Port Angeles- The Ediz Hook

Port Angeles, WA
To stand where great things happened! That’s what you can do on the Ediz Hook in Port Angeles. In 1955, Burt Thomas took to the frigid waters of the Juan de Fuca strait and was the first person to swim across to Victoria British Columbia. Stand on the spit and look across – it’s 18.3 miles! So what that it was July; summer water temps in the strait in summer are about 50 degrees! Thomas was trained as a Marine combat swimmer in WWII and was quoted in The Marine Digest as saying, “The cold doesn’t bother me.”
So, while you’re there…go stick your hand in the water and see how cold it truly is. I would also advise a stroll to the south-facing side of the spit facing the Olympic mountains rising behind Port Angeles. Pick a sunrise or sunset because that’s when the light gives evidence to the depth from water to mountain peak…a most dramatic view.