The Manitou Campground is located near beautiful La Push, a short distance from Forks. Surrounded by land owned by the Department of Natural Resources, you will feel like you are camping right in the rainforest. Our campsites boast mature evergreens that tower into the sky and make a beautiful canopy over the sites. Moss covered trees, ferns on the forest floor and all the sites and smells of nature's beauty. You're going to love this place!
BRING YOUR OWN TENT – These primitive tent sites include picnic tables and fire-pits as well as access to fresh water. Our tent sites are newly developed, so bring an adventurous spirit and you will have a fantastic experience here.
Firewood is available for purchase on-site ($7 per bundle, paid in cash and picked up at the front of the lodge).
Please be aware that at any time Clallam County can ban fires (if there is a ban it will be posted at porta-potties and in front of lodge). We are NOT located inside the National Park, so we must abide by county guidelines.
There are port-a-potties for guest use, and a rain-shower available near site #3.
All of our campsites have their own private parking spot (near site sign), only one vehicle per site. You simply park at the designated spot and take a short walk to your site to set up.
This is a quiet area with natural surroundings. We are remote and perfectly hidden from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Experience the Pacific Northwest
Situated on ten acres of coastal rainforest, our Forks WA Lodging is just about as far west as you can get in the lower 48 states. The property’s hemlocks and spruce are still imposing, and there’s a Western Hemlock on the property well over 1000 years old. The grounds include wonderful trails, bits of whimsy and lovely spots to picnic.
Summer is a delight with sunshine and temperatures that rarely rise above 80 F. With winter come the fish. Local rivers (Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Calawah, Hoh) offer world-class salmon and steelhead fishing. We also experience powerful winter storms which shape our coastline. It’s worth a dose of rain and wind in the face to witness one of these, especially when a couch, fire and warm bed are just a couple of minutes away.
SELF CHECK-IN: Any time after 3pm (no early arrivals, please). With the convenience of self check-in at our Forks Washington accommodations, you can take your time and arrive at your convenience.
There is something for everybody any time of year in the Olympic National Park and Forks Washington. Explore wilderness beaches such as Rialto Beach, hike in the moss-draped beauty of the Hoh rainforest, fish the plentiful rivers of the region, or enjoy sightseeing. Forks is also the setting for the Twilight Saga, and hosts the Forever Twilight Festival every fall.
We’re located just a 45 minute drive from the Hoh Rainforest and Sol Duc Hot Springs, and about an hour from Cape Flattery (most Northwestern point in the lower 48 states) and the Makah Reservation and Cultural Museum at Neah Bay. Rialto Beach, spectacularly rugged and log-strewn, is just 3 miles away. The Quileute Tribe resides 9 miles away at La Push, as well as First Beach at LaPush and Olympic National Park’s Second and Third Beaches (not to be confused with Beaches 1-3 south of Kalaloch).
Rialto Beach, the only drive-to beach in the immediate area, is a spectacular, driftwood-strewn beach on the north side of the Quileute river about 3 miles from the Manitou Lodge. The surf is generally heavy, the driftwood logs huge, and the sunsets are magnificent. The Rialto crescent extends for about 1.5 miles and ends with two towering sea stacks, tidal pools, and “Hole-in-the-Wall”, a surf-carved tunnel in a headland. The 18 mile hike north from Rialto Beach to Cape Alava is a favorite with backpackers.
First, Second and Third Beaches extend south from the mouth of the Quileute River. These beaches are long, flat crescents popular with photographers due to sea-stacks (a well-known sea-stack complex, the “Quileute Needles”, lies just offshore), tidal pools, and eagles. Access to Second and Third Beaches requires hikes of 0.5 to 1.5 miles, respectively. The headlands at First Beach and Second Beach can’t be passed, but one can backpack south from Third Beach along the coast for about 17 miles to Oil City.
The Hoh Visitor Center is about 30 miles from us, and the Hoh Rainforest is possibly the best known attraction in the Olympic National Park. Average annual rainfall in the Hoh Valley is in excess of 150 inches, and has a spectacular effect on the vegetation. Along the “Hall of Mosses” Trail, the moss-draped maples are extravagantly green year round, so much so that somebody has written that the air appears to be jade-colored. The Spruce Trail follows the glacier-carved Hoh river maple and red alder “bottom”. Scenic raft trips are available in summer along the Hoh River, and guides can be contracted throughout the year for fishing and scenic trips.
Other regional activities near Forks Washington include world-class fishing, mountain-biking, hiking in the Olympic mountains and along the wild beaches that comprise the Pacific Coast portion of the Olympic National Park, or a visit to Cape Flattery, the most Northwestern point in the lower 48 states. A boardwalk recently completed by the Makah Nation, on whose lands the Cape sits, has considerably eased the hike. The views of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Tatoosh Island, and Vancouver Island from the Cape cliffs are inspiring. While visiting the Cape, you won’t want to miss the outstanding Makah Cultural Center and Museum at Neah Bay. These are just a sampling of the possibilities on the West End. For a more comprehensive look, consult some of the links listed below and visit the Forks Chamber of Commerce Five Day Guide to the West End. Twilight fans won’t want to miss a stop in Forks, WA.
