La Push

A 14-mile road heads west from Forks [1] through the Bogachiel/Quillayute River Valley. Nearly all this land has been logged at least once, so be prepared for typical Olympic Peninsula [2] clear-cut vistas. The road ends at La Push, a small village bordering the Pacific Ocean on the south side of the Quillayute River, and the center of the Quileute Indian Reservation.

The name La Push was derived from the French (la bouche, meaning mouth), a reference to the river mouth here. It is an attractive little town with a fantastic beach for surfing and kayaking in the summer or watching storm waves in the winter. Locals have a small fleet of fishing and crabbing boats, a seafood plant, a fish hatchery, and a resort offering simple shoreside accommodations and camping.

The unannounced Surf Frolic Festival in January attracts surfers and kayakers, but the big event is Quileute Days in mid-July, with a tug-of-war, bone games, a fish bake, canoe races, and fireworks.

But the main attraction at La Push is simply the setting: James Island and other rocky points sit just offshore, and waves break against First Beach. The small Quileute Tribe Museum (8 a.m.–3 p.m. Mon.–Thurs., 2–4 p.m. Fri.) housed in the Tribal Center office, has a few artifacts. Ask here for local folks who sell beadwork and other handicrafts, and about ocean and river tours in traditional cedar canoes.

Mora Road branches off from La Push Road three miles east of La Push and provides access to Rialto Beach [3] within Olympic National Park [4]. It’s pretty easy to tell you’ve entered public land; instead of clear-cuts, you’ll find tall old-growth trees. Mora Campground is here, and the beach is a favorite picnicking area and starting point for hikers heading north along the wild Olympic coast.

Getting to La Push

Clallam Transit (360/452-4511 or 800/858-3747, www.clallamtransit.com [5]) provides daily bus service to La Push and other parts of the Olympic Peninsula [2], transporting you south as far as Lake Quinault [6], and north to Port Angeles [7] and Neah Bay.