• Olympic: Three Parks in One

    Olympic

    National Park Washington

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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.

  • Elwha River Closures

    Boating is prohibited on the Elwha River from Upper Lake Mills Trail downstream to the Highway 112 bridge, except for the stretch between Altair Campground and the Highway 101 bridge.

  • 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.

The Elwha Watershed

The Elwha Watershed:
With 321 square miles of drainage and 70 miles of river and tributaries, the Elwha River is the largest watershed in the peninsula. A large amount, 83%, is located within Olympic National Park, sheltering it and making it a particularly pristine river habitat.

The Elwha dam is located at river mile 4.9, behind which is Lake Aldwell. Glines Canyon dam is downstream at river mile 17, holding back Lake Mills. The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe reservation is located around the mouth of the river on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Just east of this sits the city of Port Angeles.

 
Map of Elwha watershed and dams
Map of the Elwha watershed and its surroundings

Did You Know?

rocky beach

Olympic National Park protects 73 miles of wild Pacific coast.  Tidepools, sandy beaches and rocky cliffs can all be found here.