Skokomish Park at Lake Cushman
The Big Creek campground (our preferred next destination) a campground in the National Forest which offers quick access to many hikes into the higher peaks unfortunately was not yet open for the season.
We chose to stay at Skokomish Park which is situated on the banks of Lake Cushman, a large lake which is hugely popular in summer for boating, fishing, and it’s close proximity to the National Park – and it is also very expensive we found out (overpriced in our opinion). The park has 61 sites (30 with full hook-ups), clean washrooms, a decently stocked camp store, large day use and boat launch areas, and a few trails. From our site was a short path to the lake where we could sit and enjoy the beautiful views of Mt. Washington’s snowy peaks, and the breeze off the lake. At the day use area is a pebbly beach good for swimming – and the water wasn’t frigid – so we were all tempted to have a dip. We enjoyed a game of bocce on the large grassy area and campfires in the evening.
Continuing on our way south we stopped in Shelton, which has a good choice of larger stores, to re-stock. From there we drove s short distance west across the peninsula through farmlands and small towns. At the Pacific side of the peninsula we began our trip back Northward into much more remote areas where we saw mostly logging trucks on the highway. Because we were heading to one of the most popular campgrounds, we chose to go directly there to try and snag a couple sites – meaning we would be backtracking the next day to see a couple must-see areas.
Kalaloch pronounced Klay’-lock, means “a good place to land” in the Quinault language
Arriving at Kalaloch campground we were happy we had made the decision to go directly there as it was already fairly full up, although still very early in the day (and we had discovered that South Beach, our backup plan of a campground was still closed for the season). Greeted by a camp host while perusing the check-in board, she suggested we quickly go look for empty sites – leave something in the site – then come back to do the registration and payment. We were lucky to find two sites side by side, and the few available sites quickly filled up afterward. Unfortunately the nicest sites situated on the bluffs at water’s edge were closed due to erosion of the banks.
The entire 15-mile stretch of sandy beach from South Beach to Ruby Beach is actually considered to be Kalaloch Beach, with multiple access points. Four access points are unimaginatively named Beach 1, 2, 3, 4. (do not be fooled when searching for directions, as the beaches a little further North are called First Beach, Second Beach, & Third Beach)
We settled in and went to check out “the beach” of course. The bluffs are open to foot traffic and have many paths that lead down to the beach – some of the beach access trails are shored up by massive log structures. An expansive white sandy beach greeted us – you can walk a long way at low tide. In one direction we walked to where the Kalaloch Creek meets the ocean where above sit the lodge and cabins.
The other direction brought us to the ‘unique’ feature of this beach. “The Tree of Life”.
This unusual tree is a massive sitka spruce (the largest species of spruce tree on the planet) that’s seemingly “floating” between two sandy bluffs, supported only by a few root tendrils clinging to the cliffside. The tree is incredibly impressive- not only for its root system supporting its massive weight, but also its greenness- despite the fact the majority of its root system is exposed to air, its needles are still evergreen.
