Peanut Butter Coast: The Lake Crescent Lodge

12/3/13

The Lake Crescent Lodge

The Lake Crescent Lodge was built in 1916, and serves as a base camp for anyone looking to explore the Olympic National Park. Sitting among the giant fir and hemlock trees that line the lake, this turn-of-the-century resort has a variety of rooms and cabins you can rent, including the Roosevelt Fireplace Cabins, named after President Franklin Roosevelt who established the Olympic National Park in June of 1938. The lodge itself is not nearly as big as I had imagined. An enclosed deck with floor to ceiling windows looks out onto the lake, while the interior of the lodge is, as our friend Jasmine described it, "lodgey." A huge stone fireplace sits in the center, surrounded by couches and chairs. A bar in the back corner sits across from a wide staircase that leads to the upper level, where the historic lodge rooms are located. The back half of the building is occupied by the restaurant; the Bison Meatloaf wasn't bad.

Normally closed this time of year, the brass at the lodge decided to stay open through the holiday season for the first time since who knows when. Taking advantage of this fact, our friends Derek and Laura reserved a Roosevelt Fireplace Cabin for the weekend and invited us join them fireside on Friday night. Sitting just a few feet from the edge of the lake, cabin #37 is a wide, wood cabin with two queen sized beds, a stone fireplace, comfy chairs and big white framed windows that look out onto the lake. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Roosevelt Fireplace Cabins really are incredible. After an early dinner in the lodge, we spent the evening in front of the fireplace, drinking beer and telling lies. The next morning Karissa cooked breakfast on the bench out back, while we drank coffee and watched the dogs chase ducks into the lake. A wonderful way to spend a Saturday.