Lake Crescent
US-101
Port Angeles, WA
A ribbon of impossibly clear blue water carved by glaciers, ringed by steep forested peaks and a century of Olympic Peninsula history.
Lake Crescent is one of the loveliest lakes in the Pacific Northwest, a long, deep trough of water so clear it seems lit from within. Steep forested ridges rise straight from its shores, and the surface shifts through greens and blues depending on the light. It is deep, more than six hundred feet in places, and the water is remarkably pure.
That purity is not an accident. The lake holds very little nitrogen, which starves the algae that cloud most lakes, so the water stays glass-clear and takes on its famous blue. Add a historic lodge, a waterfall, a peak with a killer view, and a genuinely strange piece of local lore, and Lake Crescent rewards more than a quick drive-by.
What Guests Love
- The astonishing clarity and deep blue of the water, which you can see far down into
- The short walk to Marymere Falls, a 90-foot cascade in mossy forest
- The steep, rope-assisted scramble up Mount Storm King for a plunging lake view
- The historic Lake Crescent Lodge on the shore, a classic old park hotel
Worth Knowing
- Mount Storm King is genuinely steep and exposed near the top, with fixed ropes; it is not a casual stroll
- The lake is cold and deep year round, so swimming is bracing even in August
- It is inside Olympic National Park, so an entrance pass is required
- Highway 101 hugs the shore with limited pullouts, so watch for cyclists and parked cars on busy days
Details
Port Angeles, WA
Learn about Lake Crescent
How the lake was made
Lake Crescent sits in a valley carved and deepened by Ice Age glaciers, which left a long, steep-sided basin. Geologists believe a large landslide later dammed the valley and split what had been one lake into two, Crescent and neighboring Lake Sutherland.
That split may explain one of the lake's quirks. Cut off from the sea and from easy mixing, its trout evolved in isolation. Lake Crescent is home to the Beardslee rainbow trout and the Crescenti cutthroat, distinctive fish found here and almost nowhere else, which is part of why the lake and its watershed are so carefully protected.
The trails and the lodge
The easy classic is Marymere Falls, a gentle walk through big timber to a ninety-foot ribbon of water. For a harder day, Mount Storm King climbs sharply from near the lodge, with fixed ropes helping over the final rocky pitches to a heart-in-throat view straight down onto the lake.
On the quieter north shore, the Spruce Railroad Trail follows an old railroad grade past the Devil's Punchbowl, a small clear cove spanned by a footbridge, now part of a longer paved path around that side of the lake. Lake Crescent Lodge, on the south shore, dates to the early twentieth century and still takes guests, and President Franklin Roosevelt stayed here in 1937 while weighing the creation of Olympic National Park.
The Lady of the Lake
Lake Crescent carries one genuinely eerie story. In 1937 a local woman named Hallie Illingworth disappeared. Three years later a body surfaced in the lake, and the cold, mineral-rich, oxygen-poor deep water had partly turned the remains to a soap-like substance, a rare natural process, which helped preserve and identify her.
The case, and the nickname the Lady of the Lake, became part of peninsula lore, and her husband was eventually convicted. It is a somber story, but it says something true about the lake: it is deep, cold, and very still down where the light does not reach.
Wildlife and seasons
The forests around the lake are classic lowland Olympic woods of Douglas fir, hemlock, and cedar, home to black-tailed deer, black bears in the higher ground, and a chorus of forest birds. Bald eagles and osprey work the water.
Summer brings the clearest weather and the warmest, if still cool, water, while the shoulder seasons trade crowds for mist and moody light on the ridges. The area is open year round, though mountain trails like Storm King are best left for dry conditions.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Port Angeles
Hurricane Ridge
About 35 miles east, above Port Angeles
A high, meadowed ridge in Olympic National Park with sweeping views of the glaciated interior peaks and summer wildflowers.
Sol Duc Falls
About 15 miles southwest
A short forest walk to a photogenic falls that splits into channels over a rock lip, with hot springs nearby up the Sol Duc valley.
Port Angeles
About 20 miles east
The peninsula's main town and the gateway to Hurricane Ridge, with a working waterfront and the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia.