Marymere Falls

Although I’ve had ample opportunity to get outdoors this season, Theresa was been a slave to work and just not gotten out like she’d like. After a couple of near misses where were finally able to take a weekend and do a bit of exploring together.

Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana) found along the shores of Crescent Lake. Photograph by Steve Weileman

To simplify the process we elected to leave the boats but even so we weren’t able to leave town until mid-afternoon. As a result our first choice of campsites was full. After a few more rejections we found ourselves at the Fairholm campgrounds located on the western shores of Lake Crescent. I had attempted to camp here with Kiwi last winter while research the story Lady of the Lake, but it was close, so like some many other twist and turns of life, what started out as a bit of worry quickly turned into a great opportunity.

You wouldn’t know it to look at it now, but Fairholm was once a bustling jump off point for the original Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, built in 1912 at a cost of half a million dollars the resort featured a 165-room, four-star hotel, a three-story, 100 bed sanatorium, a large bathhouse, and gymnasium, golf links, tennis courts, croquet grounds, and more. The resort was virtually leveled in 1916 and although other facilities where built they never achieved the grandeur of the first complex.

View of Crescent Lake from the Fairholm General Store. Photograph by Steve Weileman

People from around the world used to visit the travel to the resort starting with a six-hour steamship trip to Port Angeles. From there guests were driven in red Stanley Steamer automobiles to the east shore of Lake Crescent, which they crossed by steamboat. Another set of Stanley Steamers met them at Fairholm and drove them to the resort.

Now if you blink at the wrong moment, you’ll miss Fairholm altogether.

Steve and Theresa in front of Marymere Falls. Photograph by Steve Weileman

Another wonderful point of interest is the Marymere Falls, which are easier hiked out to from the Storm King Visitor Center. The waters of Falls Creek drop nearly 90 feet from a cliff into a small plunge pool near the trail below. Stairs to the right of the falls allow views of the upper segment. It’s an easy hike and well worth the small effort to view the falls.

A new website, Olympic Peninsula Waterfall Trail, has directions and more information on this and a host of other picturesque falls located on the Olympic Peninsula.