Trip Report: Paddleboarding Lake Quinault, WA
When: 07/30/2018
Location: Lake Quinault, WA
Conditions: Perfect. Warm nights and beautiful days. Sunny day on the lake, the wind got pretty strong in the middle of the lake, perfectly calm along most of the shoreline.
Duration: Two days
Difficulty: There was nothing difficult about this trip. Anyone can do this.
Kid Friendly: Yes!
Pet Friendly: You bet!
Usefull links: www.campendium.com | www.quinaultrainforest.com | www.fs.usda.gov
The Full Report:
While living in the Pacific Northwest, one should take advantage of living in the Pacific Northwest. Meaning, there are a huuuge number of wonderful places to visit and you should be checking them off at a happily rapid pace. And so it happened, as it does, that I had two days off in a row so I pulled out a map and looked for some blue spots up in Washington. It didn't take long to come across Lake Quinault, which is found in the Southern portion of Olympic National Park and conveniently placed right alongside Highway 101. Done. Sold. Let's go.
I called up my friend to join me who had the same days off. I told her I get done with work at 4 and we should head up right after. Leaving Portland around 5 gave us a nice chance to knock a big chunk of the drive out of the way while still having enough daylight to set up camp for the night. So, we decided to drive until we didn't feel like it anymore. That time came right around the Olympia region. We found ourselves pretty close to the Margaret McKenny Campground which is great...and free! This site also conveniently cut the drive exactly in half. Two hours done, two more to go in the morning.
We woke up early the next morning to a beautiful sunrise and took that as a great reason to get out of the tent. With our SUP's strapped to the top of the car we hopped in and finished the drive. The drive, by the way, is also pretty rad. Before we knew it, the trees were getting taller and we soon arrived at the lake. It's a beautiful lake, oval in shape and pretty big. We took a drive around the south shore checking it out and made our way towards the lodge. Because the lake lies within the Quinault Indian Nation Reservation, there is a $15 fee to launch a vessel onto the lake. There's a shop across the street where you can purchase this permit.
We unstrapped the boards and threw them on the water. Off we went. Initially, we cruised the shoreline, checking out the scene. Then my friend must've seen something shiny across the lake because she suddenly had a determination to paddle straight across. Who am I to argue with such a good plan? So, we paddled across the lake. Like, you almost have to. If you drive to a lake to paddle you gotta paddle the whole thing. Those are the rules. It got pretty windy out in the middle but I'm always up for a little battle with the wind on the water. We won that battle and relaxed on the other side of the lake with a beer on the board.
We cruised the shoreline the whole way back. Occasionally spotting Bald Eagles here and there. We paddled past the rental station they have set up there where you can rent SUP's, kayaks and canoes. This lake does a nice job of balancing the fact that there is a small resort on it while still preserving a feeling of serenity. After spending about three hours paddling around, we got back on dry land. Legend has it that the tallest Sitka Spruce tree is living just a short hike down a trail on the side of the road. So we checked that out before leaving. I mean, I personally have never seen a bigger one so...it's gotta be true. There are also stunning blue flowers that line the road along the lake called the Blue Hydrangea. They're out of this world.
After spending a better portion of the day up there we decided to head back down and spend the night at Margaret McKenney again. It was great the first time around, let's go for a second. And with that, we had another gorgeous night for camping and woke up the next morning with time to drive back to Portland and go to work. Easy as pie.
The Full Report:
While living in the Pacific Northwest, one should take advantage of living in the Pacific Northwest. Meaning, there are a huuuge number of wonderful places to visit and you should be checking them off at a happily rapid pace. And so it happened, as it does, that I had two days off in a row so I pulled out a map and looked for some blue spots up in Washington. It didn't take long to come across Lake Quinault, which is found in the Southern portion of Olympic National Park and conveniently placed right alongside Highway 101. Done. Sold. Let's go.
I called up my friend to join me who had the same days off. I told her I get done with work at 4 and we should head up right after. Leaving Portland around 5 gave us a nice chance to knock a big chunk of the drive out of the way while still having enough daylight to set up camp for the night. So, we decided to drive until we didn't feel like it anymore. That time came right around the Olympia region. We found ourselves pretty close to the Margaret McKenny Campground which is great...and free! This site also conveniently cut the drive exactly in half. Two hours done, two more to go in the morning.
We woke up early the next morning to a beautiful sunrise and took that as a great reason to get out of the tent. With our SUP's strapped to the top of the car we hopped in and finished the drive. The drive, by the way, is also pretty rad. Before we knew it, the trees were getting taller and we soon arrived at the lake. It's a beautiful lake, oval in shape and pretty big. We took a drive around the south shore checking it out and made our way towards the lodge. Because the lake lies within the Quinault Indian Nation Reservation, there is a $15 fee to launch a vessel onto the lake. There's a shop across the street where you can purchase this permit.
We unstrapped the boards and threw them on the water. Off we went. Initially, we cruised the shoreline, checking out the scene. Then my friend must've seen something shiny across the lake because she suddenly had a determination to paddle straight across. Who am I to argue with such a good plan? So, we paddled across the lake. Like, you almost have to. If you drive to a lake to paddle you gotta paddle the whole thing. Those are the rules. It got pretty windy out in the middle but I'm always up for a little battle with the wind on the water. We won that battle and relaxed on the other side of the lake with a beer on the board.
We cruised the shoreline the whole way back. Occasionally spotting Bald Eagles here and there. We paddled past the rental station they have set up there where you can rent SUP's, kayaks and canoes. This lake does a nice job of balancing the fact that there is a small resort on it while still preserving a feeling of serenity. After spending about three hours paddling around, we got back on dry land. Legend has it that the tallest Sitka Spruce tree is living just a short hike down a trail on the side of the road. So we checked that out before leaving. I mean, I personally have never seen a bigger one so...it's gotta be true. There are also stunning blue flowers that line the road along the lake called the Blue Hydrangea. They're out of this world.
After spending a better portion of the day up there we decided to head back down and spend the night at Margaret McKenney again. It was great the first time around, let's go for a second. And with that, we had another gorgeous night for camping and woke up the next morning with time to drive back to Portland and go to work. Easy as pie.