Coastal

Coastal Washington covers the western edge of the Olympic Peninsula and the long beach country south of Grays Harbor. Four counties — Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, and Pacific — handle the run from the Strait of Juan de Fuca down to the Columbia River mouth. The terrain shifts from rugged surf-pounded headlands and old-growth temperate rainforest at the north end to broad sand peninsulas and coastal estuaries to the south. Port Angeles and Port Townsend anchor the strait side of the peninsula; Forks and the Hoh Rainforest entrance sit on the wet Pacific flank; Aberdeen and Hoquiam run the Grays Harbor side; Long Beach, Ilwaco, and the Cape Disappointment lighthouse area cover the Columbia mouth. Olympic National Park covers most of the high country; Hoh, Quinault, and Lake Crescent are the major rainforest entrances. Trips here lean outdoor and slow. The Hurricane Ridge drive, the Hoh Rain Forest trails, the Lake Quinault Lodge loop, and the Long Beach Peninsula’s flat 28-mile beach handle most itineraries. Late summer is the dry window; the rest of the year stays genuinely wet, and ferry connections from Port Angeles to Victoria add a Canadian side trip.