodge. It has a great location for seeing the park and a wonderful restaurant. Despite the popularity of Lake Quinault Lodge and Kalaloch, there must be a reason Laura Bush stayed at Lake Crescent last year, and I know what it is.

Hi Patti! I agree with jimshep; check out Crescent Lake Lodge. Its lovely. Ask for a lakefront room. We enjoyed our sunrise coffee on our private balcony with several deer strolling between our lodge, the trees and the lake. Breathtaking. And since i know how you feel about rustic from discussing Paradise Inn, i know you'll Crescent Lake Lodge. Our room was very nice, and really not rustic at all, very keeping with what a hampton inn queen would like.

Before starting with Hurricane Ridge, we spent a night in Port Townsend at the Harborside Inn for whale watching. Lovely Victorian community on the water. After nights in Crescent Lake Lodge (Hurricane Ridge etc) we then spent a night in Ocean Shores, Washington at the Best Western Lighthouse Inn on the Pacific Ocean. It was a fun stay after exploring Hoh rainforest, and the hotel was a very nice BW with an amazing oceanfront view. The beach is incredibly wide, where we also went horseback riding. Soo cool.

Let us know what you choose!

Hello Ellen & Jimshep. Best Western sounds great in Ocean Shores but we will be coming from Long Beach so I need a place close to the Hoh rain forest. If you have any suggestions for that area I would appreciate it. That might be a long drive from Ocean Shores to the rain forest.

After that we will do the Hurricane Ridge area, so I will definately call the Crescent Lake Lodge and book there.
Thank you so very much for your help.

To add to Ellen's comments about Port Townsend, the marine science center offers excellent two to three hour educational cruises around the area, in fairly small boats. Really worth the trip as they teach you a lot about the bird and aquatic life and the coastal ecosystem. Their cruise schedule can be found at: http://www.ptmsc.org/html/cruises.html

BTilke, I will definately do this cruise in Port Townsend, thank you. I love this website. Everyone is so helpful to take the time to help complete strangers.

Are you thinking of staying in Port Townsend at all? If so there is a wonderful little cottage that we found a few years ago from these boards. We spent an anniversary there and it was absolutely wonderful! It is Morgan Hill Guest Cottage and the website is www.morganhilldesign.com/guestcottage. The couple who owns it leaves a HUGE assortment of fruits/breads/cereals/juices/etc for you so you have breakfast whenever you want it. It sits up on a hill and has a great view of the water and there is a small table and chairs on the front porch to sit and relax. Anyway...it is just an idea for you if you want a night in PT.

last year we checked out lots of places, and Lake Crescent Lodge looked the nicest by far. A problem is that area is that it takes a long time to get around; lots of 2 lane windy roads, lots of logging trucks to follow. It's lovely, but you can't just zip from place to place.

Close to the rain forest is the town of Forks which has only standard small town motels. Lake Crescent puts you closest to Hurricane Ridge, the hot springs, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Ozette Lake and within an easy drive of the rain forest and ocean beaches. The drive on 101 is not very scenic except where it borders Crescent Lake and a short stretch along the ocean.

Jimshep, are you saying I could stay in Lake Crescent Lodge and do everything the park has to offer. Would 4 nights be too many? We want to do two days on the coast side and then Hurricane Ridge and whatever else is in that area.
I was only looking into Kalaloch and Quinault because I thought it would be too long of a drive to the rain forest. If not, I will try and spend the whole time staying at Lake Crescent Lodge.

The rain forest is only about 20 miles farther from Lk Crescent than from Kalaloch. Much of the travel time is actually on the access road which you have to traverse no matter what. Kalaloch is beautiful, but the park is best accessed from the north, unless your a wilderness hiker, then there are multiple great approaches.

I think, actually it's more like 30 or 40 miles closer from Kalaloch to the Hoh cutoff than from Lake Crescent; however getting from Lake Crescent to Quinault is lots, lots farther.

If you want to stay on the north side of Forks, then the Sol Duc Springs lodge or cabins are also an alternative - hotsprings included, and a lovely drive from 101 to the resort.

Just returned from a vacation to the Olympics and stayed in a cabin outside Port Angeles--great location, great cabin. Would highly recommend. Here is the web address http://www.olympicgetaways.com/villavista/index.html

patti5, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. There is somewhat of a misconception about rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula. First, of all it is, of course, not a tropical rain forest. It is an old growth forest that gets a lot of rain resulting in moss and all kinds of other stuff growing off of trees. For some reason the Hoh Rain Forest is thought of as THE rain forest, but what you see there is very much what you will also see in many other places including on the beautiful one-mile hike to Marymere Waterfall from Lake Crescent Lodge.

Last weekend we stayed in cabin #21 at Lake Crescent Lodge, which is right on the lake. It was wonderful.

Highway 101 does not go through Olympic National Park--it goes around the main part of the park. The park is accessed by several roads that go off of 101, most prominently the road to Hurricane Ridge, Elwha Valley, Sol Duc Hot Springs, Hoh Rain Forest, and Quinault Lake and Rain Forest.

The park also includes a strip along the Pacific Ocean which goes close to the coast in the Kaloloch area. The most dramatic beach in this area is Ruby beach which is a wonderful place to walk when the tide is out.

Other primary access to the beach is via roads to La Push. Highway 112 to Neah Bay provides wonderful views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and a road off of 112 leads to Ozette Lake (a popular hiking spot to which I have never been).

If you like to hike, four days will not be too much for the park.

Now that I understand you are going to the park from Long Beach, I suggest you spend the day exploring the Quinault area and try to get a room for one night at the Quinault Lodge or at Kalaloch Lodge. Then, the next day check out Ruby Beach, the Hoh Rain Forest, the Second or Third Beach off the road to La Push, and spend the next nights at Lake Crescent Lodge. From there you have great access to other parts of the park, rafting, and all else.

Have you ever tried the Rain Forest Resort Village on Lake Quinault. It is a variety of rooms and cabins. It would be my choice.

For anyone's information that might be interested. We are in a billing dispute with this otherwise nice resort (The Lake Quinault Resort). We made a reservation for one night, stayed for one night and were billed twice on our credit card. Sadly, when this was pointed out to the owners, rather than correct the mistake, they have insisted on keeping the second payment claiming we made a separate reservation for a different day a month earlier when we were three thousand miles away and had no intention to be at that hotel. We never made any such reservation. An honest mistake is one thing, this is something entirely different. I would avoid this place at all cost.