South of Kalaloch, Highway 101 crosses the Quinault Indian Reservation, where you get to see what clear-cuts really look like. A narrow corridor of Olympic National Park extends along the Queets River, protecting a strip of old-growth timber bordered by cut-over DNR and private lands.

The gravel Queets River Road (well marked) follows the river eastward from Highway 101, ending 14 miles later at Queets Campground. This free, primitive campground has no running water, but it is open year-round. A seasonal ranger station is also here.

The Queets Loop Trail departs the campground for an easy three-mile walk through second-growth forests and fields where elk are often seen. Another route, the Queets Trail, is more challenging. It requires the fording of Queets River near the campground—wait till late summer or fall for this hike, and use caution—and then continues along the river for 15 miles, passing through magnificent old-growth stands of Sitka spruce. Not for beginners, but an impressive hike.

Olympic Raft & Kayak (360/452-1443 or 888/452-1443, www.raftandkayak.com) leads relaxing float trips down the Queets River each spring.

The Quinault Reservation beaches, from just south of Queets almost to Moclips, have been closed to the public since 1969. However, you can arrange for an escorted tour of Point Grenville or Cape Elizabeth, two good bird-watching spots, by calling 360/276-8211.

The Department of Natural Resources has additional free campsites approximately 14 miles up Hoh-Clearwater Mainline Road. The turnoff is at milepost 147 on Highway 101 (three miles west of the Queets River Rd. turnoff).