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The Ultimate Twilight Travel Guide

Movie- and book-location tours have been around as long as motion pictures, but the town of Forks, Washington, tucked into the rain-forested western slopes of the Olympic Peninsula has created a location industry.

The setting for author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books about the love struck adventures of Bella Swan, a newly arrived teenager, and Edward Cullen, a dashing perpetually 17-year-old vampire, began its life as tourist hot spot when the series’ third book caught fire in 2007. With the release of the first film last year, combined with this month’s highly anticipated The Twilight Saga: New Moon sequel, the northwestern loop of the towering, remote Olympic National Park today boasts some of the fastest tourism growth on the continent. About 8,000 visitors rolled through Forks for all of 2008, according to the Chamber of Commerce, but swelled to 16,000 this past July alone.

The best part for you? Access to this remote, primordial land—chosen by the author (and Google) site unseen because it’s the wettest and darkest place in the continental U.S.—is easy from Victoria, British Columbia.

Here’s how to bite into the Twilight craze yourself, and get to see one of the most stunning, least-explored corners of the U.S. along the way.

Victoria, British Columbia to Port Angeles, Washington

In downtown Victoria, make your way along the Inner Harbour to the Coho Ferry Terminal. Get there at least 90 minutes before your sailing (this winter at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.) and buy tickets upon arrival (US$53 for car and driver). On weekends, it’s a good idea to reserve ahead. Also, you’re not allowed to leave the car deck while waiting to clear customs, so make sure you bring snacks and drinks with you before arriving.

Cars drive into the side of the Coho’s berth, park, and everyone heads upstairs onto the deck. No one is allowed to remain in the vehicles or return once the ship is sailing, which is a good thing because the iconic MV Coho—celebrating sailing the same route for 50 years in 2009—is an attraction in itself. As you’re treated to a ringside seat of Victoria’s busy harbour (think float planes, navy frigates and cruise ships), don’t miss the details of your good ship. The authentic fonts, safety cards and, um, unsecured fire axes hanging on the wall would make Wes Anderson giddy and will have you feeling like Steve Zissou himself.

The Coho is what a BC Ferries sailing may have been like during the Summer of Love. All manner of marine machinery—necessary and shuttered—litters the deck much to the pleasure of curious kids. A little-patrolled smoking area spills out on the top deck. Back inside, the sparse passenger cabin looks like a truck stop from the early ’70s and more curiosities like a medic’s quarters labeled “The Barbra Streisand Room” invite constant exploration. The story: the chanteuse took the ferry once and holed up here to avoid mingling with the unwashed masses.

Port Angeles, Washington

Less than 90 minutes after leaving Victoria to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Coho pulls into Port Angeles, a redbricked blue-collar city of 18,000 and the largest on the Olympic Peninsula.

EAT

Once there, grab dinner (and your first bite of Twilight cred) at Bella Italia, where owner Neil Conklin says he’s sold thousands of the US$17 plates of mushroom ravioli (usually accompanied by a Coke), as ordered by Bella on her first date with Edward, after the heroic vampire rescued her from rednecks in an alley. Aside from the defacto dish, the Italian cuisine here is outstanding—minimalist ingredients yet big, fresh flavour. And yes, that is a Twilight ale on tap, courtesy of Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery.

STAY

If you want to spend the night, the Red Lion keeps with the Coho’s retro vibe (from US$179). With the hotel’s clean, modern lines, you’d swear you were in Palm Springs if not for the water views looking back on Vancouver Island across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

SEE

Hurricane Ridge, located about 1,600 metres above sea level is like a piece of Banff right on the Pacific Ocean. The towering Olympic range is best viewed from here and a year-round interpretive centre is full or displays and maps about Olympic National Park—the most biodiverse in North America. In winter, there’s even a ski resort and hiking trails unfurl from the visitors’ centre in the spring, fall and summer. The best part? It’s all a stunning 40-minute drive from the Coho Ferry dock.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Assuming you can score tickets, Twilight Country gets it first look at the sequel on Nov. 19 in Port Angeles.

Here's the preview:

Port Angeles to Forks, Washington

After some rest and refueling, it’s time to head west for the 90-minute joyride along the 101. Edward does the trip in 30 minutes, but since you can’t read minds of oncoming drivers, take your time. About 30 minutes west of Port Angeles, be sure to pull into Lake Crescent Lodge and even though the resort is only open from May until October, hike the multitude of public trails while looking for elk and bald eagles amongst the primeval Doug fir, cedar, Sitka spruce, and fern-covered wonderland.

Less than an hour west is the most photographed sign in the world, according to local tour guide Travis Belles. The “The City of Forks Welcomes You” sign was featured prominently in the movie and has been moved lower, and away from the road, in the summer to make it safer for the hundreds of visitors who clambered up to have their photo taken beside the icon, spraining ankles and ripping pants in the souvenir’s pursuit.

Forks, Washington

STAY

Once in town, grab a hotel if you haven’t already. You have several choices:

- The Forks Motel is a no-frills cheapie right next to the Chamber of Commerce (from $60).

- Hardcore fans (and really, who isn’t) should grab a chance to stay at the locally interpreted location of the Cullen House: the Miller Tree Inn Bed and Breakfast (from $100).

- The Pacific Inn Motel (from $104) boasts a half-dozen Twilight-themed rooms.

- The best (and priciest) place to stay is the Quileute Oceanside Resort. Although motel rooms start at $121, the property is offering New Moon packages featuring a night in an oceanview luxury suite and Twilight tours starting at US$175 per person. The community of La Push is right on First Beach—a 1.5-km long crescent beach—a striking West Coast cliché, complete with cliffs, driftwood-strewn beaches, pounding winter waves and fog-shrouded flower-pot islets. 



SEE

Drop by the Forks Chamber of Commerce Visitors Information Center for handfuls of maps, stickers and “official” local info—some (gasp!) not having anything to do with vampires.

Pick up a dizzying amount of souvenirs from the newly opened Dazzled By Twilight – Experience the Magic of Forks, essentially an astro-turfed Disney-style gift shop where visitors can “experience the essence of Forks, La Push and the surrounding area.” Not surprisingly, this is also the place to grab the absolutely vital Twilight tours of the area (up to four daily costing US$39; $25 for kids 10 and under).

Almost three hours long and usually boasting the smooth amplified voice of Travis Belles, these are the exclamation points for Twilight pilgrimages. They also include a snack en route. A black shuttle takes up to 20 people at a time to about 10 “locally interpreted” sites, a convenient sidestep around the fact that author Stephenie Meyer wrote the first book without even setting foot in town, and the fact that the movie wasn’t even filmed in town, with Oregon and British Columbia coughing up juicier tax breaks for production crews. Not that owner Annette Root cares much. Her Dazzled by Twilight empire also includes a second retail location (as well as a new upstairs lounge) in Forks, and a recently expanded shop in Port Angeles.

EAT

Although there are plenty of places to indulge in themed fare, the biggest portions and best value is at an unassuming Mexican joint Plaza Jalisco. But you’re here, so go ahead and wolf down the Bella Burger—a patty with a pineapple slice—at Sully’s Drive-In.

Next spring, Annette Root, owner of Dazzled by Twilight tour company, is planning to open Volterra, a high-end dining experience with the same theme that’s made her the busiest entrepreneur in Forks since she arrived in town in 2006.

Beyond Forks, Washington

Besides exploring the bounty of beaches north and south of La Push (don’t miss Rialto Beach for stunning tide pools), most outdoorsy visitors drive an hour south and inland to the Hoh Rain Forest of the Olympic National Park ($15 per car). With more than 12 feet of rain annually, this is the wettest place in the continental U.S. and the valleys spilling down from the Olympic range to the Pacific are the best-preserved remains of the hemlock, Doug-fir and Sitka spruce-choked temperate rain forest that once stretched silently along the West Coast. The local marketing material says that even the air seems green, and they’re right. A year-round visitor centre doles out advice for self-guided hikes even in the most torrential downpour.