Getting to Bovee's Meadow (just past Lake Crescent Lodge)
Bovee's Meadow is a public beach that uses the same exit off of Highway 101 as Lake Crescent Lodge. Shortly after exiting the highway there is a 4-way stop, and you will turn to the left like you are going to Lake Crescent Lodge. However, after making this initial lefthand turn at the stop sign, continue straight and cross the bridge over Barnes Creek instead of veering toward the right toward Lake Crescent Lodge. Bovee's Meadow has a large curved parking area and meadow.
Bovee's Meadow is a public beach that uses the same exit off of Highway 101 as Lake Crescent Lodge. Shortly after exiting the highway there is a 4-way stop, and you will turn to the left like you are going to Lake Crescent Lodge. However, after making this initial lefthand turn at the stop sign, continue straight and cross the bridge over Barnes Creek instead of veering toward the right toward Lake Crescent Lodge. Bovee's Meadow has a large curved parking area and meadow.
The Event
We will start by 9:00 am on Sunday, April 12. If everyone is ready to go before that time, we will start early, to ensure the best chances of calm winds and a successful circumnavigation. It is not unusual for the western part of the lake to have 20 knot winds in spring afternoons, so we would like to be well clear of it by then.
Course
The course will circumnavigate Lake Crescent in a clockwise fashion. This is not a race, it will not be timed, and there are no buoys or other waypoints to ensure everyone rows the same distance. We hope that the leading boats will follow the shoreline fairly closely or use other methods to row a longer distance, and the trailing boats try to row as short a distance as possible to minimize wait times at the stopping points. We encourage you to track your GPS course and use the results at the end to claim bragging rights.
Leg 1 (10 km) will start from Bovee's Meadow and proceed westward along the south side of the lake paralleling Highway 101. La Poel is one of the best places on the entire course to switch out a rower, but there is not enough beach for the entire fleet to stop there so we elected to keep the fleet moving until Fairholm. There is a public bathroom at La Poel. Leg 1 will end at the beach near the Fairholm boat ramp. There is a general store and a campground at Fairholm, but both will be closed.
Leg 2 (10 km) will start from Fairholm and proceed eastward along the north side of the lake until the point of land closest to Lake Crescent Lodge, where we will cross the lake and stop back at Bovee's Meadow. The shoreline along the north part of the lake is accessible via Camp David Jr. Road until slightly east of the North Shore Picnic Area, then only by foot or bike along the Spruce Railroad Trail, so named because it uses the railroad bed created to harvest Spruce for wood-framed airplanes during World War I. There is a tunnel through the mountain right where we cross from the north side of the lake to Bovee's Meadow.
Leg 3 (10 km) will start from Bovee's Meadow, cross in front of Lake Crescent Lodge and back over to the old railroad tunnel, then resume the clockwise circumnavigation. An ambitious hot-seater could park at the Spruce Railroad Trail trailhead on East Beach Road (where there are bathrooms), then hike to Picnic Point which is not directly visible from the trail. A not-so-ambitious hot-seater could contact the Race Director for information on how to hot-seat from his relatives' cabin dock. Log Cabin Resort is closed for the season, but Madrona Point offers a pretty good hot-seating opportunity, complete with bathroom. Leg 3 ends at East Beach, which is a public beach with plenty of space for all the boats to come ashore and some public bathrooms.
Leg 4 (7 km) will start from East Beach, continue into Pirate's Cove, and resume the clockwise circumnavigation. In Pirate's Cove, Highway 101 is high above the lake level, but about 1/3 of the way into this leg, the Highway is visible from lake level. It is possible that by this time there will be strong west winds blowing directly onto the beach in front of Lake Crescent Lodge. If this is the case, we might shorten course or offer the option/suggestion of shortening course by ending at the Storm King Ranger Station boat ramp. This area is accessible from Bovee's Meadow without entering the highway. Assuming that the weather does cooperate, Leg 4 will end back at Bovee's Meadow.
We will start by 9:00 am on Sunday, April 12. If everyone is ready to go before that time, we will start early, to ensure the best chances of calm winds and a successful circumnavigation. It is not unusual for the western part of the lake to have 20 knot winds in spring afternoons, so we would like to be well clear of it by then.
Course
The course will circumnavigate Lake Crescent in a clockwise fashion. This is not a race, it will not be timed, and there are no buoys or other waypoints to ensure everyone rows the same distance. We hope that the leading boats will follow the shoreline fairly closely or use other methods to row a longer distance, and the trailing boats try to row as short a distance as possible to minimize wait times at the stopping points. We encourage you to track your GPS course and use the results at the end to claim bragging rights.
Leg 1 (10 km) will start from Bovee's Meadow and proceed westward along the south side of the lake paralleling Highway 101. La Poel is one of the best places on the entire course to switch out a rower, but there is not enough beach for the entire fleet to stop there so we elected to keep the fleet moving until Fairholm. There is a public bathroom at La Poel. Leg 1 will end at the beach near the Fairholm boat ramp. There is a general store and a campground at Fairholm, but both will be closed.
Leg 2 (10 km) will start from Fairholm and proceed eastward along the north side of the lake until the point of land closest to Lake Crescent Lodge, where we will cross the lake and stop back at Bovee's Meadow. The shoreline along the north part of the lake is accessible via Camp David Jr. Road until slightly east of the North Shore Picnic Area, then only by foot or bike along the Spruce Railroad Trail, so named because it uses the railroad bed created to harvest Spruce for wood-framed airplanes during World War I. There is a tunnel through the mountain right where we cross from the north side of the lake to Bovee's Meadow.
Leg 3 (10 km) will start from Bovee's Meadow, cross in front of Lake Crescent Lodge and back over to the old railroad tunnel, then resume the clockwise circumnavigation. An ambitious hot-seater could park at the Spruce Railroad Trail trailhead on East Beach Road (where there are bathrooms), then hike to Picnic Point which is not directly visible from the trail. A not-so-ambitious hot-seater could contact the Race Director for information on how to hot-seat from his relatives' cabin dock. Log Cabin Resort is closed for the season, but Madrona Point offers a pretty good hot-seating opportunity, complete with bathroom. Leg 3 ends at East Beach, which is a public beach with plenty of space for all the boats to come ashore and some public bathrooms.
Leg 4 (7 km) will start from East Beach, continue into Pirate's Cove, and resume the clockwise circumnavigation. In Pirate's Cove, Highway 101 is high above the lake level, but about 1/3 of the way into this leg, the Highway is visible from lake level. It is possible that by this time there will be strong west winds blowing directly onto the beach in front of Lake Crescent Lodge. If this is the case, we might shorten course or offer the option/suggestion of shortening course by ending at the Storm King Ranger Station boat ramp. This area is accessible from Bovee's Meadow without entering the highway. Assuming that the weather does cooperate, Leg 4 will end back at Bovee's Meadow.
This picture is taken from the top of Pyramid Mountain and looks east toward East Beach, Pirate's Cove, and Lake Sutherland in the distance. Pyramid Mountain is the mountain in the center of the picture at the top of this page, which is taken from the top of the Storm King Trail looking west. The two pictures together show almost the entirety of the lake, with the top one looking west and this one looking east.
Safety
The rowing boats on the course will be escorted by at least 3 motorboats. The Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association will have a Zodiac inflatable with a 10 hp motor, Kitsap Rowing Association will have an aluminum skiff with a 20 hp motor, and the third boat will either be a Olympic National Park boat or another inflatable. All rowing boats must carry a life jacket for each person onboard and one whistle per boat. The boats provided by the Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association will be equipped with these things, but rowers choosing to wear a lifejacket while rowing should bring their own lifejacket, as the supplied large orange PFDs are bulky. Some of the motorboats will carry slings in case getting some boats off the water becomes necessary.
Audience and Waiver
The event is intended for adult rowers only. The cost for each participant is $25. Registration will be via WebScorer. Participants do not need to be USRowing members but all participants must either electronically sign this waiver
https://www.jotform.com/form/251946121264050 or email a screenshot of your USRowing dashboard indicating a current USRowing waiver.
Weather
The most likely weather condition is a west wind (left to right on the course map) that starts out calm in the morning and gradually builds and fills in throughout the day.
Safety
The rowing boats on the course will be escorted by at least 3 motorboats. The Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association will have a Zodiac inflatable with a 10 hp motor, Kitsap Rowing Association will have an aluminum skiff with a 20 hp motor, and the third boat will either be a Olympic National Park boat or another inflatable. All rowing boats must carry a life jacket for each person onboard and one whistle per boat. The boats provided by the Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association will be equipped with these things, but rowers choosing to wear a lifejacket while rowing should bring their own lifejacket, as the supplied large orange PFDs are bulky. Some of the motorboats will carry slings in case getting some boats off the water becomes necessary.
Audience and Waiver
The event is intended for adult rowers only. The cost for each participant is $25. Registration will be via WebScorer. Participants do not need to be USRowing members but all participants must either electronically sign this waiver
https://www.jotform.com/form/251946121264050 or email a screenshot of your USRowing dashboard indicating a current USRowing waiver.
Weather
The most likely weather condition is a west wind (left to right on the course map) that starts out calm in the morning and gradually builds and fills in throughout the day.
The video above was taken from the double turnout about halfway through Leg 1, at about 11:30 am. There are scattered whitecaps and about 1' chop. Although we hope to be clear of this area by 9:30, when it is likely to be calmer, Leg 4 will also pass through this area going downwind on the far shore. These conditions should be considered "normal," and could easily be slightly windier. However, at the same time that there are whitecaps in that stretch of lake, around the corner the wind and waves are much mellower, which is also normal.
Food and Lodging
As indicated by the pictures below, Lake Crescent Lodge (below left) and Log Cabin Resort (below right) are both closed for the season. The closest restaurant is Granny's Cafe, just east of Lake Sutherland (https://grannyscafe.net/). The Emerald Valley Inn is the adjoining building to Granny's Cafe (https://emeraldvalleyinn.com/). Besides these locations, the many options for food and lodging in Port Angeles are the next closest, approximately 30 minutes from Bovee's Meadow.
As indicated by the pictures below, Lake Crescent Lodge (below left) and Log Cabin Resort (below right) are both closed for the season. The closest restaurant is Granny's Cafe, just east of Lake Sutherland (https://grannyscafe.net/). The Emerald Valley Inn is the adjoining building to Granny's Cafe (https://emeraldvalleyinn.com/). Besides these locations, the many options for food and lodging in Port Angeles are the next closest, approximately 30 minutes from Bovee's Meadow.
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What to Do
Marymere Falls is an easy, mostly flat, scenic hike through old growth forest. We highly recommend it. The top two pictures show the trail as it leads away from Lake Crescent Lodge, and the bottom picture shows the falls. For the more adventurous hiker, look for the sign along the Marymere Falls hike that points to the Storm King Trail. That is a steep uphill climb that becomes a scramble on loose rock with climbing ropes for assistance, but the hiker is rewarded for completing the journey with the view at the top of this page.
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