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Changes to Visitor Services Due to Sequestration
Due to mandatory, across the board budget cuts, some visitor services at Olympic National Park have changed. See the Plan Your Visit section for more information.
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Hurricane Ridge Road Closure for guard-rail work
Tueday, June 18 (6:00 AM - 11:00 AM)
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Olympic Hot Springs Road Closed
The Elwha Valley's Olympic Hot Springs Road is closed to public entry beyond the Altair Campground during removal of the Glines Canyon Dam. Olympic Hot Springs is not accessible from the Elwha.
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Elwha River Closures
Boating is prohibited on the Elwha River between Upper Lake Mills Trail and Altair Campground.
Plants
The bright pink flowers of smooth Douglasia rise only an inch or two above a dense mat of green leaves, an adaptation for growing in rocks high in the mountains.
From massive conifers over 20 stories tall, to minute clumps of pink Douglasia prying a life out of rocky peaks, the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park boast an amazing diversity of plant life. Over 1,450 types of vascular plants grow on the Peninsula, nearly the same number as the British Isles—an area 30 times larger. In addition, hundredsof species of non-vascular mosses, liverworts and hornworts also live here. Why So Much Diversity? Click below to learn more about some of the typical vegetation at different elevations. Though they are not true plants, many types of fungi and lichens also grow in these habitats. Some of Olympic's plant species are not native to this area, see Invasive Exotic Plants to learn more.
Moss and Oregon oxalis paint the understory green amid Sitka spruce in the rain forest.
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Did You Know?
Removal of two dams on the Elwha River is the second largest ecosystem restoration project in the National Park System.