Wending scenic Pacific Coast Highway through Olympic Peninsula, it's easy to see why Washington is called the Evergreen State. It's as if an artist painted the landscape hues of green, added splashes of blue sky, lakes and waterfalls, then completed the canvas with magenta fireweed and foxglove.

After a 1937 visit to this vast wilderness of Pacific coastline, rain forest and snow-capped mountains, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was so impressed he proclaimed it a national park only nine months later.

Olympic National Park offers 633,000 acres of evergreen beauty. Two hundred miles of trails, from novice to challenging, criss-cross Quinault Rain Forest, which receives an average of 12 feet of rain per year. Its wettest year on record, 1999, had 15 feet of rain. But don't be put off; rain falls mostly during winter.

The forest's moss-covered trees are so dense they create a canopy of eerie daytime darkness. Ferns cloak trees and trails. Rich undergrowth provides food for the menagerie of wildlife that makes the forest their home: black bears, cougars, bobcats, deer, elk, squirrels, eagles and owls.

Quinault Valley is known as "Valley of the Giants" for its record-breaking cedar, fir, hemlock and spruce. Some of the world's largest trees are here, including a cedar so large you can venture inside the hollow trunk of this living giant. The valley also has a 1,000-year-old Sitka Spruce, 191 feet tall, 17 feet in diameter and with a circumference of 55 feet 7 inches.

Early morning fog casts a mystical aura over the valley. Sun slowly burns away the fog, revealing Lake Quinault, artistically framed by evergreens and Olympic Mountains. Formed by glaciers thousands of years ago, the lake stretches for 8 1/2 miles and is more than 1,000 feet at its deepest point.

Quinault Indians traditionally used the lake as a summer home to fish, hunt and pick berries. There were few visitors since the area could only be reached via wagon trail, path or river. The first road to the lake was built in 1914.

A 31-mile loop road now circles the lake. Miles of the road are unpaved gravel narrowing at times to one lane. But the rugged terrain and isolated wilderness provide a unique blend of adventure and serenity.

Rustic Lake Quinault Lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Accommodations range from rooms in the lodge to lakeside suites with fireplaces. Rent a canoe or kayak, fish, hike, take a boat tour, sun yourself on an Adirondack chair, swim in its heated pool or relax in the sauna. Then in the cool evening sink into a cushy leather sofa in front of the lodge fireplace. And don't miss the restaurant's cedar plank salmon.

Washington's Olympic Peninsula is one of America's jewels. Visit and enjoy its evergreen beauty.

IF YOU GO

Olympic National Park is west of the Seattle area on the Olympic Peninsula. All park destinations can be reached by U.S. Highway 101, which circumnavigates the Olympic Peninsula.

Nearest airport and car rental is Seattle-Tacoma International airport.

Lake Quinault Lodge, built in 1926, celebrates Ken Burns' series "National Parks: America's Best Idea" with an "America's Best Idea" package. Through April 30, stay one night at rates beginning at $119 per room, double occupancy (includes an interpretive gift). Add a night for only $99 at any of its sister locations on the Olympic Peninsula. Code: BESTIDEA

• Bed & Breakfast Special begins at $124 per room per night through March 31. Code LQB&B

• Lodge Quinault Quintessentials is a series of culinary weekends featuring dishes inspired by the Pacific Northwest, beginning this month.

The weekend package includes a two-night stay in a Main Lodge view or lakeside room, welcome wine basket with two Lake Quinault wine glasses, recipe cards of the food demonstrations and access to all the weekend's culinary festivities: meet-the-chef reception, cooking demonstration, four-course elegant dinner with wine pairings and breakfast buffet. Cost is $499 for two.

Quinault Quintessentials weekends will feature the following local wineries:

Jan. 29-31 — Cadaretta Winery and Clayhouse Vineyards

March 19-21 — Cougar Crest Winery

May 21-23 — Maryhill Winery

www.visitlakequinault.com, 866-297-7367.