South Shore Road follows the lower Quinault Valley along the lake's edge, climbing gently into one of the wettest landscapes in the continental United States. The marine air and constant rain support a temperate rainforest of moss-draped conifers, with the road hugging the lakeshore for several miles before ending at a washout in the upper valley.
Off to your right, the long gray sheet of Lake Quinault opens up through the trees. Notice how the air just changed — cooler, greener, wetter, like you drove through a doorway. You did. This is the western rainforest now, one of the rainiest corners of the whole country, and you'll feel it in the way every trunk and rock and railing wears a coat of moss. The road is hugging the south shore, climbing up the valley a few easy miles before it ends. Settle in. Let the lake keep pace with you on the right, and let your eyes drift up the far slope to where the big trees start.
Photo: Washington Our Home · CC BY-SA 4.0
