Читать книгу Olympic Mountains Trail Guide - Robert Wood - Страница 35

Several roads provide access to the trails near Lake Crescent. At one time ferries plied up and down the lake, but they disappeared with the building of the Olympic Highway along the south shore. Trails begin at various points and climb to the nearby peaks and ridges. (Several of the trails are also accessible from roads leading to Olympic Hot Springs and Sol Duc Hot Springs. See road descriptions in the Elwha and Sol Duc chapters.)

Olympic Highway (US 101). This highway loops around the Olympic Mountains on the three seaward sides of the peninsula—Hood Canal, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Pacific Ocean. The road cuts through the northern edge of the mountains at Lake Crescent, making that district—together with Hurricane Ridge—the most accessible part of Olympic National Park. Within the park the highway parallels the lake’s southern shore. Numerous turnouts are provided where one can stop and look at the vistas. At various times in the past, conservationists proposed building an alternate route outside the national park for commercial traffic, thus reserving the road along the lake as a scenic parkway, where people could drive slowly and enjoy the views. Unfortunately, the proposals came to naught. In 1982, the State Highway Department began widening and straightening the highway so that commercial vehicles and logging trucks could travel at a higher rate of speed.

Distances on US 101 from downtown Port Angeles to the Lake Crescent area are as follows: Elwha River, 8.5 mi/13.7 km; East Beach Road, 15.9 mi/25.6 km; Storm King Ranger Station, 19.6 mi/31.6 km; Aurora Creek Trail, 22.4 mi/36.1 km; La Poel Picnic Area, 23.9 mi/

38.5 km; Fairholme Resort, at the western end of the lake, 26.6 mi/42.8 km; Camp David Jr. Road, 26.8 mi/43.1 km; Sol Duc Hot Springs Road, 28.5 mi/45.9 km.

East Beach Road. This road begins on the Olympic Highway, 15.9 mi/25.6 km west of Port Angeles, climbs slightly, then descends to the eastern end of Lake Crescent, where it crosses into the national park. The road winds along the lake’s northern shore to the small community of Piedmont (3.1 mi/5.0 km) and the Log Cabin Resort. At 3.3 mi/5.3 km the road forks: Boundary Creek Road branches to the left; East Beach Road continues to the right.

Boundary Creek Road. The road begins at Piedmont, 3.3 mi/5.3 km from US 101, and crosses the Lyre River to a spur road (0.7 mi/1.1 km), then angles right and enters the national forest. The spur road leads left (0.2 mi/0.3 km) to a parking area at the eastern terminus of the Spruce Railroad Trail.

Camp David Jr. Road. This road begins at a junction with the Olympic Highway, just beyond Fairholme Resort, near the western end of Lake Crescent. The road provides access to Fairholme Campground and its nature trail, the Pyramid Mountain Trail, and the Spruce Railroad Trail.

The road ends at a turnaround (4.8 mi/7.7 km).