Anyone ride on 101 along Lake Crescent in Washington

[ellsdemon]

I'm about to ride across the state of Washington leaving from La Push and I was planning on riding all the way to Lake Crescent and then use the CDT trail to go to the north. But CDT is closed for construction so my option is to stay on 101 on the south side of the lake or take Rte. 112. Has anyone done 101 and is it dangerous? I've driven on it several times and it's a tight one even in a car.

[adventurepdx]

It's been five years since I rode around Lake Crescent, and I would definitely NOT do that again. It's beautiful, but the narrowness, curves, and (most importantly) traffic make it not fun. Well, maybe I'd do it if it was extremely early in the morning or something like that, but the next time I'm going up that way I'm trying 112/113.

And to add to the general unpleasantness of it all, here are the warning signs at the beginning:

[cgarch]

I've ridden both 101 at Lake Crescent and 113/112. I agree with AdventurePDX - do it early but that may not help. I don't think the Lake Crescent route is that dangerous but maybe that's just me. The gyppo logger trucks are back in business and that does change the equation. They are not that frequent and if you're attentive to your situation you can make it work. Unfortunately westbound is easier than eastbound. The shoulders are tight, that's why there are warning lights. But there are pullouts that you can use as needed. I just think 113/112 is a nasty slog with many bad shoulders, hard climbs, and more logging trucks.

You said CDT - do you mean ODT? The new ODT on the north side of the lake is gorgeous - you would pick it up just before the summit and descent to Lake Crescent. Have not been on the portion east of the lake - is that the portion you're concerned about? Looks like they are talking about tunnel reconstruction in future years but from reading the trail status I'm not sure I understand what is under construction now. http://www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/planning_info/trail_status.html

[RSN473]

I did it back in early August of this year and found it to be no worse than certain sections of other 2 lane highways.  It was relatively early (7:00 a.m.) on a Monday morning so that may have been a factor. 
Ron

[Itinerant Harper]

I've ridden 101 around Lake Crescent and also 113/112. I'd definitely do 113/112 eastbound for sure. I personally enjoyed that ride a lot - in the woods, on the coast with many tantalizing glimpses of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Nice country riding as you come into Port Angeles.  It is more up and down as you go around inlets and river egresses but that's great riding IMO.  Lake Crescent on the other hand is a beautiful lake but you need to spend a lot of time looking at the road and especially the traffic coming up behind (mirror recommended).  Going westbound the lake is on your right (beyond a wooden barrier most of the time) but felt safer. Going eastbound, which is also slightly uphill the bulk of the way) there are shear rock walls most of the time.

[ellsdemon]

First, thank you all for your opinions on 101 around Lake Crescent.  I ended up riding around the lake heading eastbound on Labor Day weekend on Saturday the 5th of September.  I was at the beginning of the section of road where the button to start riding was around noon.  Better planning on my part would have gotten me there earlier than that.  Overall I think I was psyching myself out more than was needed.  It's about a 10 mile stretch of really tight roadway with little or no shoulder.  Everyone in a car was more than generous with giving me space and I really didn't have any problems doing it.  One thing a did do was, when I was coming upon a blind curve I got myself in the middle of the lane and hopefully was way more visible this way.  Also to my benefit was that I was on the route on a Saturday so there were no logging trucks whom seem to careless about anyone in their way.  Overall I would do it again, but it seems that the Olympic Discovery Trail will be open again soon and that goes along the north side of the lake and is non-motorized, and I would take that over riding on the road.   Also, if you're looking for a campsite near 101 and just west of Port Angeles, stay at the Elwha Dam R.V. campsite.  Really nice facilities and nice owners who helped me out on how to connect with the ODT that goes from PA to Sequim.