If you're heading anticlockwise on the Olympic loop from Port Angeles toward Forks, one of the first scenic surprises to leap out at you is luminous Lake Crescent, a popular boating and fishing area and a departure point for a number of short national-park hikes.
The area is also the site of Lake Crescent Lodge, the oldest of the park's trio of celebrated lodges (the others are the Quinault and the Kalaloch) – it first opened in 1916.
The best stop-off point is in a parking lot to the right of US 101 near the Storm King Ranger Station. A number of short hikes leave from here, including the Marymere Falls trail, a 2-mile round trip to a 90ft cascade that drops over a basalt cliff. For a more energetic hike, climb the side of Mt Storm King, the peak that rises to the east of Lake Crescent. The steep, 1.7-mile ascent splits off the Barnes Creek Trail.
Trout fishing is good here – the lake is deep with steep shorelines – though only artificial lures are allowed. Rowboat rentals ($20-55, depending on length of time) are available at Lake Crescent Lodge in the summer months.