Originally named "Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles" by the Spanish in 1791 (the postal service later insisted one Los Angeles was enough),
PORT ANGELES
is the peninsula's main town and the most popular point of entry into Olympic National Park. Like many other similarly sized towns in the Pacific Northwest, the community is a paradoxical mixture of timber-industry grittiness and picturesque beauty, which sometimes collide in strange and unexpected ways - such as the working-class harbor streaked with industrial chimneys and backdropped by striking mountains.
Though it's preferable to stay inside the park, Port Angeles has a number of inexpensive chain
motels
near its uninspiring one-way main drags, First Street and Front Street. These include the
Best Western Olympic Lodge
, 140 Del Guzzi Dr (tel 1-800/600-2993,
; $50-75), and
Traveler's Motel
, 1133 E First St (tel 360/452-2303,
; $35-50). For more upscale accommodation, try the
Red Lion Inn
, 221 N Lincoln St (tel 360/452-9215,
; $130-160), or
Domaine Madeleine
, 146 Wildflower Lane (tel 360/457-4174,
; $130-250), a B&B with themed rooms and a lovely five-acre garden. If you are staying inside the park, at any of the seventeen excellent
campgrounds
(tel 360/452-4501, $8-12 per night), you'll need your own vehicle. Try
Heart o' the Hills
, six miles south of Port Angeles, along Hurricane Ridge Road, or further west,
Elwah
and
Altaire
campgrounds are equally good with access to the numerous hiking trails.
For
breakfast
or
lunch
, head for the tiny
First Street Haven
, 107 E First St and Laurel (tel 360/457-0352); for
dinner
, the upscale
Bella Italia
, 118 E First St (tel 360/457-5442), has seafood and authentic Italian cuisine.
Port Angeles has the peninsula's best
transportation connections
. Olympic Bus Lines (tel 360/452-3858) offers daily trips to Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport, while Clallam Transit buses (tel 360/452-4511 or 1-800/858-3747) go west from Port Angeles around the peninsula to Lake Crescent, Neah Bay and Forks and east to Sequim, connecting with Jefferson Transit (tel 360/385-4777) buses to Port Townsend. Black Ball Transport (tel 360/457-4491) runs
ferries
to Victoria in Canada (2-4 daily, except in Feb) for a bargain $8 walk-on one-way fare, $30 for a car, and Victoria Express (tel 360/452-8088 or 1-800/633-1589) operates a faster passenger-only service (2-3 daily) for $20-25. The
visitors center
, at 121 E Railroad St, beside the ferry terminal (summer daily 7am-6pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 10am-4pm; tel 360/452-2363,
), stocks information on the entire peninsula and can put you in touch with local river-rafting and sea-kayaking firms.
