Welcome to Forks, Washington. What was once a small logging town has become a major stopping point for Olympic National Park visitors and Twilight fans alike, getting over 80,000 visitors a year.
Whether you are spending a few hours or a few days, Forks has plenty to see and do in the area. This small town offers logging education, quirky shops, and beaches to explore right in its backyard.
I’ve been visiting the Olympic Peninsula and Forks for years, exploring the area and getting to know the land. In this article, I’ll tell you how to spend a full day in Forks, as well as other nearby areas to visit.
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The Forks Visitor Center is a great stopping point on your visit to Forks. The volunteers running the visitor center are very helpful and knowledgeable about how to best spend a day in Forks. The Chamber of Commerce operates the visitor center, so they have the most up-to-date information about upcoming events, markets, and things to do. The Forks Visitor Center is open 7 days a week, year-round.
One of my favorite things about this visitor center is that they have a map where you can place a pin on where you are from. It’s wild how much the map has grown in just a few years. If you’re from somewhere unique, definitely stop by to leave your mark.
Be sure to sign the guest book as well, because they use this to create a spreadsheet to track the visitors to Forks. They release these spreadsheets to the public, so you can gauge the busiest times and get an idea of how many other people are passing through the area.
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Located next to the Forks Visitor Center, the Timber Museum gives you an insight into the history of logging in the area. In the 1950s-70s, Forks was self-proclaimed as the “Logging Capital of the World”. The Timber Museum was created to tell the story of how logging became such a big part of this community.
The museum has much to see on display, old photographs, tools, and machinery that were used in the 1950s, like vintage chainsaws. They also tell you the history of the first homesteaders to settle in Forks and what life looked like for them.
Beyond the historical part of the museum, the property also has hiking trails and a fire lookout tower. There are several trails that lead you beyond the property, up into the mountains. The most popular trail is a 20-minute walk around a small, untouched rainforest. The museum has RV parking, public wifi, and picnic tables. It is open 7 days a week, year-round. There is an admission fee of ~$5.
PRO TIP: If you are visiting with kids, ask the museum about their scavenger hunt.
John has lived in Forks for over 70 years and has created an empire of his beach finds. It all started when he was in his 20s and found a Japanese glass float on the beach. These are very rare finds these days, and it began his fascination with what else could be found on the nearby beaches. He started walking the beaches, bringing a backpack with him, hoping to fill it up with treasures that he found along the way. And you would be surprised what he has found!
Some of the most impressive finds have been a fossilized mammoth tooth, plane parts, and enough Suntory whiskey bottles to fill an entire wall. A walk through this museum is like walking back in time, with many vintage items, some dating back to WWII. He also has an entire book of messages in a bottle that he has collected over the years.
It’s amazing how someone can turn thousands of items that would be considered rubbish into a work of art. That’s exactly what this museum is: a masterpiece of unsuspecting items that would have otherwise littered the oceans.
The hard part about visiting John’s Beachcoming Museum is finding a time that it’s actually open. Google says it’s 7 days a week, May through September; however, I’ve driven by several times within that time frame, and it’s always been closed. If you happen to see it open during your visit, you have to stop by!
The Logging and Mill Tour starts from the Forks Visitor Center. You load up on a shuttle bus for a 2 1/2 to 3-hour tour, taking you to active logging sites and a working mill. This tour allows you to see first-hand how they produce timber from start to finish. It provides insight into how to log in the modern world and how to be sustainable in this practice.
At the logging sites, you get to step outside and get a good look at the machinery, how they bring down the trees, and how to load them on the trucks. It’s very informative and is run by retired logging workers.
The tour is completely free, but you must make reservations ahead of time. To make a reservation, you have to call (360) 374-2531 or (800) 443-6757. Tours only take place on Wednesdays from May through September. You must wear closed-toed shoes on the tour.
13 road trip ideas across the West so you know where to go, how long to stay, and what to see
*Sample routes from 4–31 days across national parks and hidden gems
*Driving times + best stops so you don’t miss the good stuff
*Season + weather notes to avoid closed roads and peak‑crowd days
*Lodging ideas in the right spots so you cut backtracking
The Chinook Pharmacy isn’t your typical pharmacy. They are home to a little bit of everything. They have a gift shop filled with locally made native art, general souvenirs and gifts, as well as some twilight-themed buys. They also sell books, craft supplies, and beauty products. The Chinook Pharmacy is a one-stop shop for anything you need or want.
Native to Twilight is a gift shop where local native art and Twilight-themed gifts co-exist. They have a large selection of t-shirts and sweatshirts. As well as many Pacific Northwest souvenirs. They also have Twilight cast cardboard cut-outs to pose with, as well as some props from the movies.
Forks Outfitters is the official grocery store of Forks. I like this grocery store because they have food items that I haven’t seen elsewhere, and despite it being quite small, the selection is large and unique. They do tend to be a bit pricier than most grocery stores, but that’s to be expected when visiting small towns with limited options. They have a bakery, hot and ready foods, and a coffee shop.
Other than the grocery store, Forks Outfitters also has a large selection of clothing, specifically outdoor wear, as well as camping supplies, and an Ace Hardware store. It’s the perfect place to shop for all of your travel essentials.
Forks is the perfect turn-off point for visiting beaches on the Olympic Coast. With La Push and Rialto Beaches only being about 20 minutes away, visiting these pristine beaches is only a short detour. There are a few options for planning the perfect beach day.
The area of La Push has three beaches: First Beach, Second Beach, and Third Beach. First Beach is part of the Quileute Reservation and does require a day-use permit purchased from the Lonesome Creek Store at the Quileute Oceanside Resort, which is $10 for a day pass. This beach is the most accessible of the three beaches in La Push. Parking is located right next to the beach. This sandy shoreline offers incredible views of distant sea stacks and is known for gray whales spouting close to the shore. On my last visit, I watched the whales play right off the shore for hours. It felt so magical.
Second Beach and Third Beach are both hike-to beaches. They take you through a dense forest, leading you to beautiful sandy beaches. Second Beach is my favorite. It’s a 0.8-mile walk with minimal elevation gain and takes about an hour round trip. This beach is known for its black sand and sea stacks, which are close to shore. Every time I’ve visited, the beach is relatively empty, so it provides some solitude with the mixture of wilderness and vast ocean.
Third Beach is a bit of a longer trek, at 1.3 miles one way. It is also an easy walk until you reach the end. You’ll hike down a fairly steep trail and then have to climb over a field of driftwood. The trek is well worth the views, though! I would plan to be at this beach at low tide, because there is a waterfall at the end of the beach that you can walk to. Because of the longer hike, this beach is one of the quieter options in the area.
Rialto Beach is one of the busiest beaches on the Olympic Coast, mostly because of the ease of access. This beach is known for having driftwood littering the coast. As well as the Hole-in-the-Wall Hike. This hike is optional, but it’s a great way to explore the coastline, with the ending bringing you to some of the most colorful tide pools in the area. It’s an easy 3.5-mile round-trip walk through the sand, taking you to the Hole-in-the-Wall, which is a giant rock with an arch naturally carved into the center. You can walk through the hole and be taken to a field of tide pools. This hike can only be completed at low tide, so check the tide charts before venturing out.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Second Beach, Third Beach, and Rialto Beach are in the Olympic National Park and require a National Parks Pass to visit. The passes are ~$30 for a 7-day pass or ~$80 for a yearly America the Beautiful Pass, which grants you access to all of the National Parks for a year.
After the Twilight books were released in 2005, visitors started flocking to Forks, Washington, to get a glimpse of the setting of this series. While none of the movies were actually filmed here, the books were written about real places that exist in the area. The town of Forks welcomes Twilight fans and has even created many tourist attractions for the visitors.
Located in the Rainforest Arts Center, the Forever Twilight Collection is a display of movie props and items made by fans. This is the largest prop collection for Twilight. The props include outfits worn by Bella, Jacob, and Edward. There are a lot of photo opportunities, so bringing a camera is encouraged.
While the collection is free, they require a reservation to enter, which can only be made in person at the box office at the Rainforest Arts Center. Viewing hours are daily from the end of May to September. Viewings during the winter are on Friday and Saturday only.
Every year in September, Forks hosts a 4-day Twilight festival. The festival includes a tour of the locations from the book series, themed parties, and movie showings. There are panel discussions with some of the cast from the movies, and you can even book a breakfast with them for a small group experience. There is also a gala where everyone dresses up for an evening of fun. The majority of the events are free to the public; however, some of the gatherings, like the breakfast and gala, require a ticket.
Stop by the Forks Visitor Center for a map of the self-guided Twilight tour. Stops on this tour include Bella’s truck outside of the visitor center, the Cullen House, and the high school. You’ll take a drive down to First Beach in La Push and stop along the way at the 3-Rivers Resort to take photos at the treaty line between the vampires and werewolves. If you’re headed to Port Angeles, you can also eat at Bella Italia, where Bella and Edward shared a meal. You can order her favorite menu item, the mushroom ravioli.
Fourth of July weekend is a busy time in Forks. I stumbled upon this event one year and had a blast! They host a series of events like a demolition derby, a salmon bake, and an arts and crafts show. They have a parade featuring floats and logging trucks. They end the day with a fireworks show. There are also tournaments that you can participate in, like horseshoes, cribbage, and pickleball. It’s their biggest event every year and a great way for the community to come together.
Drag Racing is a 20-year tradition in Forks. Select weekends in June through August, race cars line up for a chance to win prizes. The race happens on a 1/8th mile strip at the Forks Airport. Come as a spectator or bring your car and participate! There is a ~$10 fee to watch the races.
Forks, Washington, might be a small town, but there are plenty of restaurant options to fuel your adventure.
DISCOVER: Where to Eat In and Around Olympic National Park
Forks is located on Highway 101, in the middle of a 160-mile stretch of remote wilderness. It is about an hour west of Port Angeles, 2 1/2 hours from Aberdeen, and 3 1/2 hours from Seattle-Tacoma Airport. It’s situated between Lake Crescent and the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park.
Forks is a small town, at only 3.5 square miles. Most of the stores and events are right on Highway 101. There is plenty of free parking, so it’s easy to leave the car and walk around.
CHECK OUT: How to Get to Olympic National Park (Road Trip Ideas + Airports)
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Read more about where to camp in our article: Best Places to Camp In and Around Olympic National Park.
Forks is a great stopping point for your Olympic itinerary, with locally owned shops, events to participate in, and beaches nearby to explore. Forks is rich in history and has many opportunities to learn something new.
Most travelers want to visit the most popular sites and still avoid the crowds. We created a step-by-step itinerary so you can visit the best places at the right times.
OLYMPIC TRIP PLANNER: To read or watch all of our content about Olympic National Park, check out our Olympic Homepage
THINGS TO DO: Don’t miss all that Olympic has to offer, including hikes, Lake Crescent, Kalaloch and Ruby beaches, the Hoh Rain Forest, Hurricane Ridge, and Sol Duc Hot Springs.
WHERE TO EAT: Don’t miss the best places to eat in Olympic National Park
GREAT CITIES TO STAY OR CHECK OUT: Learn about where to camp when visiting Olympic plus things to do in Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Sequim, and Forks.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Find out how to get there, the best time to visit, which is the best entrance, and all about driving around Olympic
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