Why this ride
A coastal forest loop based around Olympia, Washington, via Port Angeles. Key character: temperate rainforest; coast; mountains. Surface: paved.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Olympic Peninsula Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 601 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 35
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Olympic Peninsula Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 17 km this is Olympic Peninsula Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Olympic Peninsula Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Olympia
Washington's capital is a small, rather relaxed city at the very southern tip of Puget Sound, and it is where Highway 101 makes its last stand. The road, which begins its long loop of the Olympic Peninsula here, runs up the coast of the continent from California, and anyone arriving from Newport in Oregon will have been riding beside the Pacific for much of the way. Olympia itself sits on the shore of Budd Inlet, with the white Capitol dome on the hill above and the ferry-scarred waters of the sound just below.
Read the complete Olympia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olympic Peninsula Loop point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 2.
2. Port Angeles
Port Angeles sits low on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula, facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca and, across the water, Vancouver Island. It is a working harbour town of some nineteen thousand people, with a long curved sandspit called Ediz Hook sheltering the port, a ferry that sails daily to Victoria in British Columbia, and a downtown of brick storefronts, bookshops and seafood spots. It is also the main gateway to Olympic National Park, which means it has what the rest of the peninsula lacks: choice.
Read the complete Port Angeles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olympic Peninsula Loop point 2 comes up 58 km in. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 3.
3. Olympic Peninsula Loop point 3
West of Port Angeles the highway climbs into forest and the character of the ride changes. This stretch hugs the northern edge of the Olympic Mountains, and the road alternates between tall evergreens, small creek crossings and sudden glimpses of Lake Crescent, a deep and strikingly clear glacial lake whose water is a cold blue-green. The lake is only a short distance on, and it is among the best parts of the whole loop.
Read the complete Olympic Peninsula Loop point 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 144 km in you reach Olympic Peninsula Loop point 3. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 4.
4. Olympic Peninsula Loop point 4
Past Lake Crescent the road turns west and wanders on through country that feels properly remote. This section runs through the valley of the Sol Duc and the Soleduck River area, with thick forest, ferns, moss on the trunks and the occasional logged hillside showing where timber has been cut.
Read the complete Olympic Peninsula Loop point 4 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olympic Peninsula Loop point 4, about halfway. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 5.
5. Forks
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.
Read the complete Forks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olympic Peninsula Loop point 5 sits at 230 km, about halfway. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 6.
6. Olympic Peninsula Loop point 6
South of Forks the highway bends away from the coast and runs on through rolling forest, passing the mouth of the Hoh and tracing the shore of the Pacific for stretches, with grey-green sea beyond the trees. This is remote country, and the nearest town is Forks, about twenty-seven kilometres back.
Read the complete Olympic Peninsula Loop point 6 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olympic Peninsula Loop point 6 comes up 288 km in. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 7.
7. Aberdeen
Planning note
345 km in you reach Olympic Peninsula Loop point 7. Next is Olympic Peninsula Loop point 8.
8. Olympia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Olympia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olympic Peninsula Loop point 8, late in the day.