Forks is a logging town on the western side of the Olympic Peninsula, a place of about three and a half thousand people, set on a plateau between the mountains and the Pacific. It sits in one of the wettest places in the lower forty-eight states, with rainfall that often reaches three metres a year, and the forest around it is a dripping, mossy world of Sitka spruce, western hemlock and Douglas fir. The town has lived off timber for most of its history, and a small museum near the visitor centre tells the story of the loggers, the fires and the mills.
In recent years it has also become a place of pilgrimage for fans of the Twilight books, whose author set her vampire saga here without ever having visited. Plenty of visitors arrive with cameras and a thirst for the story, so you will find souvenirs in the shops and a few tourists in the car park, but the town retains its working character. Pickup trucks and logging trucks are the traffic, and the cafés still serve breakfast to people who start work before dawn.
Highway 101 runs through the middle of it, and from here the roads fan out into some of the best riding on the peninsula. To the west lie La Push, with its sea stacks and Quileute fishing community, and Rialto Beach, where driftwood lies heaped against the sand. South along 101, Ruby Beach and the Hoh Rainforest are a short ride, and the road to the Hoh runs through a green tunnel of moss-draped maples. The curves are gentle but the surface can be damp and slippery, with fallen needles and the odd stray branch, so ride with respect for the conditions.
Forks has several fuel stops, which is useful, because the distances on the peninsula are long and stations are few. It also has a good selection of motels and diners, and the nearest big town, Port Angeles, is well over an hour to the east. Pack waterproofs, whatever the forecast says, and expect fog in the mornings. On a clear afternoon in late summer, the coast here is unforgettable, with the sun setting behind the sea stacks and the smell of salt and cedar in the air.