The town is on the Quinault Indian Reservation and is tribal headquarters. The name is the tribal designation, Kwle-ni-lth or Wi-ni-nlth. In 1787, the river was named by Capt. Charles William Barkley for the Quinault Indian people who lived along the river and at its mouth. A post office, several stores, garages, restaurants, comfortable cabin camps, and resorts dot the lake's shores. From here, guides lead hikers along wilderness trails...

Points of Interest

Quinault Lodge

Nearby, a trail leads to the “World’s Largest Sitka Spruce” near the lake shore. This gentle giant reaches nearly 200 feet skyward and is reported to be 1000 years old. An additional trail leads R. through tall timber, dense undergrowth, and a profusion of wild flowers and shrubs. Luxuriant mosses, lichens, and sword-ferns spread on every hand. A fir tree by the trail, more than 30 feet in circumference at...

The Quinault River rises from the Anderson Glacier on the south slope of Mt. Anderson in south central Jefferson County and flows southwest to Quinault Lake in northwest Grays Harbor County, then southwest in a winding course to the Pacific Ocean at Taholah.

The Graves Creek Ranger Station Historic District was built between 1939 and 1941. It is distinctive for its use of native building materials applied in a modem (late) interpretation of the Rustic Style of architecture. A hallmark of the style is the use of local, natural materials applied in a manner so the building fits into the landscape. That, in conjunction with careful siting of the building in the landscape...