West of Lake Crescent, U.S. Highway 101 enters the rainy western side of the Olympic Peninsula, where the forest grows noticeably denser and greener. Spur roads branching from this stretch of highway lead travelers up to alpine ridges, out to the wild Pacific coast, and into the temperate rainforest valleys that hold some of the largest trees in the park.
Look at how the forest has thickened and darkened around you, the green pressing right up to the road. You've crossed onto the rainy western flank of the peninsula, and from here on the country only gets bigger and wetter and stranger. The spur roads waiting ahead will take you up to alpine meadows, down to a wild beach, and into a true rainforest where the trees grow to sizes that don't seem possible. Catch your breath. The best of this drive is still in front of you.
Photo: Dirtsc · CC BY-SA 3.0
