John's Beachcombing Museum

 John started beachcombing in 1976 and has amassed a huge amount of stuff which includes fossils, whale bones, items from the Fukushima tsunami, driftwood, toys from cargo containers that were swept overboard during storms, bottles with notes, rare glass fishing floats, and an unbelievable number of plastic floats.

 Everything is neatly arranged with similar items grouped together. Due to the ocean currents most of the things come from Japan or lost shipping containers. Both John and his wife are very friendly and happy to answer all questions. 

Follow the signs to the museum. Keep going past the sculptures made from floats until you come to the building with museum sign on the side. There's a small paved parking area. Large vehicles can be parked along the side of the road. Museum  47.96237, -124.40074

 

 

Forks Timber Museum

Most of the exhibits in this small museum are about logging but homesteading and farming are also covered. A few pieces of restored antique equipment are sheltered under a pole building. A short loop trail can be accessed from the museum parking lot. 

 The first floor of the museum is accessible but the second floor is not due to the lack of an elevator or lift. The equipment in the pole building is enclosed by fencing but a concrete walkway spans two sides so it's possible to see the exhibits. The trail is not accessible due to the hilly terrain. 

The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Museum  47.93645, -124.39482

 

Coppermine Bottom Campground

 Although it's surrounded by extensive logging, this small campground is in a relatively untouched section of the state forest - pretty with big trees and lots of moss. It's tiny, only eleven sites and a parking area with access to the shallow river

I didn't notice an accessible site. Most of the site are usable with hard packed ground for easy rolling.

The sites are long enough to accommodate larger RVs. The gravel access road is 1.5 miles long, narrow and in good condition with one slightly steep grade. Campground  47.65573, -124.1879

Forest Road 2257 Boondocking

I used Google satellite view to search for dispersed camping in Olympic National Forest along Cooks Creek Road and found some promising spots. The first one showed traces of a short road and a clearing made by loggers but in person everything was grown over. The second, a small pull off on a dirt road, was very slanted and on private property. My last choice was also a pull off on a dirt road but on forest land and, although we would normally only stay overnight in a pull off, we liked this spot so much that we ended up staying two days. 

This area was logged many years ago, probably in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The large tree stumps are almost rotted away and the new growth is thick and impenetrable but surprisingly the road is good shape with just  shallow potholes. We walked/rolled a mile or two up the road and found a few places large enough to pull off and camp. 

The spot where we camped is hidden from the Cooks Creek Road by a bend in the forest road so we couldn't see the traffic and only a couple of people can past us while exploring the network of forest roads. The salmon berry bushes were full of fruit ready for picking. They're tasty but seedy and internet sources say the best way to use them is to squish them and save the juice. Now I have a container of juice in the freezer waiting for inspiration. :D I'm thinking maybe boil the juice down some and add fruit to make popsicles. Edit October 2023: I bought some Lekue popsicle molds, thawed the juice, cooked it a bit, added some honey, let it cool then poured the juice into the molds. I thawed some frozen strawberries, cooked them a bit with some honey and added that to the molds. The popsicles were delicious! I was a bit skeptical because the juice didn't have a lot of flavor but the honey really brought it out. Internet sites recommended making the juice sweeter than normal because the popsicles need more, I guess because they're cold.

 

The pull off is large enough for most RVs but there may not be enough room to turn around. It may be muddy if there have been recent rains. Boondocking    47.37427, -123.90616

Sandpiper Trail at Grays Harbor-NWR

The trail starts out as an asphalt road along the edge of a small airport then become boardwalk for a total distance of about a mile out and back. We didn't visit at the best time for wildlife viewing so we saw little but we enjoyed this easy walk/roll through different ecosystems. 

 

Everything is accessible.

The parking area is small but RVs can be parked on the opposite side of the road near the information kiosk. Refuge  46.97399, -123.93094

 

Porter Creek Campground- DNR

Even though the DNR website lists this campground as popular with ATV riders we found it to be quiet in the middle of the week. Some sites have access to the creek and all are surrounded by lush greenery and old growth forest - very pretty.

The sites have tables with extended tops and the ground is hard packed. Some sites may not be suitable for wheelchair users because of uneven and sloping ground.

About 1 mile of the access road is one lane gravel. We were a little concerned about logging trucks since there was active logging along the road but we didn't encounter any traffic. There are two camping loops off of B Line Road, one on each side of the road. The western loop has smaller sites so continue on B Line if the sites in the first loop are too small. Campground  46.97759, -123.25558

Fort Steilacoom Park Trails

Fort Steilacoom was established in 1849 to settle conflicts between the Native Americans and settlers. It was decommissioned in 1868 and repurposed as a psychiatric hospital with the barracks serving as patient and staff housing. Hospital residents grew crops and orchards in the park area. Buildings were added onto, remodeled, and demolished over the years. The last hospital building on the park grounds was Hill Ward, built in 1932 and closed in 1965. Hill Ward was demolished but the foundation has been preserved. 

The current modern hospital is adjacent to the north end of the park property. Four restored buildings that served as officers' quarters are on the hospital grounds and now form Historic Fort Steilacoom, an interpretive and living history site. Hours are very limited.

Miles of trail crisscross through the park property. Most are narrow dirt paths and are not accessible but the .9 mile path that circles the lake is paved, level, and accessible. The paved road that goes to Hill Ward is steep but accessible with assistance. A ramp provides access to the foundation floor. Part of Angle Lane is closed to traffic and is accessible. Paved trails are marked in blue on this Map. Historic Fort Steilacoom was not opened during our visit so I don't know about access.

The main parking lot which is close to the lake loop trail is located at the end of Dresden Lane. The lot is large enough for any RV. Vehicle access is at the north end of the park only. Angle Lane is blocked off at the south end but here's a small lot were vans and short RVs will fit that has access to the trails and closed section of Angle Lane. Park  47.17263, -122.56087

Lakewold Gardens

The gardens are part of an estate gifted to the non-profit organization, the Friends of Lakewold, by the last owner, Eulalie Wagner. It's tucked into a residential neighborhood and is rather small at only 10 acres with a little over 1/2 mile of walking trails.

Very little of the garden is wheelchair accessible due to hilly terrain and unsuitable ground cover. With advance notice metal ramps will be put in place to bridge the steps at the garden shop and admissions desk. We had free admission with our American Horticultural Society pass but it's not worth it if you have to pay.

RVs will fit in the lot if parked across the spaces.  Gardens  47.14552, -122.53808